Starting and maintaining a business with an online presence can be very challenging in any market, whether you’re an inexperienced novice or seasoned entrepreneur. The key is arming yourself with the best tools available to help streamline and make the process more efficient. Google’s branding of the world’s most powerful search engine have made it synonymous with the word “search,” but there are many other Google web services every entrepreneur should be aware of. It offers a broad spectrum of services for Internet users, including some that are virtually unknown:

1. Google Business Solutions - The best place for a business owner to start. Here you can find recommendations for your specific type of business, as well as identify goals to help promote and improve your website while increasing revenue.

2. Gmail - A free email service that offers unlimited storage space and can be accessed from anywhere – including your mobile device. Gmail takes the clutter out of email with lots of innovative features that help with organizing, filtering, labeling, and threading messages, as well as quickly searching messages to find exactly what you are looking for.

3. Google Calendar - This free online application assists you with keeping track of upcoming meetings and scheduled functions with automatic reminders that can be received via email or cell phone. You can easily create invitations for special events and monitor RSVPs, as well as send follow-up notices. In addition to integrating this service with your Gmail account, another great feature is the ability to use multiple calendars to streamline your business, social, and personal life that can be shared with clients, co-workers, and/or family members, if desired.

4. Google Reader - Another free application from Google featuring a web-based aggregator that allows users to read RSS feeds online or offline via computer or mobile device. Stay up-to-date with current news and events from all of your favorite sites that can be neatly organized and managed from one convenient location.

5. Google Docs - Allows users to upload existing files or create new documents which can then be shared with multiple users in real time. This free service enables documents to be efficiently organized into folders and securely stored online, which eliminates the concern of hard drive crashes and power outages.

6. Google Analytics - An amazing free tool that produces comprehensive data about visitors to your website, including whether they are referred by various marketing campaigns, search engines, links from other sites, etc. This can be extremely useful for identifying low-performing web pages or integrated with AdWords to track landing page conversions.

7. Google’s Blogger - Maintaining a blog for your business is a very necessary tool and Blogger is a great place to start. You can quickly and easily set up a free account that allows you to host multiple blogs under the same account name using a variety of templates and tools to maximize each blog’s potential.

8. Google Sites - An online application for creating a website that has a free version with limited capabilities and a premier (fee-based) version that has additional bells and whistles for higher volume use. Web pages can easily be created with just a few clicks of the mouse and immediately launched for viewing by select individuals or the general public.

9. Google Alerts - This handy, free service sends you email alerts based on your preferences. You can follow news stories, keep an eye on your competitors, and watch for upcoming trends. Perhaps its best feature is the ability to monitor where and when you and your business appear on the Internet.

10. Google AdWords - A widely-used advertising program for text, image, or video ads that offers cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM) marketing campaigns for keyword-generated search requests. It’s quick and easy to get started with a small activation fee and there are no minimum monthly charges.

11. Google AdSense - This revenue generating program is an excellent resource for website and blog owners who want to easily and efficiently monetize their content and earn money. There are a wide range of site-targeted advertisements web owners can select by inserting customized Java script code into a web page. There is no cost to join, but you must have a website or blog.

12. Google Checkout - If you are selling products you need a merchant program that provides a quick and easy checkout process for customers using their credit or debit cards. With Google Checkout there are no setup or monthly fees, but a small processing fee will be charged for each transaction.

There are many other Google services that may be useful to your business including Google Maps, Webmaster Central, Site Search, and the renowned Google Toolbar. Stay abreast of current trends and events regarding Google by signing up for one or more of their blogs . Then add them to your Reader.  Knowledge is power and what you don’t know, your competitors will.

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Copyright 2009 Charlene Davis. All rights reserved. Links to articles on this site are welcome; however, articles may not be used, reproduced, or reprinted without permission.

2 Comments

• By Eric Lee, March 29, 2009 @ 10:33 PM

  I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!
• By ditzydog, March 30, 2009 @ 6:59 AM

  Thanks Eric! I enjoyed browsing your blog too. Informative articles!

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