MONADNOCK REGION, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) In the last article, we talked about creating interest — especially with people who aren’t actively looking yet.

But here’s the part many businesses underestimate.

Once interest is sparked — whether it happens quickly or builds over time — people do the same thing next.

They go online and search.

They might search immediately.
They might search days later.
They might search after hearing your name a few times.

But this is how decisions start today.

This is where a lot of growth gets quietly lost.

Many businesses assume that once someone is interested, the hard part is over. In reality, this is where the real competition begins. When someone searches, they’re not looking for one clear answer. They’re comparing options. They’re scanning results. They’re clicking around. They’re deciding who feels like the safest, clearest, most trustworthy choice.

And they’re doing it fast.

If you’re not easy to find at that moment — or if what they see doesn’t clearly match why they’re searching — they don’t pause to figure it out. They just move on.

Here’s what I mean by “matching why they’re searching.”

If someone searches for something like “best prices on heating oil,” “affordable car repair,” or “low-cost furniture,” they’re not looking for a generic description of a business. They’re looking for pricing, value, or at least some acknowledgment that cost matters to them. The results they actually spend time on are the ones that speak directly to that concern.

If what shows up instead is vague or generic — “family owned,” “serving the area for 30 years,” “quality service” — those things may all be true, but they don’t match the reason the person searched in the first place. So the searcher keeps moving.

There are really only two ways to create that kind of match during search.

One is by having your website and overall online presence structured in a way that clearly lines up with what people are actually searching for — not just what you want to say about your business.

The other is through paid Google search ads. When they’re done correctly, those ads adjust to what the person is searching for in that moment, so the message they see reflects the specific question or concern that drove the search.

Different tools. Same goal.

The business that matches why someone is searching gets the click — and once you miss that moment, you usually don’t get a second shot.

I’ll add this, because it matters.

I’m not a huge fan of Google. They’re powerful, they change the rules constantly, and they don’t always make things easy for local businesses. But like it or not, this is where decisions are happening right now.

Winning in business today doesn’t require loving Google. It requires understanding how people use it and knowing how to navigate it without letting it run your business. Ignoring it doesn’t hurt Google — it only hurts you.

What makes this tricky is that business owners rarely see the customers they lose this way. There’s no phone call that doesn’t happen. No email that never arrives. Just a quiet decision made in a few seconds that goes to someone else.

That’s why being “kind of visible” isn’t enough anymore.

Being buried on page two.
Showing up inconsistently.
Appearing, but not clearly explaining what you do or who you’re for.

All of that creates friction — and friction costs you customers.

If the first article was about expanding the pool of people who might want what you sell, this one is about not wasting that opportunity when they finally go looking.

In the next article, we’ll take this one step further and talk about what really happens inside that search moment — how people actually choose, why familiarity and clarity matter more than most businesses expect, and why simply “showing up” doesn’t guarantee you’ll be chosen.