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Tips and tricks for managing your business with Google’s solutions
A free month of advertising from AdWords Express
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
(Cross-posted from the
Inside AdWords blog
)
The holidays are a busy time for everyone, and small businesses are certainly no exception. To help businesses reach new customers this season and keep the holiday spirit rolling into 2013, we have a special offer for new AdWords Express users in the U.S. If you
sign up for AdWords Express
before December 16, 2012, you’ll receive a free advertising credit in January worth what you spend between now and the end of this year.*
Since AdWords Express
launched in July 2011
in the United States, we’ve seen businesses from toy stores to tree farms use AdWords Express to get their businesses discovered online. After 16 busy months, AdWords Express has expanded its borders to
12 additional countries
and 9 languages, so that gift shops in Germany, heating contractors in the U.K., and surf shops in Australia can get on the map in front of potential customers in time for the holiday season.
Watch these businesses talk about how they use AdWords Express to maximize sales in the busy season:
Remember, the sooner you start advertising online, the more holiday customers you can reach and the more free advertising credit you can earn, so visit
google.com/adwords/express
today.
Happy holidays from the AdWords Express team!
Posted by Enrique Muñoz Torres, Sr. Product Manager, AdWords Express
*
Terms and Conditions
Gmail and Drive - a new way to send files
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
(Cross-posted from the
Gmail blog
)
Since Google Drive launched in April, millions of people have started using Drive to keep, create and share files. Starting today, it’s even easier to share with others: you can insert files from Drive directly into an email without leaving your Gmail.
Have you ever tried to attach a file to an email only to find out it's too large to send? Now with Drive, you can insert files
up to 10GB
-- 400 times larger than what you can send as a traditional attachment. Also, because you’re sending a file stored in the cloud, all your recipients will have access to the same, most-up-to-date version. Like a smart assistant, Gmail will also double-check that your recipients all have access to any files you’re sending. This works like Gmail’s
forgotten attachment detector
: whenever you send a file from Drive that isn’t shared with everyone, you’ll be prompted with the option to change the file’s sharing settings without leaving your email. It’ll even work with Drive links pasted directly into emails.
So whether it’s photos from your recent camping trip, video footage from your brother’s wedding, or a presentation to your boss, all your stuff is easy to find and easy to share with Drive and Gmail. To get started, just click on the Drive icon while you're composing a message. Note that this feature is rolling out over the next few days and is only available with
Gmail's new compose experience
, so you'll need to opt-in if you haven't already.
Posted by Phil Sharp, Product Manager
Five for Drive: Tips for Sharing and Collaborating with Google Drive
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Editor’s note: In November, we’re sharing tips on how your business can get the most out of Google Drive. Our final post features 5 ways you can share your files. Previously we’ve featured
Google Drive basics
and
tips for creating and editing
the documents your business needs.
Is your business looking to increase internal collaboration and share files on the web? Below, you’ll find 5 tips on how you can use
Google Drive
to collaborate on your documents and share them with the right audience.
Click on the
Share
button in the upper right corner of any document to make sure the right people have the right access. By setting the
visibility options
, you can share your documents with a specific group, anyone with the link, or anyone on the web. To give access to a specific group of people, you can
add collaborators
and decide if each person should be able to edit, comment on, or just view your files.
Transfer ownership
of a file or folder to let someone else manage it for you. The new owner can then add or
remove collaborators
, share the file with others, and change visibility options and access privileges.
Download the
Google Docs App
in Hangouts to open, discuss, and add comments to a document, all while you’re in a
Hangout
. This way, you can review a file face-to-face in video chat with a co-worker, even if you’re away from the office.
Publish
your documents and get a URL that you can share with the whole world. Use the publish feature to email your customer base a link to your most recent newsletter or to send a presentation of your business’s most popular products to a potential client.
Share files to your Google+ stream
publicly or with a specific
circle
of clients, and let your followers flip through one of your business’s presentations or fill out a feedback form all without ever leaving the stream. For each document you share on Google+, you can set
access rights
so your audience can edit or simply view it.
Looking for even more tips about Google Drive? Check out the
Help Center
, the
Google Apps Learning Center
, or Drive’s
Google+ page
.
Posted by Abby DeBellis, Google and Your Business Blog Team
Feast your way through Google business tips
Monday, November 19, 2012
Want a feast this Thanksgiving without crashing into a tryptophan-induced slumber? Work your way through three courses of business tips that we’ve rounded up from our 10 in 10 series.
If you want more detail or links to learn even more, check out our full posts on ways your business can use
Chrome
,
Gmail
,
Google+
, and
Google Calendar
.
Posted by Jacinth Sohi, Google and Your Business Blog Team
Get Your Business Black Friday Ready with Google Offers
Friday, November 16, 2012
Is your business Black Friday ready? After a hearty helping of turkey and lots of sides, folks often have a hankering for some serious shopping. It’s a great time to showcase value and offer some irresistible deals. This year, Google Offers is here to help small businesses run deals and get discovered. Best of all, it’s a deal for you, too. Getting started is free.
Get Started
It’s easy to make a Google Offer right from the Google Places for Business dashboard. Verified business owners already using Google Places for Business, skip on ahead to Create an Offer. Get started on Google Places for Business by entering your business’ phone number
here
.
Create an Offer
Ready to
create your offer
? You can customize whether you want to offer customers a percentage off their sale, a flat amount of money off, or a free item. You’ll also need to know how many offers you want to make available, for how long they’ll run, and a few other details. We’ve got a gallery of photographs, too, to make sure your offer looks great.
