Most local business owners have no idea whether their online marketing is working. Not because the information isn’t available, but because nobody told them where to look. The tools that answer the most important questions about your local visibility are free, and most of them are made by Google itself.
You don’t need expensive SEO software. You don’t need a monthly subscription to Semrush or Ahrefs. Those tools are built for SEO professionals managing dozens of clients. For a single-location service business that wants to know “am I showing up on Google and is it working,” these free tools cover everything that matters.
Google Business Profile Insights
What it is: The built-in analytics dashboard inside your Google Business Profile.
Where to find it: Sign in to your Google Business Profile at business.google.com, or search for your business name on Google while logged into the Google account that manages your profile. Click “Performance” in the left sidebar.
What it tells you: How many people saw your profile in search results and on Google Maps. How many clicked to call you, visit your website, or get directions. What search terms people used to find you. Whether those numbers are going up or down over time.
What to look for: The three numbers that matter most are calls, direction requests, and website clicks. These are the actions that turn into customers. If those numbers are flat or declining month over month, something is wrong with your profile or your ranking position. If they’re growing, whatever you’re doing is working.
Also check the search terms report. This tells you exactly what people type into Google before finding your business. If customers are finding you for “emergency plumber” but you mainly do remodeling work, your profile might be sending the wrong signals. If you’re not showing up for your primary service at all, your Google Business Profile probably needs work.
Cost: Free. Included with every Google Business Profile.
Google Search Console
What it is: Google’s tool for seeing how your website performs in search results.
Where to find it: search.google.com/search-console. You’ll need to verify that you own your website, which usually involves adding a small piece of code or a DNS record.
What it tells you: Which search queries your website appears for. Your average position for each query. How many impressions (times your site appeared in results) and clicks you got. Which pages on your site get the most search traffic. Whether Google has found any technical problems with your site.
What to look for: Start with the Performance report. Filter by the last 3 months and look at your top queries. Are you showing up for the services and cities you care about? If you serve 10 cities but only see traffic from 2, you need location pages for the others.
Check your average position for your most important keywords. Position 1-3 means you’re on the first page in a strong spot. Position 4-10 means you’re on the first page but below the fold. Position 11+ means you’re on page 2 or worse, and most people never go that far.
Also check the Coverage or Pages report. This shows you whether Google has found errors crawling your site: pages it can’t access, pages with redirect problems, or pages it’s chosen not to index. These technical issues are invisible to you but can silently hurt your rankings.
Cost: Free. Run by Google.
Google PageSpeed Insights
What it is: Google’s tool for measuring how fast your website loads.
Where to find it: pagespeed.web.dev. Paste in your URL and hit analyze.
What it tells you: Your site’s loading speed on both mobile and desktop. A score from 0 to 100, with specific metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (how long until the main content is visible) and Cumulative Layout Shift (how much the page jumps around while loading). Plus a list of specific things slowing your site down.
What to look for: Your mobile score matters more than desktop. Over 60% of local searches happen on mobile devices. If your mobile score is below 50, your site has real performance problems that are costing you customers. Google uses page speed as a ranking factor, and 53% of mobile visitors leave a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
The tool gives you specific recommendations ranked by impact. Common fixes include compressing images, removing unused JavaScript, and enabling browser caching. Some of these are things you can do yourself. Others require a developer. But knowing the problems exist is the first step.
Cost: Free. Run by Google.
Google’s Rich Results Test
What it is: A tool that checks whether your website has structured data (schema markup) and whether it qualifies for enhanced search results.
Where to find it: search.google.com/test/rich-results. Paste in your URL.
What it tells you: Whether your site has any schema markup, what types it found, and whether there are errors. Schema markup is the code that tells Google your business hours, star rating, FAQ answers, and other structured information that can appear directly in search results.
What to look for: If the tool finds no structured data, you’re missing an opportunity. Listings with rich results, like star ratings and FAQ dropdowns, get more clicks than plain listings. Most local business websites don’t have schema, so adding it puts you ahead of the majority. If you’re curious about the details, I wrote a breakdown of what schema markup is and which types matter for local businesses.
Cost: Free. Run by Google.
BrightLocal’s Free Local Search Results Checker
What it is: A tool that lets you check your Google rankings from different locations without physically being there.
Where to find it: brightlocal.com/local-search-results-checker. Free to use, no account required.
What it tells you: What the Google search results look like for any query from any location. You can search “plumber” from a specific zip code across town and see the results as if you were standing there. This matters because Google’s local results change based on the searcher’s location.
What to look for: Check your primary service keyword from 3-5 different zip codes in your service area. You might rank well in the zip code where your office is located but be completely invisible 10 miles away. If that’s the case, you need stronger signals for those areas: location pages on your website, reviews mentioning those neighborhoods, and consistent citation listings with the correct service area.
This tool also lets you check rankings by device (mobile vs desktop) and by search engine (Google vs Bing). Mobile results are the priority since that’s where most local searches happen.
Cost: Free for basic checks. BrightLocal has paid plans for ongoing tracking, but the free checker gives you what you need for a one-time audit.
Google Business Profile Manager (for checking completeness)
What it is: The admin panel where you manage your Google Business Profile.
Where to find it: business.google.com, logged into the Google account that owns your profile.
What it tells you: Whether every section of your profile is filled out. You can see at a glance if you’re missing photos, services, products, a business description, hours, or attributes.
What to look for: Go through every section systematically. Are you using all 750 characters in your description? Do you have 20+ photos? Are your services listed as both services AND products? Have you posted in the last week? Are your hours correct, including special hours for holidays? The complete guide to Google Business Profile optimization walks through each section and what to check.
Your profile completeness directly affects your visibility. Whitespark’s 2026 survey found it accounts for 32% of Map Pack ranking factors. Anything left empty is a missed signal.
Cost: Free.
What these tools can’t tell you
These tools cover a lot, but there are a few things they don’t do well.
They can’t tell you how you stack up against specific competitors in a side-by-side comparison. You can check your own data and then manually check a competitor’s visible information, but there’s no free tool that automates the comparison.
They can’t track your rankings over time automatically. The free versions give you a snapshot. To see trends, you either need to check manually every month and keep your own records or invest in a paid tool that tracks it for you.
And they can’t tell you what to prioritize. Knowing your PageSpeed score is 35 and your review count is 12 and your description is two sentences doesn’t tell you which to fix first. That requires understanding how these factors interact and which one is currently the biggest drag on your visibility.
Or let us do it for you
If running through 6 tools and interpreting the results sounds like more than you want to take on, I built a free audit that checks the things Google actually cares about and tells you what to fix first. It covers your Google Business Profile, your website, your reviews, your citations, and your search visibility in one report.
It takes 30 seconds, and you get a clear picture of where you stand and what’s holding you back. No jargon, no sales pitch, just the data.