On a quiet street in Madurai, there’s a small tea shop that opens before sunrise. The owner doesn’t have a flashy signboard. There are no advertisements on the road. Yet every morning, a steady flow of people somehow finds their way there. For years, the secret was simple: word of mouth. One customer told another. A friend brought a friend. Slowly, the shop became known. But the world changed. Today, people don’t always ask their neighbors where to find something. Instead, they reach for their phones and type a quick search: “best tea shop near me” or “bakery in Madurai.” Within seconds, Google decides which businesses appear first. For many small businesses, that tiny search bar has quietly become the new marketplace. The Digital Version of Asking a Neighbor Think about how people used to discover a shop. Someone might casually ask, “Do you know any good tailors close by?” A neighbor would recommend one. That simple recommendation guided the custom...