Scottsboro, the Jackson County seat east of Huntsville, is the farthest east we work, and its businesses have a customer most towns do not: the visitor. Someone passing through on the way to the lake or the mountains, or in town for a day, searches on a phone for somewhere to eat, something to fix or a place to shop, and picks from the map results without ever having heard of you. For that customer, three things decide whether they come in.
Hours that are right
A visitor who finds you closed when the map said open does not come back. The hours on the Google Business Profile and on the site match each other and match the door, and when they change for a holiday or a season, both change.
Directions that work
The address on the profile has to drop a pin on the right door, and the site has to carry the same address and a directions link. A business that is listed at an old address, or at two addresses, sends visitors the wrong way.
A profile that matches everywhere
Name, address, phone and hours have to agree across the profile, the site and the directories a map app reads from. When they do not, the profile loses ground and customers get wrong numbers. Cleaning that up is most of the first month of local SEO work.
Photo: downtown Scottsboro by Springfieldohio, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; shop signs blurred.
