The federal Small Business Administration and Google are pairing up to offer online resources geared toward helping entrepreneurs tap into technology.
The “Tools for Online Success” were unveiled with much fanfare at the SBA’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The tools include tutorials, video testimonials and other tips about how business owners can use the Internet to run their companies more efficiently.
Take this video, for instance. It shows a business owner who discovered a way to market her bakery through images online.
Disclaimer: I may have chosen to feature this video on The Storefront because I’m hungry right now — and I’m pretty sure I saw cupcakes at one point.
“The SBA is pleased to partner with Google to put these important tools in the hands of small businesses across the country,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “As the web evolves and consumers adapt accordingly, we know that more customers are finding traditional ‘Main Street’ businesses online. With these tools for online success, we can ensure these small businesses reach new markets and customers so they can continue to create jobs.”
Google got to have its moment in the soundbite sun, too.
“One fifth of searches on Google are related to location, which shows that people are looking to the Internet to make decisions about where to go and what to do in their daily lives,” said John Hanke, vice president of product management at Google. “We want to connect our users with the businesses that provide the goods and services they need, but the first step is for those businesses to have an online presence. We’re excited to team up with the SBA to make that process easier for business owners across the country.”
Here’s a list of tips the SBA and Google released earlier today.
- Establish your online presence. One out of five searches on Google are related to location. Most local online listings such as Google Places are free, and if your business doesn’t have a website, there are ready-made site templates and free hosting services that make establishing an online presence easy.
- Use free marketing to reach customers. You can build a fan base with free services like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter that keep your customers in-the-know about new products or specials and aware of promotions. These services are great “word of mouth” platforms – where a customer following you might tell their friends about your business.
- Know your customers. Easy to use web analytics tools can tell you a lot about your customers by analyzing what search term brought them to your website or what they look at while they are there. This information can help you make smart decisions about what you feature and what search terms you should run search ads on.
- Keep an eye on the latest trends. The growing popularity of smartphones means that more and more customers are searching for local information on the go. This makes it all the more important that a business’s online presence be accurate and up-to-date. You can link to your menu, give users driving directions, and even post digital coupons.
Know a small business we should write about? Contact Herald writer Amy Rolph at arolph@heraldnet.com.
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