There’s a little restaurant in my hometown that has been in business for years. The food is delicious but the owner is … how can I put this? Eccentric.

Arrive on a good night, and he’ll treat you like royalty. He’s been known to keep the kitchen open past regular hours to feed visitors from out of town.

Arrive on a bad night, and he’ll hover over your table, help himself from your bottle of wine and drunkenly curse at your dinner companions. He’s also particularly ornery toward anyone who uses a coupon.

I’ve never seen any of these altercations, but I can quote some of them word-for-word. (“It’s a shame it takes a coupon for people to come here!“)

How is this possible? In a word: Google reviews.

Thanks to the internet, you can find out all sorts of things about the world. That’s nothing new. But do you know what search results appear for your business’s name? What about misspellings of your business’s name? Your name?

Searching for your business name is also a great way to make sure that your data is complete and up-to-date. Many places, including Google Local, will let you upload a photo and even a coupon or two.

If you’re not listed under sites such as Google Local and Superpages, take a moment to add your business. You’ll not only increase your visibility, but your search engine optimization as well.

Finally, don’t forget to set a Google Alert for your business’s name, so you can handle press as soon as it appears. Read my blog post on Google Alerts for step-by-step instructions.

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