> An industry study of 16,098 local business profiles, in plain English: reviews matter most, photos keep helping, and a perfect 5.0 is not the goal.

[Updates](https://thanksu.org/updates/) · 22 October 2026

# What gets local businesses found first

An industry study looked at 16,098 local business profiles and where each one showed up on the map. Here is what the top ones have in common.

## 1. Reviews matter most

79 reviews The typical business in 1st place. On page two it is 25.

Businesses with 1 to 5 reviews made the top 3 39% of the time. With 201 to 500 reviews it was 73%, the best of any group. After that it levels off.

What to do: get more reviews than the businesses near you. 200+ is our goal for you. The total counts, not how fast they come in or how long they are.

## 2. Photos keep helping

44 photos The typical business in 1st place. On page two it is 21.

Photos were the only thing with no limit. Businesses kept doing better past 500 photos.

What to do: add 40+ real photos of your work. You do not need to wait for customers.

## 3. A perfect 5.0 is not the goal

Businesses rated 4.9 made the top 3 69% of the time. A perfect 5.0 managed 54%, usually because there were too few reviews. A 5.0 with 200+ reviews hit 77%.

What to do: do not panic over one bad review. 4.5 or above puts you in good company.

## 4. Fill in your profile

- Description: worth more as reviews grow. 11 points at 10 reviews or fewer, 26 points at 200+.

- Extra categories: six of them made the top 3 69% of the time. None: 48%.

- Social links: up to five help. Facebook helped most.

- Updates: posting at all lifted the top 3 rate from 64% to 71%. 10+ live posts: 73%.

- Directory listings: 21 to 27 is where top businesses sit. More adds little.

## What did not make a difference

How fast reviews come in Only the total counts

How long reviews are Short and long ranked the same

Replying to every review Top businesses replied a little less (73% vs 77%). Replies still build trust.

Description length Short works as well as long

Keywords in reviews No effect

## The bottom line

More reviews and more photos come first. Then fill in the basics once. That is what ThanksU does for you.

[See where you stand, free](https://thanksu.org/go-max/) [Get started](https://thanksu.org/signup/)

Source: industry study of 16,098 local business profiles, data from March to April 2026. It shows what top businesses have in common, not proof of what causes it. Closeness to the customer still matters most.

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