Google is a great friend to businesses everywhere. In fact, I get them to work hard to promote my Business and give me free tools such as web pages, office software, and cloud storage space – to name just a few of the many services available at no or low cost.
Since Google is one of the largest companies in the world, it created its modern vocabulary. That people use when they refer to looking up information online i.e. “Googling.” In fact, using the internet to research buying decisions has become the norm with recent surveys showing that 83% of people “Google” before they buy.

Let’s piggyback on their success to build our success.

Here’re some of the ways Google can be a friend to your business:

Business -Free website listing for your business that Google offers for your firm. Once you have obtained a Google account, see instructions below, go to the button called – My Business. Follow the instructions and complete with your business name, address and phone number. Next you will your business verified by Google. This process involves requesting a verification postcard mailed to your street address. Once you receive that postcard, there will be a code that you will input into your My Business page. Once completed you can add more information such as business description, photos, videos and be able to accept customer reviews online.

Map Listings -An an essential element of what is called Local SEO, i.e. letting customers near you find your business. Notice that when you enter certain types of businesses such as hair salons, restaurants, Google shows the map with companies “pinned” at their address. These are the free website listings mentioned above, Google My Business, displayed on the map search. Your business will get discovered by people in your neighborhood who want to buy your type of product or service you offer.

Docs – Free team collaboration tool with the similar functionality of Microsoft Office but none of the cost! Spreadsheets, documents and calendars which you and your staff call all edit and contribute. I use this with my clients to coordinate marketing schedules, social media posts, and product promotions. Bonus – It also works cross-platform for Mac and PC.

Email Gmail – Most people know about the free email service that Google gives you with every account. But perhaps you did not know some of the benefits of this system gives such as large amounts of storage space to archive and backup emails, to do lists, spam filtering, and email forwarding. It is not just a free service it is one of the best email services online today.

Google Drive – Cloud service that you can use to store documents, photos, videos or any other digital material. It is safe and secure, roomy with 15 Gigabytes for free accounts, and has a great search feature – to find items fast.

Google Translate – I’m lucky to work with people across the world on internet projects, so this is one of my favorite Google services. While I have a basic working knowledge of French, it did not help when I worked with a Swedish team on a recent job. This is where my good friend, Google, helped me to understand and communicate more effectively with these colleagues in their native language.

To get all these services and more for yourself, all you need is a free Google account! It’s  easy to obtain one just sign up at Google.com for a Gmail address and automatically you will be granted a Google account.

What’s not to love about Google! XOXO