Florida Local
Search Index
The most detailed local search benchmark for Florida's Space Coast. 97 business listings analyzed across 12 industries in 6 cities. Updated quarterly.
Executive Summary
The Florida Local Search Index is a quarterly benchmark that measures how well businesses across Brevard County perform in local search. We manually audit Google Business Profiles, websites, review profiles, and technical SEO factors for 97 businesses across 12 industries, collecting 47 data points per listing.
Our Q1 2026 findings reveal significant optimization gaps that represent real revenue left on the table. The average local business uses only 69% of available GBP features.Schema markup adoption sits at 18.6%. About 72% of businesses respond to at least some Google reviews. These are not minor oversights. Each gap directly reduces visibility in Google Maps and local search.
The data also shows a clear performance divide. The top 10% of businesses (those ranking consistently in the map pack) score 85% or higher on GBP completion, maintain 150+ reviews, respond to 80%+ of reviews, and score 60+ on mobile speed. The bottom 25% average below 50% on GBP completion.
This report breaks down findings by GBP completion, schema adoption, mobile speed, review health, industry benchmarks, and city-level performance. Each section includes the specific numbers so you can see exactly where your business stands relative to the local market.
Key Findings
Google Business Profile Completion
Most businesses set up their Google Business Profile and never return. Only 14% post weekly updates, and fewer than a quarter use all available category slots. The businesses ranking in the top 3 of the map pack average 88% profile completion, well above the 69% market average.
GBP Completion by Feature
Schema Markup Adoption
Schema markup helps search engines and AI systems understand your business. Despite being free to implement, 81.4% of Space Coast businesses have no LocalBusiness schema at all. Businesses with proper schema markup appeared in AI Overviews at 3.2x the rate of those without.
Schema Adoption by Platform
Mobile Page Speed & Core Web Vitals
With 73% of local searches happening on mobile, speed matters. The average Space Coast business website scores 47 on Google's mobile speed test (out of 100). Only 31% pass Core Web Vitals. 18% don't even have a mobile-responsive website. Sites loading under 3 seconds receive approximately 28% more calls than slower competitors in our dataset.
Speed Distribution
Review Health
Reviews are the most visible trust signal in local search. The median business has 55 reviews with a 4.5 average. About 72% respond to reviews at least some of the time. Businesses in the map pack top 3 average 185 reviews and respond to 92% of them. Businesses with fewer than 10 reviews appeared in map pack results only 4% of the time.
Review Velocity Benchmarks
Industry Benchmarks
Performance varies significantly by industry. Restaurants lead in review volume, while HVAC and dentists show the strongest schema markup adoption. Here are the numbers for each industry in our sample.
| Industry | Sample | GBP % | Avg Reviews | Avg Rating | Schema % | Mobile Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants | 9 | 80% | 821 | 4.3 | 22% | 39 |
| HVAC | 8 | 78% | 197 | 4.6 | 38% | 47 |
| Auto Repair | 8 | 72% | 162 | 4.5 | 25% | 45 |
| Roofers | 8 | 70% | 101 | 4.5 | 25% | 43 |
| Plumbers | 8 | 71% | 95 | 4.5 | 13% | 44 |
| Dentists | 8 | 76% | 92 | 4.5 | 38% | 49 |
| Real Estate | 8 | 68% | 69 | 4.5 | 38% | 43 |
| Electricians | 8 | 65% | 65 | 4.6 | 25% | 39 |
| Salons & Spas | 8 | 64% | 63 | 4.5 | 13% | 38 |
| Landscaping | 8 | 57% | 43 | 4.5 | 13% | 30 |
| Law Firms | 8 | 71% | 40 | 4.7 | 50% | 50 |
| Contractors | 8 | 60% | 39 | 4.5 | 13% | 35 |
GBP % = average Google Business Profile completion score. Schema % = percentage with any structured data markup. Mobile Score = Google PageSpeed Insights mobile score (0-100). Sample = number of businesses audited in category.
City-Level Performance
Melbourne
28 businesses audited
Titusville
18 businesses audited
Cocoa Beach
12 businesses audited
Palm Bay
16 businesses audited
Merritt Island
10 businesses audited
Cocoa
8 businesses audited
City-Level Observations
Melbourne leads in schema adoption at 22%, likely driven by a larger concentration of law firms and professional services that invest more in digital marketing. Melbourne also has the largest sample in our study (28 businesses) and the highest mobile speed scores.
Cocoa Beach benefits from tourism, showing the highest average review counts (142) and GBP completion (74%) across the region. Seasonal visitors leave more reviews, creating a natural advantage. However, many restaurant GBPs go dormant outside of peak season.
Palm Bay has the most room for growth with the lowest GBP completion (63%) and schema adoption (12%). This also means the barrier to standing out is lower. A Palm Bay business that fully optimizes its online presence faces less competition than one in Melbourne.
Titusville shows strong service industry presence with plumbing businesses leading in GBP utilization. The proximity to Kennedy Space Center drives demand for home services among aerospace workers who relocate to the area.
Map Pack Analysis
What Map Pack Businesses Do Differently
We tracked which businesses consistently appeared in Google Maps top 3 results across 120 high-intent local search queries. The performance gap between map pack businesses and everyone else is significant across every metric.
The data suggests that map pack placement correlates most strongly with three factors: review velocity (new reviews per month), GBP posting frequency, and mobile page speed. Businesses that score well on all three appear in the map pack at 4.7x the rate of those scoring poorly on even one.
| Metric | Rest of Market | Map Pack Top 3 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP Completion | 58% | 88% | +52% |
| Review Count (avg) | 42 | 185 | +340% |
| Review Response Rate | 55% | 92% | +67% |
| Reviews/Month | 1.8 | 5.6 | +211% |
| Mobile Speed Score | 36 | 62 | +72% |
| Schema Markup | 12% | 45% | +275% |
| Weekly GBP Posts | 11% | 58% | +427% |
AI Search Readiness
With Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity now influencing local discovery, we measured how prepared Space Coast businesses are to be cited by AI systems. We tested 50 common local service queries against ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity to see which local businesses were referenced. For a deeper look at how AI tools perceive local businesses, see our AI Perception Report.
Common Traits of AI-Cited Businesses
Competitive Opportunity Score
We created a Competitive Opportunity Score (COS) for each industry and city combination. A high COS means the gap between top performers and the average is large, meaning it takes less effort to stand out. Here are the top 10 highest-opportunity combinations on the Space Coast.
COS is calculated from the gap between top-3 map pack averages and the market median across all measured factors (GBP, reviews, speed, schema). Score range: 0-100. Higher = more opportunity. Methodology details available at /research/methodology.