A map pin gets a customer to the block. Your sign gets them through the right door. Search and signs are not rivals. They hand the customer from one to the other, and a business that does both well loses fewer people along the way.
Gogi Signs designs and installs storefront, blade and window signs for businesses across New Jersey and New York City. This guide shows what the data says about local search, where physical signs do the work search cannot, and how to keep your sign and your listing telling the same story.
In this guide
Phones Send People to Your Street
What the research says about signs and sales
About nine in ten Americans own a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center. Google has reported that nearly one third of all mobile searches are related to location, in its near me research. And in Google’s 2016 study of how mobile search connects consumers to stores, 76 percent of people who searched on their phone for something nearby visited a business within a day, and 28 percent of those searches led to a purchase.
That is a lot of people arriving on your street with a phone in hand, looking for your door.
Search Gets Customers Close, Signs Finish the Trip
Map directions end at an address, not an entrance. In a strip center, a mixed use building or a busy downtown block, the customer still has to pick out your storefront, often while driving. This is where many businesses lose people.
University of Cincinnati research led by Professor James Kellaris found that nearly 50 percent of shoppers have driven past a business they could not find because its sign was too small or unclear, according to UC’s report. In a 2026 Harris Poll for Signarama, a sign franchise, 42 percent of adults said they had been unable to locate a business because its sign was hard to read, according to the published results. Follow up research at UC found the number one reason is simply that the letters are too small.
Our sister shop in New York explains how to size letters for the street in what size channel letters should be, and our guide to designing signs for viewing distance gives the rule of thumb.
Hard to find entrances need extra help. If you are inside a larger building, on an upper floor or at the back of a plaza, add a blade sign, directional signs from the parking area and clear door graphics. Our guide to wayfinding signage design explains how.
Your Sign and Your Listing Must Agree
Google’s Business Profile guidelines say your listed name should reflect the name used on your storefront, and businesses showing an address should keep permanent signage with their name there. Google also reads business names and hours signs from storefront images to keep its map current. Our guide on how consistent signage builds customer trust explains how that works and how to keep both in step.
Your Storefront Is Your Profile Photo
Customers check photos before they visit, and those photos are mostly of your storefront. Google’s photo tips for Business Profiles say exterior photos help customers recognize your business as they approach, and recommend at least three exterior photos, one from each direction customers arrive from, taken at different times of day.
A clean, readable sign makes those photos work. A lit sign makes the evening photo work. After any sign change, take new photos and update your profile the same week.
Signs Reach People Who Never Searched
Not every customer starts with a search. Neighbors, commuters and people walking to another errand pass your storefront every day, and your sign is the only ad they see. For a new location, this passing traffic is often the first wave of customers. Our guide on storefront signs that encourage walk in traffic shows how to win them.
QR Codes Connect the Sign to Your Website
A QR code on your door, window or sidewalk sign turns a passerby into a website visitor. Make it large enough to scan from where people stand, point it to a page that matches the sign’s message, and test it before you print. Pixel Wraps, our sister graphics shop, covers the same choices for vehicles in should you put a QR code on a vehicle wrap.
Address Numbers Help Drivers and Deliveries
Delivery drivers, rideshare cars and emergency crews all navigate by address, then look for the number on the building. Clear numbers near the entrance finish their trip the same way your sign finishes a customer’s. Many New Jersey towns set a minimum size. Maplewood, for example, requires numbers at least four inches tall in a contrasting color, visible from the street, under its address number rule.
Signs Do Jobs Online Tools Cannot
- Confirm arrival. Customers know they are in the right place before they open the door.
- Show you are open. Lighting, an open sign and current hours answer the question instantly.
- Direct people inside. Reception, departments and restrooms in larger spaces.
- Meet the code. Address numbers, accessible entrance signs and room signs that inspectors expect.
Fixing a dark sign quickly keeps it working for you after hours
Signs at Night Do Extra Work
Many local searches happen in the evening, when people look for dinner, a pharmacy or a late service. A lit sign confirms you are open and helps drivers spot you in the dark. Google’s photo tips suggest showing your business at different times of day, so a night photo of a lit sign helps too. Our guide to illuminated vs non illuminated signs covers the options.
New Locations Lean on the Sign
A new location has few reviews and little search history, so the sign does more of the work in the first months. Put up coming soon graphics while you fit out, get the permanent sign up for opening day, and set up your Business Profile with storefront photos the same week. Our guide on why every new business needs a signage plan lays out the timing.
Keep Online and Physical Information in Step
- Use the same name everywhere: sign, website, profile and vehicles.
- Match the hours: on the door, the profile and the website.
- Show the address clearly: numbers on the building that match the listing.
- Update your photos: after any sign change.
- Check it from the street: each season, in daylight and after dark.
Signs and search work best as one plan. Our guide on how business signage supports your marketing strategy shows how to measure what your signs bring in.
Common Questions About Signage and Online Search
Do I still need a sign if customers find me on Google?
Yes. Search gets customers to your street, but the sign helps them pick out the right door. Research found nearly half of shoppers have driven past a business they could not find because of a small or unclear sign.
Should my sign match my Google Business Profile?
Yes. Google’s guidelines say your listed name should reflect the name used on your storefront, and businesses showing an address should keep permanent signage with their name.
How many people use their phone to find a local business?
About nine in ten Americans own a smartphone, and Google reported that 76 percent of people who search for something nearby on a phone visit a business within a day.
Does a sign help with reviews?
Indirectly. A clear, well kept storefront makes customer photos look better and helps people find you without frustration, which supports better reviews.
Should I put a QR code on my sign?
On the door, windows or a sidewalk sign, yes. Make it big enough to scan from where people stand and link it to a page that matches the sign.
What helps customers find a hard to see entrance?
A projecting blade sign, directional signs from the parking area, clear door graphics and address numbers on the building usually help most.
Signs That Finish the Trip
We design, build and install storefront, blade and window signs so the customers who find you online can find your door. See our outdoor signs, browse the gallery, then request a free quote.
