A SANDWICH shop which has been bread-and-butter business for 27 years is now taking a bite out of the online munchies market.

Chris's Sarneys in Wantage has been working with Didcot Google guru Nikhilesh Haval to boost its internet profile, is already tasting sweet success.

Mr Haval has been helping business founder Chris Carter to get the shop to appear higher up in Google search results.

Now, a search for the shop also brings up its website, phone number and opening hours for that day.

They even improved the shop's description on Google Maps.

The project is the latest in a series of schemes to boost the local economy from the Vale of White Horse District Council-funded Wantage Town Team, led by the business brains of Mim Norvell.

Mrs Carter, 63, who lives in Grove said: "It's gone really well – people have come into the shop and said 'I've just found you online'.

"These days more and more people are looking on the internet, they Google everything – my children are always saying 'for God's sake mum, why don't you Google it?'

"Even though we’ve been in our shop just off Market Place for 27 years now, we always want to keep up with new developments and ways to reach customers."

Chris's Sarneys is one of more than 30 independent food, drink and accommodation businesses Mr Haval has been working with in Wantage and Grove.

He also helped Wantage's independent butcher Vince Montgomery to beef up his web presence.

Mr Montgomery said: "Nik was very helpful and informative on how to make the most of our page – a big thumbs up."

Google My Business enables business owners to control the information Google displays about their business on search results and maps, and help their listing appear higher in search results free of charge.

Business owners can also manage reviews received on their business page, gather feedback on their marketing activity and upload photos, videos and a Google Street View "virtual tour" to improve their web presence.

The Wantage Town Team commissioned Google specialist Nikhilesh Haval to review the town’s overall Google Maps profile and use of the tool locally, before fixing one-to-one meetings with individual business owners and managers to ensure they were getting the best from the free promotional opportunity that Google My Business offers.

Mrs Carter added: "The project has been really good for us to let more people know about Chris’s Sarneys and give us useful information about the response we're getting.

"Other business owners like myself said he did a really good job."

The town team also commissioned two short film series, one featuring owners of Wantage’s independent shops, the other focusing on food, drink and accommodation, which are now hosted on the town website wantage.com.