The data behind local search.
I measure how real businesses actually perform online and publish it in full — every index open, dated and reproducible.
Search 1,371 measured businesses by name.
1,371 measured, for example Bristol Windows And Doors, Gloucester Chiropractors or Cheltenham Animal Shelter.
What the Q4-2026 measurement found
Most local businesses are losing work online in the same three ways.
Every figure below is computed from the published data and recomputes when the index does. Nothing here is an estimate.
82%
Businesses never named by an AI assistant asked to recommend a local firm.
1125 of 1371 are not mentioned in any of the five answers we test per sector. Of those that are named, the typical business appears in two of the five.
See the AI pillar by sectorHow to get named by answer engines
735 of 1371
Businesses that rank for nothing in their own sector.
Not "rank poorly" — absent from the top 100 for all 12 of the keywords their customers actually search.
What separates them from the restWhy ranking breadth beats single terms
74 of 120
Construction firms below 50, across 3 separate towns.
Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester measured independently and agreeing. A whole trade losing work online in the same way.
I am Phil Yarrow. I measure this because the answers were being given as opinion. If your business is in one of these indices, the scorecard shows exactly where you stand and what to fix first — and if you would rather someone did the fixing, that is what PYC does.
Median score by pillar
The website is rarely the problem.
Across 1371 businesses. The three pillars a web developer is responsible for sit near the top. The two that decide whether anyone finds the business at all sit on the floor.
- Speed & CWV6320% of score
- Technical8820% of score
- Local presence7620% of score
- Visibility015% of score
- AI search presence015% of score
- Content & trust5010% of score
Median across every business measured, 0–100. See how each pillar is scored, or filter by sector above.
Every measured business, by score
Most local businesses are clustered in the same place.
564 of 1371 score between 50 and 59. The median is 51. Getting clear of the pack does not take a perfect score — it takes being deliberate about the two pillars almost nobody is.
The busiest band is 50–59, holding 564 businesses.
Check your own homepage
Three questions. No tools, no sign-up.
Open your homepage and answer these. They are the same three checks we run on every business in the index, and they take about thirty seconds.
- 0 of 3236 businesses · median score 45 · median search visibility 0
- 1 of 3486 businesses · median score 50 · median search visibility 0
- 2 of 3388 businesses · median score 54.5 · median search visibility 4
- 3 of 3125 businesses · median score 58 · median search visibility 13
Across 1235 measured businesses. This tells you what comparable firms score — it is not a score for your site. The full analysis, including what it does and does not prove.
Cheltenham Construction Digital Visibility Index
- 1The Little Conservatory Company LTD63
- 2DP Carpentry and Building Ltd59
- 3Constructs Building58
- 4ITS Cheltenham58
- 5Barthorp Building56
- 6BRG Technologies56
Where the measurement reaches
eight towns, eleven sectors, one grid.
| Sector | Bath | Bristol | Cheltenham | Exeter | Gloucester | Gloucestershire | Swindon | Worcester |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architects | 80 | 80 | 59 | 63 | 35 | · | 29 | 25 |
| Physiotherapy | 67 | 62 | 68 | 53 | 46 | · | 40 | 45 |
| Vets | 10 | 29 | 20 | 21 | 21 | · | 17 | 15 |
| Construction | · | · | 52 | · | 13 | · | · | 55 |
| Estate Agents | 15 | 18 | · | · | · | · | 8 | · |
| Double Glazing | · | 116 | · | · | · | 99 | · | · |
| Accountants | · | · | · | · | 41 | · | · | · |
| Dentists | · | 9 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| Law Firms | · | · | 8 | · | · | · | · | · |
| Restaurants | · | · | · | · | 44 | · | · | · |
| Solicitors | · | · | · | 8 | · | · | · | · |
under 45 45–51 52–59 60+ median score for that cohort
Each cell is the number of businesses measured; the shade is how that cohort scores. A dot is a sector not yet measured there — not a judgement about it.
Not in the grid
If your sector isn’t measured yet, say so.
The next index gets built from what people ask for rather than what I guess at. Tell me the sector and town and I will tell you whether it is worth measuring — and if I already measure it, I will point you straight at your own scorecard.
Email info@philyarrow.co.uk with your sector and town.