Case Study: How We Turned Google Search & Maps Into a Major Discovery Channel for a Travel Business
Industry: Travel & Tourism
Service: Local SEO & Google Business Profile Optimisation
Reporting Period: March 2026 – August 2026
Client-identifying information and sensitive search terms have been removed to protect confidentiality.
The Situation
The client operates in a destination-driven travel market where potential customers often begin their journey with Google.
Some people search for a specific travel company. However, a much larger opportunity exists among people who are still exploring:
- travel agencies;
- tours and activities;
- destinations;
- local experiences;
- places and services relevant to their trip.
The challenge was therefore bigger than simply maintaining a Google Business Profile.
The strategic opportunity was to improve the business’s ability to appear during these discovery moments—particularly across Google Search and Google Maps—and turn that visibility into meaningful profile interactions.
One important consideration emerged from the data: website rankings alone would not tell the full story of how customers were discovering the business.
The Objective
Our goal was to strengthen the client’s local search presence and improve how clearly the business could be discovered by people searching for relevant travel services and experiences.
The work focused on three core areas:
Improve discovery
Increase visibility across relevant Google Search and Google Maps experiences.
Strengthen relevance
Help Google better understand the relationship between the business, its services, activities, and travel offerings.
Encourage meaningful actions
Create a clearer path from search discovery to profile interactions, website visits, calls, bookings, and other available customer actions.
What We Worked On
The strategy was not based on adding a few keywords to a Google Business Profile.
Instead, the work focused on improving the overall relationship between:
The Business → Its Services → Customer Search Behaviour → Google Discovery Surfaces
The approach included:
- Google Business Profile optimisation;
- category and service relevance;
- clearer business information;
- optimisation around genuine travel offerings and experiences;
- alignment between the Business Profile and the wider web presence;
- improving discoverability for relevant non-branded searches;
- monitoring profile performance and search behaviour.
The objective was to build a stronger foundation for discovery rather than chase a single ranking position.
The Results
The six-month Google Business Profile data revealed a clear outcome:
16,233 Business Profile Views
Between March and August 2026, the client’s Business Profile received 16,233 views across Google Search and Google Maps.
The discovery breakdown was particularly revealing:
Discovery Surface | Business Profile Views |
Google Maps – Mobile | 8,429 |
Google Search – Mobile | 6,238 |
Google Search – Desktop | 1,187 |
Total | 16,233 |
The key insight
Google Maps on mobile was the largest discovery channel.
With 8,429 profile views, Google Maps on mobile generated more than half of all recorded Business Profile views during the reporting period.
That changed how we interpreted the client’s search performance.
The website remained an important part of the wider customer journey. However, a significant share of potential customer discovery was happening before visitors even reached the website.
Google Maps had become a meaningful entry point.
6,902 Searches Showed the Business Profile
During the same reporting period, the Business Profile was shown in Google search results 6,902 times.
One of the strongest signals came from a broad, high-intent category-related search term.
The profile appeared 4,070 times for that core search query.
For confidentiality reasons, the exact query has been removed.
The strategic importance of this result is not the keyword itself. It is what the keyword represents.
The business was gaining visibility beyond people who already knew its name.
That created an opportunity to reach users at the discovery stage of their journey.
Branded discovery
A user searches for a specific company.
They already know the business exists.
Non-branded discovery
A user searches for a relevant travel service, category, or experience.
They are still evaluating their options.
This second group represents a major growth opportunity for businesses that depend on Google to generate new customer discovery.
The Mobile Discovery Story
The most valuable insight from this campaign was not simply the total number of views.
It was where those views came from.
Out of 16,233 total profile views:
- 8,429 came from Google Maps on mobile
- 6,238 came from Google Search on mobile
- 1,187 came from Google Search on desktop
This means mobile accounted for the overwhelming majority of the client’s Business Profile discovery.
For a travel business, this makes sense.
Potential customers frequently research:
- destinations;
- activities;
- tours;
- travel providers;
- nearby experiences;
while using a mobile device.
The lesson was clear:
A Local SEO strategy cannot focus only on website rankings when a significant part of customer discovery is happening directly inside Google’s own ecosystem.
What Changed?
The outcome was not simply an increase in a dashboard metric.
The business developed a stronger presence across multiple customer discovery surfaces.
Before the optimisation focus
The Google Business Profile existed as part of the company’s digital presence.
However, the larger strategic opportunity was to strengthen its role as an active discovery channel for people searching for relevant travel services and experiences.
After the optimisation work
The Business Profile generated:
- 16,233 profile views
- 6,902 search appearances
- 8,429 views through Google Maps on mobile
- 6,238 views through Google Search on mobile
- strong visibility for a core non-branded category search;
- thousands of recorded customer interactions across the supplied performance snapshots.
