Searching through Google Services
Between July and October this year 27% of the National B2B Centre's website traffic arrived from Google, the second highest traffic source, only beaten by direct referrals. With Google dominating the online search market in this way it is the engine we all want to be found on. But is there more to Google than what meets the (searchers) eye? Mark Bonnett, e-Business consultant and Google expert, explains the range of free Google services (with the exception of AdWords) suitable for small businesses.
All you need is a Google Account, which you can get here.
Blogger
Bought by Google in 2002 Blogger allows you to create a blog for free without the need for any technical knowledge. Click here
YouTube
Purchased by Google in November 2006 YouTube allows you to watch videos from all over the world. You can create an account and upload your own videos promoting your business. Click here / Click here
Gmail
This is a web-based email service that includes over 2 gigabytes of storage. Similar to Microsoft's Hotmail but without the adverts! Click here
Local
Add your business to Google Local business directory to increase your website's visibility and a chance of appearing on the first page Google searches. Google Local will always display results before organic and sponsored results. Click here
Base
Put all your products in Google Base to increase visibility of what you sell on the web, for free. Items you add to Base may be found in normal Google searches or in Google Product Searches. You don't even need a website; just add your products using Google's web form or bulk submit. Click here
Page Creator
This web based tool makes it easy for anyone to create and publish useful, web pages using an easy to use visual editor. Your site will be then viewable at here, not through your own domain name. Click here
AdWords
These are the Pay Per Click adverts that appear on the right hand side of Google searches. Done correctly this can increase the amount of sales on your website or incorrectly it can be a costly exercise. See an example of a business using Google AdWords successfully. Click here
Trends
See how often search terms have been searched on Google over time displayed as a line graph. You can compare up to 5 search terms. Click here
Analytics
Keep a track of who's visiting your site, where they've come from and what they do with this easy to install stats package from Google. Attend our Google Analytics Seminar to find out more. Click here
Webmasters
Keep a track of your site in Webmasters through statistics, diagnostics and managing the way Google indexes your site. You can even tell Google about every page of your website by uploading a sitemap, making it easier for Google spiders to find all your content. Click here
Checkout
Google's alternative to PayPal called Google Checkout. It performs the same service as PayPal, allowing users to buy and sell goods and services online. From January 1st 2008, for every £1 you spend on AdWords, you can process £10 in sales for free through Google Checkout. Click here
Reader
Keep up to date with latest news stories from one place using Google Reader instead of visiting several websites everyday. Subscribe to news sites and blogs to keep up to date with your chosen subject whether you're on or offline. Click here
Calendar
Use the calendar to create keep all your appointments online, accessible as long as you have an internet connection. Create invitations, send reminders and keep track of replies. Click here
Docs
Docs is a free web based service that gives you access to a word processor, presentation software and a spreadsheet. The software will allow you to share and collaborate documents with your colleagues. You can save your documents to be compatible with Microsoft Office or PDF so colleagues or clients can view or amend your work. Click here
Talk
This is a free instant messaging application that will also allow you to make VOIP phone calls and send and receive voicemails. This is similar to Microsoft's MSN Messenger. Click here
More tools
We've outlined some of the more practical tools you might use in your business, but there are a lot more services provided by Google that you may enjoy out of the office; the full range can be viewed here.
If you are keen to be the first to use new Google services then keep an eye on Google Labs . The latest developments get released here first for review then officially once all the bugs have been fixed.
Summary
So Google has evolved to help us promote ourselves in blogs, videos, and adverts, as well as in its original search engine. I'm 99% certain that every small business will use Google at some point, to analyse their web stats if nothing else, but whether you choose to use the other tools outlined in this article will depend on what you already have on your office desktop.
It is clear that the market dominator wants to offer us all a one-stop portal we can use to communicate with others, pay for goods online, create documents, work together, and read news every day, among other things.
It is admirable that Google attempts to bring us more free online services, but with its search association the question is: will small businesses switch to try these services, or will they stick to what they know?
For more information on the National B2B Centre please click here.
Post a comment
BusinessZONE - 20-Dec-2007
Categories: e-Business
Story read: 8205
Number of comments: 1
Good Source
David Willetts, 02 February 2008 @ 12:06 PM
Hi
A good source of infomation to help the business owner.
Dave
Web: http://www.dawconsulting.co.uk
