What can a customer find before they ever get in touch? A website, a way to make contact, reviews, or a recent piece of work can each help them understand a business.
We brought together retained evidence for 8,976 businesses across twelve locations: their websites, social accounts and latest recorded posts. This study follows those signals to show where the picture is clear, where it is incomplete, and what a useful next step might look like.
Seven platforms, one connected picture: your website plus Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, YouTube and TikTok.
8,976businesses12locations7platforms
The bigger picture, assembled from small signals. A mosaic interpretation of Mona Lisa.
Output Loop Research · September 2026
10,073initial search-result records
11,722social-account observations
Who’s standing out? Who’s falling behind?
8,976 business records. 12 locations. A closer look at the websites, social profiles and recent work a customer can actually find.
Business by business.Evidence by evidence.A picture takes shape.
01 / What the research revealed
Different professions. Different pictures.
A website, a social account and a current update tell different parts of the story. Move through four familiar professions to see the contrast.
The practical trades
The website is there. The recent work is harder to find.
18
of 42 · latest post over a year old
101 of 114 electricians had a website. But among the 42 with accepted social accounts, just 17 had posted within 90 days.
18 of those 42 had a newest recorded post more than a year old.
Consumer-facing and visual
The work gives them something worth showing.
44
of 58 · posted within 90 days
44 of 58 hairdressers with accepted social accounts had posted within 90 days—75.9%, compared with 40.5% for electricians.
A finished style can supply material for a profile, a website gallery and a follow-up post. One piece of work can support several useful updates.
A business people need to picture
Here, social activity is part of the picture.
47
of 51 · posted within 90 days
63 of 70 wedding venues had a website, and 51 had accepted social accounts. Of those 51, 47 had posted within 90 days.
A maintained channel can keep the setting, events and recent work visible while a website answers the practical questions.
Professional services
A strong website is only one part of being visible.
8.0
out of 10 · median website score
Accountancy firms had a median website score of 8.0 across 93 assessed sites. Among 64 firms with accepted social accounts, 35 had posted within 90 days.
A useful explanation or a timely answer gives a professional firm something substantive to share. Website quality and publishing activity are separate choices.
A profession in focus01 / 04
Retained business evidence · September 2026
The finding to take away
18of 42
The newest recorded post was more than a year old.
For nearly half the electricians with an accepted social account, even their latest recorded update was over a year old. Keeping one existing channel useful is a concrete place to start. Read the electrician edition.
Activity & audience
Current posts. Larger audiences.
On Instagram, accounts with a post in the last 30 days had a median 1,089.5 followers. For accounts whose latest post was over a year old, the median was 207.
172 fields across 8,976 business records. The value lies in connecting them: what a firm offers, where it can be found, and how current its presence looks.
The first list became a much richer business record.
In the original round, the same 4,703 businesses went from a 17-field prospect list to a 60-field qualification record. The completed research now connects business assessments with detailed social-account records.
Original round · Discovery
17 fields per business
4,703 rows × 17 fields 79,951 cell positions
Business names, locations, website and social links, telephone numbers, addresses and the sources behind each record.
Same round · Qualification
60 fields per business
4,703 rows × 60 fields 282,180 cell positions
Website assessments, review volumes, contact evidence, social candidates and the reasoning behind qualification scores. The record expanded by 43 fields.
Completed research · Social detail
53 fields per account observation
272,063 populated cells Across 11,793 rows in the current account export
Platform, account ownership, audience, latest posts and profile completeness: information that shows what sits behind a social link.
172fields in the combined business table
8,976business rows brought together
617,704populated cells in that business table
The result is a business picture that can be compared from several directions: the website, the contact details, the social profiles and how recently those profiles were used.
How these totals are counted
The first two figures describe the same original-round population. Rows multiplied by fields gives spreadsheet capacity, including blanks; it is not a count of collected facts. The final business and account totals count non-empty cells, including recorded scores, classifications and source information. They are separate views with overlapping information and are not added together as unique facts. A field can also contain several links or pieces of text.
The current account export contains 11,793 rows; the earlier population bridge used elsewhere in this prototype records 11,722 observations. These describe different retained versions. Account rows can include repeated or unreadable observations and are not a count of unique accepted profiles.
Sources: original prospection closeout of 14 August 2026 (4,703 × 17); qualification master and field-lineage audit of 19 August 2026 (4,703 × 60); current combined business and account CSV exports checked for this update.
Automation gathers the material. People decide what it means.
The workflow connects repeated retrieval and extraction tasks with structured records. That makes it possible to compare the same kinds of evidence across thousands of businesses. Human work remains in setting the questions, checking matches, judging comparisons and explaining a practical response.
A strong website score is not the same thing as recent social activity. A review count is not a measure of enquiry handling. Keeping those distinctions clear helps turn the research into specific advice rather than a single verdict on a business.
The units matter because the stages do different work.