More importantly, the performance data revealed how customers were actually finding the business.
Google Maps and mobile search were not secondary channels.
They were central to discovery.
The Strategic Insight: Google Maps Was Doing More Work Than Traditional Rankings Alone Could Show
This was the most important finding from the campaign.
If we had evaluated performance only through traditional organic rankings and website traffic, we would have missed a substantial part of the customer journey.
The Google Business Profile itself was generating thousands of discovery opportunities.
This matters because the path to a customer does not always look like this:
Google Search → Website → Conversion
In local and destination-based industries, it can look more like:
Google Maps → Business Profile → Call, Website Visit, Direction, Booking or Other Action
Or:
Google Search → Business Profile → Review Services → Business Interaction
That is why Local SEO should be viewed as part of the wider acquisition system rather than as a small task involving business listings.
Why Non-Branded Visibility Matters
One of the strongest signals in the data was the profile’s visibility for a broad category-related search.
The profile appeared 4,070 times for that query during the reporting period.
Again, this does not mean 4,070 individual customers searched for the business.
It means the Business Profile was shown 4,070 times in connection with that search term, according to the available Google Business Profile performance data.
This distinction matters.
The real opportunity lies in reaching people who have not yet selected a provider.
When someone searches directly for a business name, they are already familiar with it.
When someone searches for a relevant category, service, or travel experience, the business has an opportunity to enter the customer’s consideration set.
That is where a well-developed Local SEO strategy can create additional discovery opportunities.
What This Case Study Teaches Us About Local SEO
1. A Google Business Profile Can Be a Major Discovery Asset
Many businesses treat their Business Profile as something that needs to be created and then forgotten.
The data from this project demonstrates why that approach can leave opportunities on the table.
The profile generated more than 16,000 views over six months.
For the client, Google Search and Google Maps were not simply places where existing customers confirmed business information.
They were active discovery channels.
2. Mobile Visibility Requires Special Attention
The majority of profile views came from mobile.
That means businesses need to think beyond whether they appear in search.
They also need to consider what happens when someone discovers them.
Can users quickly understand:
- what the business offers?
- whether it is relevant to their needs?
- what services or products are available?
- how to visit the website?
- how to contact the business?
- what action they should take next?
Local visibility without a clear next step can waste valuable discovery opportunities.
3. Non-Branded Searches Can Expand the Customer Funnel
Businesses should not focus exclusively on their own brand name.
Potential customers often begin with broader searches.
They may not know which provider they want. They may not even know exactly which service they need.
A stronger Local SEO strategy considers these earlier discovery moments and improves the connection between the business and the relevant search context.
4. Local SEO Should Be Connected to the Wider Website Strategy
A Google Business Profile does not ope rate in complete isolation.
The strongest results usually come from greater consistency between:
- the Business Profile;
- website services;
- location and destination content;
- business information;
- topical relevance;
- customer experience.
The goal is to create a coherent digital presence rather than optimise individual channels separately.
Our Local SEO Approach
This project reinforces how we approach Local SEO at Gadget Majesty.
We do not see Google Business Profile optimisation as simply filling out fields or adding keywords.
We look at the wider discovery journey.
Depending on the business and market, our Local SEO work can include:
- Google Business Profile optimisation;
- category and service alignment;
- Google Maps visibility;
- local keyword and search behaviour research;
- business information consistency;
- website and profile alignment;
- local content opportunities;
- service and location relevance;
- local search performance analysis;
- conversion-path improvements.
The goal is to create a stronger connection between:
What customers are searching for → Where your business appears → Why they should consider you → What they do next
Results Summary
Performance Metric | Result |
Business Profile Views | 16,233 |
Searches Showing the Profile | 6,902 |
Google Maps – Mobile Views | 8,429 |
Google Search – Mobile Views | 6,238 |
Google Search – Desktop Views | 1,187 |
Appearance for a Core Category Query | 4,070 |
Final Takeaway
This project demonstrates something that is easy to overlook when measuring search performance:
Your website is not always the first place where customers discover your business.
For this confidential travel business, Google Maps and Google Search generated more than 16,000 Business Profile views over six months.
The largest single source of discovery was Google Maps on mobile.
The data also showed meaningful visibility for non-branded searches, creating opportunities to reach potential customers before they had selected a specific travel provider.
The strategic lesson is simple:
Local SEO is not just about appearing higher in search results. It is about becoming visible at the moments when potential customers are actively looking for what your business offers.
For businesses that depend on local, destination, or service-based discovery, a well-managed Google Business Profile can become a meaningful part of the overall customer acquisition journey.
Want to Turn Google Search & Maps Into a Stronger Discovery Channel?
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Explore our Local SEO services to see how we can help strengthen your local search presence.