SARASOTA, Fla. — Red tide blooms crushed summer sales numbers for many shops and restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee County. and if you Google the area, results still pop up showing fish kills resulting from the blooms.
Now we’re in the tourist season, and while some visitors are back, it’s not as busy as some business owners had hoped.
Rico’s Pizzeria on St. Armands Circle is finally bringing in some dough -- the kind you spend.
“Last month (was) good … two months ago, not that good yet … we expected more, but not too bad,” says Khalid Eissa, manager at Rico’s Pizzeria. “Business was horrible, reservations at hotels canceled, (it was ) like a ghost town.”
But today the circle is packed with shoppers, visitors and cars, but these images may still be circulating out there. That’s why the county's tourism promoter Visit Sarasota County says businesses need to update their Google information ... and if they’re not on there, sign on!
“A better-educated visitor will spend more money in the community if they see what there is to see and do,” says Erin Duggan, vice president of Visit Sarasota County.
Visit Sarasota County is offering a free webinar to teach businesses how to make Google benefit them.
Duggan says, “It’s going to give them the opportunity to learn about Google maps, how businesses are listed in that program, and ways and tools they can utilize to better list their business in the program.”
Eissa says, “Anybody looking for something is going to Google it, I Google write the name and area.”
He says his company constantly updates its Google information with times and photos. He even reads the customer reviews.
“In a world of feedback, it’s so important. I think it shows a business cares,” says Duggan.
If your business isn’t on Google, Eissa says, “Nobody is going to know about you.”
Eissa says you don’t even need Google to see what he sees: the red tide is gone.
“It's beautiful outside, people walking, bar full over there. We’ve been busy. Hopefully they get it. We’re good," he says with a smile.
The Visit Sarasota County webinar will be posted on its website for any business to use for free. 100 business owners signed up for the webinar.
On Feb. 4, Visit Sarasota is offering a luncheon at Marina Jack for more one-on-one training. You’ll need to RSVP on their website.
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