Google Launches Small Business Portal

Small- and medium-sized businesses are getting more attention from digital players, and the latest example of that comes from Google. On Thursday (June 27), International Small Business Day, Google launched Google for Small Business.

Google described it as “a new Grow with Google initiative to help you find the right Google tools and services to reach your business goals.” The effort includes what the company calls “personalized plans,” which involves a business telling Google its goals, and Google in return providing “a step-by-step, tailored plan of recommended products to help you stand out online, reach more customers and work more efficiently. The recommendations will include products to help with all three, but with a special focus on the goal that’s most important to you.”

As well, the program offers free workshops for businesses and updates “on Google’s small business-focused tools and services.”

According to Google, “in 2018, our search and advertising tools helped create $335 billion in economic activity for millions of businesses, website publishers and nonprofits across the United States. These tools make it easier for small business owners to find and connect with customers and run their businesses.”

Small businesses are staples of communities around the world. This International Small Business Day, have a look at some of the questions people are asking about small business, and see all the ways we’re supporting small businesses → https://t.co/qLuOB0bnDq pic.twitter.com/N62heo5Y1O

— Google (@Google) June 27, 2019

According to one report about how the program will work, business owners “can enter their company name and website (assuming they have one), then answer a few questions about their business and their goals. Google will then create a customized, prioritized list of actions, which may involve launching ad campaigns, or building up their online presence, or installing Google Analytics.” That report went on to say that Google “suggested that this could be particularly useful for small businesses that are just getting started, as well as more established businesses that are starting to develop a digital strategy.”