In Business 30 Years and Still Invisible
"I didn't know that existed"
I drive all over Southaven and DeSoto County. And I can't tell you how many times I've pulled up to a business and thought, "I didn't know that existed."
Here's one that sticks with me. There's a nutrition store in our area that's been open about 30 years. I found out about it a couple of years ago. Thirty years in business, and to me, it was brand new.
That's not a bad business. That's a good business nobody can see. And that's the first place leads leak. If people don't know you exist, they can't call you, review you, or buy from you.
The same was true of me
I'll be honest. The same could be said about me.
I meet business owners through the Chamber all the time. Plenty of them have no idea what I actually do. That's on me. It hasn't really been out there.
So I started talking about it. And here's what I've noticed: the more I speak about it, the more people see me, and the more they get to know me. Nothing about my skills changed. People just finally knew.
The longer you've been open, the harder this is to believe
When I tell newer businesses that people can't find them, they usually get it. They say, "Yeah, we're working on Facebook. We're trying word of mouth." They know they're still building.
The businesses that have been open ten years or more are different. It's hard for them to believe. They've got a sign on the building. They've got loyal customers. They figure everybody knows who they are by now.
But your loyal customers aren't the problem. The people who moved here last year are. So is everyone who has driven past your sign a hundred times without noticing it. Time in business doesn't make you visible. Being found does.
How to check if people can find you
When I look at whether a business is visible, I start the same way every time. You can do this yourself in about 15 minutes.
Search Google like a stranger would. Search for what you do plus your town, then search your business name. Do you show up at all?
Check for a Google Business Profile. That's the box with your hours, map pin, and reviews. BrightLocal's research found only 35% of small businesses have one. If you don't, you're missing from the map.
Look at your website. I still see businesses using Facebook as their only website. That's a problem. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey, 54% of people said they visit a business's website after reading good reviews. If there's no website, that's where they drop off.
See who else mentions you. Look for your business on other sites, like directories, local news, or the Chamber listing. The more places that point to you, the easier you are to find.
Ask an AI. Open ChatGPT or another AI tool and ask it to recommend a business like yours in your area. See if you come up and what it says about you. This one matters more every month. In the same survey, people using AI tools for local recommendations jumped from 6% to 45% in one year.
If you're missing at step 1 or 2, start there. Nothing else matters until people can find you.
Source: BrightLocal, SMB Marketing in 2025
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
Find out where you stand
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Next up: reputation, and why your reviews are making the sale before you ever pick up the phone.
