Imagine you’re running errands in town and have a sudden ice cream craving. You pull out your mobile phone and search for nearby ice cream parlors.

Nothing appears in your search results. So, you walk around until you see an ice cream parlor with an “Open” sign – but the place is actually closed. Frustrated, you give up and leave.

Now imagine you own that ice cream shop. You just lost a potential customer. That’s why it’s smart for businesses to be online and post the right information, especially considering how much potential customers are relying on search engines to find local businesses.

In a Google survey, 80%of people said they use a search engine to find local business information. 50% of customers who do a local search on their smartphones visit a business within a day. Also people are also 38% more likely to  visit a business if the online information is up to date and correct.