5 Google Tools Every Small Business Can Use
Written by Nathaniel Deal
Let's face it, your business needs tools for tracking, interacting and documenting your customers online.
And there are hundreds of tools available you right now, but its too easy to become overwhelmed with all of the functionalities and methods that are available.
So instead of trying out new tools everyday, getting scammed by sub par devolopers or spending a ton of money; I suggest you start with this list of great online tools provided by Google.
Over the years Google has developed some ultra-cool tools to help you understand your customer's interactions, lower advertising costs and increase sales.
These awesome tools are free to use and all you need is a Gmail account. If you don't have one, get a Gmail account here.
1. Google Alerts
Go sign up with Google Alerts at http://www.google.com/alerts.
Setup alerts for your business name, your products or services, your real name and any other words or phrases that relate to your business. (Use quotations around any phrases used, ie "Joe's barber shop")
In the future, if Google finds any of your specified keywords on a website (including your own), it will email you with a link to the page containing your alerted term.
This is very helpful for local business owners that want to know anytime their name or products are mentioned on the web.
It will also give the chance to find out what customers are saying about your business and allows you to join the conversation about your company.
2. Google Places
Formerly named "Google Local Business Center", this geo-targeted profile allows your customers to find you via local search and learn about your company all on one page.
Visit http://maps.google.com and search for your business title.
If your business shows up in the results, Google may already have added your business via data from a 3rd party vendor, like Yellow Pages or Super Media.
Click on your business listing and claim it. Look for a link named "Business Owner?" in the top right section and click it.
Follow the instructions and claim your listing!
This is a great opportunity for businesses to get a free listing in the local results page for their products and services.
In the future, visit http://www.google.com/places to access your stats and update your business information.
3. Google Analytics
This is an invulable tool to local business owners. If you don't know how much traffic your getting and where the visitors are going, then you are left in the dark.
Visit Google Analytics at http://www.google.com/analytics.
Sign up and enter a few lines of information about your site.
Grab the snippet code and add it to your site's footer if you have a CMS system like wordpress. Or add it to any static pages you want to track, via ftp access.
This could get a little techy, so ask your webmaster to do it for you, or post a comment and I can give you a hand.
After an hour or so, you should be able to track your visitors in real time and learn all about your visitors habits and trends.
4. Google Docs
Google docs can upload and save almost any type of document or image you have and it gives you the ability to share it with anyone.
This is a great tool to share important business documents with other employees. The employees can make changes and you will have an update in real time!
Create and share spreadsheets, word docs, pdf's, powerpoints and access them all from any computer. What more can I say?
Go to http://www.google.com/docs and get started today!
5. Google Calendar
This is one of the most valuable tools that Google has to offer and that's why I saved it for last.
There is no more important tool in a local business than it's companies calendar. With Google Calendar you can easily manage all of you meetings, invite and confirm reciepents, and get scheduled reminders via text message or email.
And if your worried about Google vs. Outlook, they work seamlessly together and you can even sync them in real time so you know what meetings you have on the go!
There are a lot of new improvements that Google just added to the calendar, like color coded meetings and a sleeker design for user controls so take advantage!
Gain control of your day - Visit http://www.google.com/calendar
In conclusion, using Google's free tools in your day to day business can cut software licensing costs, track valuable customer information and allow employees to see updated infomation in real time.
Get started today!
