The Alton EDC, in collaboration with the Greater Alton Chamber of Commerce, launches a free, bilingual program that shows businesses exactly how they look on Google, and walks them through the fixes for customers to easily find them.
ALTON, Texas, November 2026. Before most customers ever walk into a local shop, they meet it on Google: the hours, the photos, the reviews, the phone number. Starting this month, every business owner in Alton can find out in 60 seconds how that first impression looks, and what to do about it. The Alton Economic Development Corporation and the Greater Alton Chamber of Commerce have launched the Digital Façade Program, featuring a free online report available at scan.altonchamber.org.
The report scores a business out of 100 on nine things customers check first, from reviews and photos to hours and a working website. Businesses see their score, what a weak listing is likely costing them each month, and the exact fixes, in English or Spanish. No signup is needed to see a score.
“Our small businesses are the heart of Alton, and today their front door is on Google. Too many great family businesses here are invisible online, so customers drive past them to somebody they can find. The Digital Façade Program changes that. Every business in Alton gets a clear score, a simple plan, and a team that will help them get it done. When our businesses show up, people shop here, and those dollars stay in Alton.”
IVAN GONZALEZ / CEO, ALTON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
The program starts from an individual business baseline. The most common gaps are reviews, a website and photos – all things an owner or manager can fix in an afternoon with the right help. That help is local. EDC staff will visit businesses with a printed, bilingual report card, coach owners through the fixes one by one, and re-scan to track the progress. Businesses that reach a score of 90 or higher earn a Digital Façade certificate, delivered in person by the EDC.
Business owners can run their free report today at scan.altonchamber.org. The service is free to every business operating in Alton. For more information or to set up a coaching visit, please call the Alton EDC at (956) 432-0730.