The initial 10,073 search-result occurrences include repeated appearances. Earlier consolidation retained 9,590 acquisition rows; the current combined research contains 8,976 business IDs. These are separate recorded populations. The numerical difference is not presented as a measured conversion rate or a complete count of exclusions.
Social-account observations also include unreadable or differently attributed material. They are not 11,722 unique business accounts. The explorer uses accepted accounts assigned to the business and readable through the study.
A selected geography, with room for useful comparisons.
The programme covers twelve selected places: . Hemel Hempstead and Bovingdon remain separate. Harrow is a London borough in historic Middlesex.
A future study could apply the same questions to a larger city. This edition describes the locations actually studied.
Evidence and scope
Source: retained September 2026 combined business research and its population bridge. Website model: website-1.0.0. Social recency comparisons end 8 September 2026. The private explorer contains aggregate records only. No new collection was used to build this prototype.
Measured full-run timing and cost claims are not included here because the complete comparable-run reconciliation is not yet part of this prototype. No four-hour or 10× delivery claim is implied by the record totals.
From the picture to the detail
Choose where to look next.
The overview shows how businesses appear online. Explore the six social channels in detail, or see how a clearer website can help the next customer take action.
Retained business research · snapshot 8 September 2026. No new business collection was performed for this presentation.
Presence uses all 8,976 business records. A platform counts when an owned, readable account is retained. Businesses can use multiple platforms and belong to multiple professions. Profession comparisons shown here have at least 40 businesses.
Audience comparisons count distinct normalised account addresses with matched audience and post dates. Conflicting values are excluded. Each displayed activity group contains at least 40 accounts. LinkedIn compares within 30 days with 91–365 days because the over-year group has only one account.
Posting recency means time since the newest recorded post. It is not posting frequency. Audience is the retained follower or subscriber count, not enquiries, sales or measured growth. The owner actions are practical suggestions, not outcomes measured by this study.
Profession highlights are descriptive comparisons selected from the retained data. Sources: combined-estate-v1.1/combined.sqlite, business_view; audience-account-level-analysis.json. The original case-study site remains available through the links above.
Read the chart data and definitions
Study locations
Location
Businesses
Aylesbury
729
Berkhamsted
713
Borehamwood
760
Bovingdon
195
Harrow
876
Hemel Hempstead
815
High Wycombe
831
Hitchin
832
Potters Bar
855
St Albans
790
Watford
779
Welwyn Garden City
801
Platform presence and recorded activity
Business counts, once per platform. Recent = latest recorded post within 90 days of 8 September 2026. Categories and platforms overlap.
Platform
Accepted
Recent
Older
Undated
Facebook
2336
1373
941
22
Instagram
2059
1325
712
22
LinkedIn
1230
667
194
369
X
1092
178
864
50
YouTube
491
159
302
30
TikTok
296
147
130
19
Selected categories
Trades
1538
Automotive
903
Clinics and healthcare
1201
Personal care and beauty
975
Hospitality and events
483
Business and professional services
1145
Instagram audience
Within 30 days: median 1,089.5 followers, 896 distinct accounts. Over a year: median 207, 329 accounts. Matched audience/date sample. Association does not establish causation.
Local businesses.
A bigger picture.
What can a customer find before they ever get in touch? A website, a way to make contact, reviews, or a recent piece of work can each help them understand a business.
We brought together retained evidence for 8,976 businesses across twelve locations: their websites, social accounts and latest recorded posts. This study follows those signals to show where the picture is clear, where it is incomplete, and what a useful next step might look like.
Seven platforms, one connected picture: your website plus Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, YouTube and TikTok.
Who’s standing out?
Who’s falling behind?
8,976 business records. 12 locations. A closer look at the websites, social profiles and recent work a customer can actually find.
Different professions. Different pictures.
A website, a social account and a current update tell different parts of the story. Move through four familiar professions to see the contrast.
The website is there. The recent work is harder to find.
18
of 42 · latest post over a year old
101 of 114 electricians had a website. But among the 42 with accepted social accounts, just 17 had posted within 90 days.
18 of those 42 had a newest recorded post more than a year old.
The work gives them something worth showing.
44
of 58 · posted within 90 days
44 of 58 hairdressers with accepted social accounts had posted within 90 days—75.9%, compared with 40.5% for electricians.
A finished style can supply material for a profile, a website gallery and a follow-up post. One piece of work can support several useful updates.
Here, social activity is part of the picture.
47
of 51 · posted within 90 days
63 of 70 wedding venues had a website, and 51 had accepted social accounts. Of those 51, 47 had posted within 90 days.
A maintained channel can keep the setting, events and recent work visible while a website answers the practical questions.
A strong website is only one part of being visible.
8.0
out of 10 · median website score
Accountancy firms had a median website score of 8.0 across 93 assessed sites. Among 64 firms with accepted social accounts, 35 had posted within 90 days.
A useful explanation or a timely answer gives a professional firm something substantive to share. Website quality and publishing activity are separate choices.
18 of 42
The newest recorded post was more than a year old.
