When it comes to Web searches, Google is king. But the tech giant also
offers a trove of robust tools and resources to help small businesses grow and
succeed.
From finding new customers to increasing productivity, Google's free and
paid business services can mean the difference between a struggling startup and
a booming business.
These services include Google's small business initiative Get Your Business
Online, social media and search platform Google+ Business, advertising program
Google AdWords, productivity suite Google Apps and website-traffic monitoring
tool Google Analytics. Here's how these solutions can help your business, and
how you can get started.
Get Your Business Online
Google's Get Your Business Online (GYBO) project is all about helping small
businesses create and
establish their presence online. Starting with the Let's Put Our Cities on the Map program, Google
has partnered with 30,000 cities and local organizations to help businesses
build a website, stay on top of Google search results and be seen by customers.
Resources include free custom websites, a step-by-step guide to using Google My
Business, diagnostic tools to measure your website's performance, training
programs and business workshops.
Get started: See what your city has to offer and
sign up for the program at gybo.com
Google+ Business — Get found on Google
For small businesses, competition lurks around every corner. Google+
Business helps you stand out and connect with customers all throughout Google
land. To take advantage of this service, set up a Google+ page, which can then
be found via Search, Maps and Google+ Local.
Google+ page
Setting up a Google+ page makes up a huge chunk of Google+ Business. With a
Google+ page, businesses can build a following and keep customers coming back
with news updates, event announcements, and special offers and discounts. And
just like a regular Google+ page, business Google+ pages let you keep contacts
in the loop by sharing status updates, photos, videos and links.
With a Google+ page, you can also integrate customers and followers into
your marketing campaigns — they can leave ratings and reviews, use the +1
button to endorse your posts, and share your content on their Google+ pages and
throughout the Web.
Google Search and Maps
A Google+ page will also help your business rank on top of Google search
results. This makes it easier for customers to find directions, business hours
and contact information, whether they are searching on their computers or
mobile devices.
Google+ Local
Google+
Local is the reviews and recommendations arm of Google+ business pages.
Users can search for establishments by type and location, making it a breeze to
find local businesses. This service also makes it possible to include a
business' address, map, phone number and hours of operation alongside Google
search results.
Get started: Sign up for Google+ Business and
create a Google+ page, then verify your page
with Google+ Local.
Google+ Business cost: Free
Google AdWords — Advertise on Google
Need to reach even more customers? Advertise on Google to boost sales and
grow your business. Small businesses can take advantage of the search giant's
reach with Google AdWords, an easy-to-use cost-per-click (CPC) advertising
platform.
Using AdWords, businesses can create advertisements that appear on relevant
Google search results — including those on mobile devices — and related
websites. For instance, if you own an ice cream shop in Los Angeles, your
advertisement would appear when someone searches for an ice cream shop in the
area and on ice cream, dessert or other food-related websites. You can change
your ads at any time and launch them locally, nationally and even globally.
AdWords also offers robust reporting and analytics tools, so you can monitor
ad performance and make sure campaigns meet advertising goals.
Get started: Try Google AdWords
Google AdWords cost: Ad pricing varies. AdWords
uses a CPC model, meaning you only pay when people click on your ads. You can
set your daily budget for each advertising campaign and adjust these budgets as
necessary. Here is Google's sample advertising budget: If you have a daily
budget of $10, you would have a maximum CPC of 50 cents and approximately 25
clicks per day.
Google Analytics — Monitor your website
Knowing how your website is performing is key to your business' success.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that lets businesses measure traffic and
track visitor behavior to determine what is and isn't helping a website meet
its goals.
Google Analytics offers a wide range of visitor metrics, such as audience
engagement, mobile and social media traffic, trends, bounce rates (the rate at
which visitors stay on a website or move among pages), and more. It also
includes referral traffic information (where traffic is coming from) to gauge
whether marketing campaigns are working and how they can be improved.
Google Apps — Be productive
As a small business, you don't need expensive productivity solutions to
support your operations. An affordable alternative is Google Apps, which offers
a streamlined suite of Web-based office programs, along with cloud storage and
a collaboration service. It consists of Gmail, Calendar and Drive — which
includes the office apps Docs, Sheets and Slides — along with Hangouts and
more. These platforms come with desktop and mobile access, offline support and
Google-backed security.
Gmail
If you love Gmail, you'll appreciate that Google Apps lets you access your
business email using the Gmail platform — but without the @gmail.com extension. You'll be able to use a custom
email address with your business's domain, such as you@yourcompany.com. This
version of Gmail comes with 30 GB of storage, Google's search and security
features, integration with Calendar, and more.
Calendar
Just as its name implies, Calendar lets users manage their schedules and
keep their days organized. Features include meeting reminders and calendar
sharing, so you can see when team members are busy or free. Users can also
attach documents to events, as well as embed event calendars on company
websites, for instance, to allow customers to set up appointments instantly.
Drive
Drive gives you anytime, anywhere access to your files and documents. This cloud
storage and collaboration platform lets you and your team store, share and
edit files in real time over the Web. Drive also includes full-featured
productivity apps, such as the Docs word processor, Sheets spreadsheet editor
and Slides presentation software. For on-the-go access, these services are also
available as standalone mobile apps from the Google Play Store and the Apple
App Store.
Hangouts
Collaborate with anyone in the office, across the country or on the other
side of the world with Hangouts. Using this service, you can hold online
meetings and high-definition videoconferences, or keep it simple and stick to
instant messaging. Hangouts also easily integrates with other Google App
services — for instance, connecting straight from the Gmail inbox, adding a
video event to Calendar or working on Drive documents during the call.
Google Apps cost: Google Apps starts at $5 per
user per month. Drive comes with 30 GB of storage for each user and will cost
$4 a month for each additional 20 GB.
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