Your Google Listing Is the New Front Door

A year ago, a lot of people would just show up. They’d drive by, see the lights on and walk in. That’s not how it works this summer.

Now people check first. Are you open? What are the hours this week? Do I need an appointment? Can I pick up at the curb? Do I need a mask? For most people in South Bend, Mishawaka or Elkhart, the place they check is Google. Whatever shows up when they search your name is the first thing they see of your business. For a lot of them, it’s the front door.

What people see before they see you

When someone searches your business on their phone, the box that shows your hours, phone number, map, photos and reviews comes from your Google My Business listing. It’s free. But you have to claim it and keep it up, and a lot of businesses haven’t touched theirs in years.

An out-of-date listing can be worse than an empty one. If it says you’re open until 9 and you’ve been closing at 6 since March, you’ve sent someone across town to a locked door. They won’t forget that, and they may not try twice.

The checklist

Here’s what I’d review this week. Log in to your Google My Business account and go through it in order:

1. Hours. Regular hours, plus special hours for holidays or temporary changes. If your hours are changing week to week, update them week to week.
2. Description and services. Say plainly what you do and who you do it for. If you’ve added something this year, like delivery, online ordering or virtual appointments, make sure it’s here.
3. Attributes. Depending on your category, Google lets you mark things like curbside pickup, delivery or dine-in. Use the ones that apply, and turn off the ones that don’t anymore.
4. Photos. Recent, real photos. The outside of the building so people recognize it, the inside, your team, your work. If your pickup setup is new, show people where to park and where to go.
5. Posts. You can publish short updates right on your listing. Use them for changes in hours, new safety steps, a current offer or a simple “here’s how to order.”
6. Questions and answers. Anyone can ask a question on your listing, and anyone can answer it. Check them. Answer them yourself so a stranger doesn’t answer for you.
7. Reviews. Read them and reply, good and bad. A calm, helpful reply to a complaint tells future customers more than the complaint does.

Keep it current, not just complete

Filling out the listing once is a good start. Keeping it current is the part that matters this year, because things keep changing. Put a reminder on your calendar to check it every week or two, and any time something changes in how you operate.

It also helps to name one person who owns it. When everyone assumes someone else updated the hours, nobody did.

Why it matters beyond this summer

Checking online before going somewhere isn’t new. This year just made it a habit for a lot more people, including plenty who didn’t bother before. I don’t expect them to stop once things settle down.

It also connects to everything else you do. When your radio spot, your mailer or your Facebook post makes someone curious, their next step is usually a search. What they find on your listing decides whether that curiosity turns into a call, a visit or a shrug. You paid for the attention. The listing is where you either catch it or lose it.

If you want to see how your listing fits with the rest of your marketing, the Marketing Checkup takes a few minutes.