For nearly half the electricians with an accepted social account, even their latest recorded update was over a year old. Keeping one existing channel useful is a concrete place to start. Read the electrician edition.
Current posts.
Larger audiences.
On Instagram, accounts with a post in the last 30 days had a median 1,089.5 followers. For accounts whose latest post was over a year old, the median was 207.
Choose a platform to see its own audience scale.
Explore Social media — six social-channel chapters.
Median followers / subscribers · grouped by newest post
Is your profession
ahead of the picture?
Start with all 8,976 businesses, then compare a profession or a location against the same study baseline.
Find your benchmark.
How the research became one connected record.
From prospect searches to website evidence and social qualification.
Follow the process →617,704
populated business-table cells.
172 fields across 8,976 business records. The value lies in connecting them: what a firm offers, where it can be found, and how current its presence looks.
Find the part that matters to you.
Newest post over a year old.
Read the electrician edition ↗Recent activity among businesses with accepted social accounts.
Explore the hairdresser comparison ↗Social-account businesses had posted within 90 days.
Explore the venue comparison ↗Median website quality across 93 assessed sites.
Explore the accountancy comparison ↗Without a website available through either check.
See what a first website needs ↗Businesses in the town’s retained research view.
Explore Hemel Hempstead ↗Research method, definitions and sources
The first list became a much richer business record.
In the original round, the same 4,703 businesses went from a 17-field prospect list to a 60-field qualification record. The completed research now connects business assessments with detailed social-account records.
17 fields per business
4,703 rows × 17 fields
79,951 cell positions
Business names, locations, website and social links, telephone numbers, addresses and the sources behind each record.
60 fields per business
4,703 rows × 60 fields
282,180 cell positions
Website assessments, review volumes, contact evidence, social candidates and the reasoning behind qualification scores. The record expanded by 43 fields.
53 fields per account observation
272,063 populated cells
Across 11,793 rows in the current account export
Platform, account ownership, audience, latest posts and profile completeness: information that shows what sits behind a social link.
The result is a business picture that can be compared from several directions: the website, the contact details, the social profiles and how recently those profiles were used.
How these totals are counted
The first two figures describe the same original-round population. Rows multiplied by fields gives spreadsheet capacity, including blanks; it is not a count of collected facts. The final business and account totals count non-empty cells, including recorded scores, classifications and source information. They are separate views with overlapping information and are not added together as unique facts. A field can also contain several links or pieces of text.
The current account export contains 11,793 rows; the earlier population bridge used elsewhere in this prototype records 11,722 observations. These describe different retained versions. Account rows can include repeated or unreadable observations and are not a count of unique accepted profiles.
Sources: original prospection closeout of 14 August 2026 (4,703 × 17); qualification master and field-lineage audit of 19 August 2026 (4,703 × 60); current combined business and account CSV exports checked for this update.
Automation gathers the material. People decide what it means.
The workflow connects repeated retrieval and extraction tasks with structured records. That makes it possible to compare the same kinds of evidence across thousands of businesses. Human work remains in setting the questions, checking matches, judging comparisons and explaining a practical response.
A strong website score is not the same thing as recent social activity. A review count is not a measure of enquiry handling. Keeping those distinctions clear helps turn the research into specific advice rather than a single verdict on a business.
The units matter because the stages do different work.
The initial 10,073 search-result occurrences include repeated appearances. Earlier consolidation retained 9,590 acquisition rows; the current combined research contains 8,976 business IDs. These are separate recorded populations. The numerical difference is not presented as a measured conversion rate or a complete count of exclusions.
Social-account observations also include unreadable or differently attributed material. They are not 11,722 unique business accounts. The explorer uses accepted accounts assigned to the business and readable through the study.
A selected geography, with room for useful comparisons.
The programme covers twelve selected places: . Hemel Hempstead and Bovingdon remain separate. Harrow is a London borough in historic Middlesex.
A future study could apply the same questions to a larger city. This edition describes the locations actually studied.
Evidence and scope
Source: retained September 2026 combined business research and its population bridge. Website model: website-1.0.0. Social recency comparisons end 8 September 2026. The private explorer contains aggregate records only. No new collection was used to build this prototype.
Measured full-run timing and cost claims are not included here because the complete comparable-run reconciliation is not yet part of this prototype. No four-hour or 10× delivery claim is implied by the record totals.
Choose where to look next.
The overview shows how businesses appear online. Explore the six social channels in detail, or see how a clearer website can help the next customer take action.
Explore the social media chapters ↗
Explore use cases ↗
Sources & method
Retained business research · snapshot 8 September 2026. No new business collection was performed for this presentation.
Read the chart data and definitions
Study locations
Platform presence and recorded activity
Business counts, once per platform. Recent = latest recorded post within 90 days of 8 September 2026. Categories and platforms overlap.
Selected categories
Instagram audience
Within 30 days: median 1,089.5 followers, 896 distinct accounts. Over a year: median 207, 329 accounts. Matched audience/date sample. Association does not establish causation.