New Study: Most Local Businesses on Google Maps Are Missing Everywhere Else
For immediate release
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.: Tristar Marketing Solutions has published the 2026 Local Visibility Study, which measured 64 local service businesses across the three places customers now use to choose one: Google search, Google Maps, and AI assistants. Only 30 of the 64 appeared in all three.
Every business in the study was already visible on Google Maps. That is how they were selected. The question was whether they turned up anywhere else. Fifty-nine percent, 38 of 64, also ranked in Google search results. Forty-three were named by at least one AI tool.
“The work was never the problem,” said John Wiser, founder of Tristar Marketing Solutions. “These are good businesses with real reputations. But being on the map is not the same as being findable. If a customer searches, or asks an AI who to call, and your name does not come up, you never hear about the job you lost.”
Reputation offered little protection. Of the 42 businesses with 100 or more reviews, 15 did not appear in Google search results at all, and 12 were named by none of the four AI tools tested.
The study also found wide variation by trade. Only three of the eight roofing companies measured appeared on all three surfaces, the joint lowest of the eight trades alongside HVAC and landscaping. Claude named the fewest businesses of the four tested, at 17 of 64, while the other three clustered between 23 and 24.
Full findings and methodology
The complete study, including the sample, how each surface was measured, and results by trade, is published at the 2026 Local Visibility Study.
Alongside the research, Tristar offers a free visibility check at tristarmarketingsolutions.net. Business owners enter their website and receive a scored report in about 60 seconds. No phone number is required.
About Tristar Marketing Solutions
Founded in 2022 after Wiser watched a family business fail from poor online visibility, Tristar Marketing Solutions serves local service businesses across nine industries from Washington State to Virginia. The company operates on Tristar Ops, a marketing operations platform it built in-house.
Media contact
John Wiser, Founder
Tristar Marketing Solutions
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tristarmarketingsolutions.net