Meet New Customers
Your new customers will be able to discover nearby offers on Google Maps for Android. We’ve got some offer management tools, too, so you can see and control the duration of your offer. Offer going well? You can extend the offer, or, limit its availability if needed. You’ll also be able to see how many people have redeemed or are planning on redeeming the offer. Happy savings!
Posted by the Google and Your Business blog team
Five for Drive: Tips for Creating and Editing in Google Drive
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Editor’s note: In November, we’re sharing tips on how your business can get the most out of Google Drive. Our second post features 5 ways you can create, edit, and enhance your files. Previously we’ve featured
Google Drive basics
. Check back next week for tips on the many ways you can share and collaborate on the documents in your Drive.
Businesses looking for pointers on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more, keep reading! This week, we’re sharing 5 tips on how you can use
Google Drive
to create and edit the documents you need to keep your business running smoothly.
To
create a new document
in Google Drive, simply hit the ‘Create’ button to choose which type of file you’d like. To collaborate on your business’s existing documents like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, you can
upload
them to Google Drive for easy editing and sharing.
Use a template
to create the specific types of documents your business may need, such as letterheads, sales presentations, inventory trackers, or customer feedback forms. Browse the
template gallery
to find examples best suited for your business.
Make your presentations more compelling by
embedding YouTube videos
into your slides. You can play the video from directly within the file as long as you have an internet connection.
View the
revision history
of your document, spreadsheet, or presentation to see the changes made by you and any other collaborators. You can also
revert to earlier versions
of a file and see edits made to any of these versions.
Use other apps in Drive, such as
Forms
,
Drawings
, and
Fusion Tables
. You can also download
third-party apps
from the
Chrome Web Store
that allow you edit images and videos, fax and sign documents, manage products, create flow charts, and more.
Looking for even more tips about Google Drive? Check out the
Help Center
, the
Google Apps Learning Center
, or Drive’s
Google+ page
.
Posted by Abby DeBellis, Google and Your Business Blog Team
Five for Drive: Tips for Getting Started with Google Drive
Friday, November 9, 2012
Editor’s note: Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing tips on how your business can get the most out of Google Drive. This week, learn the basics, and check back for our next posts highlighting some of Drive’s key apps and features.
Businesses wanting to streamline their files and folders, look no further. With
Google Drive
, you can instantly create new documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. This week, we’ve got 5 tips on how your business can use Google Drive to store, edit, and share all of your documents. Learn about how you can access your files from anywhere and collaborate with colleagues in real-time.
Install
Google Drive on your computer to free up space on your hard drive and keep all of your business’s documents in one place. Simply drag and drop all your files and folders into your Google Drive folder to begin syncing items. Any file you sync to your Drive will be accessible on the web via your Google account (in My Drive) as well as on any
phone or tablet
where you have Drive installed.
Download the Google Drive app for your
Android
or
Apple
device to access your files on the go. Any changes you make on one device are automatically synced with the rest of the places you have Drive installed, as long as you have an internet connection.
Use the
share
feature in Drive to share files or entire folders with anyone. You can share a document with just one co-worker, or make it accessible to an entire group. You can also
set editing rights
and choose whether others can view, edit, or comment on your stuff.
Work simultaneously
on the same document with colleagues, and see changes appear as they happen. Use the
Comments
feature in documents, spreadsheets, and presentations to add notes and discuss content with your collaborators. In documents, you can even chat about a file in real-time.
Set up
offline access
using Chrome, so you can continue working in Google Drive even when your computer isn’t connected to the internet. This way, if you’re on the go and find yourself without wifi, you can still view documents and spreadsheets, move folders around, and make edits to documents. When you reconnect to the internet, your changes will automatically sync to all your devices.
To get started with Google Drive, visit
drive.google.com/start
. Looking for even more tips about Google Drive? Check out the
Help Center
, the
Google Apps Learning Center
, or Drive’s
Google+ page
.
Posted by Abby DeBellis, Google and Your Business Blog Team
SMB Hangouts on Air: Is My Ad Showing?
Friday, November 9, 2012
AdWords Specialists hosted a Hangout on Air yesterday as the first of two installments of the SMB Frequently Asked Questions Hangouts On Air series.
During the Hangout, we talked about how you’ll want to use the Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool to see if your ad is running. We also gave you some common reasons why your ad might not be showing: budget, ad rank, location targeting, and approval statuses.
Here's the full 25-minute Hangout on Air, from the
Google Business YouTube channel
:
To learn more about how to get started with AdWords, visit our
Help Center
, check out the
AdWords Community forum
, or call us at 866-2-GOOGLE if you already have an AdWords account.
And remember to tune in to the live stream of our next Hangout on Air at
11 a.m. PDT, November 15th
, when we discuss how to diagnoses causes of performance fluctuation in your AdWords account.
Stay tuned!
Posted by Divya Vishwanath and Courtney Pannell, AdWords Team
Help Desk Hangouts: Get Your Business Online
Friday, November 2, 2012
Editor’s note:
Each week on the
Google+ Your Business page
, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.
In our latest
Help Desk Hangout On Air
, we chatted with the Get Your Business online team. We talked about how important it is for businesses to have online presences, and the team highlighted a special promotion. U.S. businesses can set up a free website for a year with Get Your Business online with just a Google account. The team also walked us through how businesses can accelerate their online presences after making this website.
Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the
Google and Your Business YouTube channel
.
Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.
Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:
What is Get Your Business Online?
Get Your Business Online was designed to make it easy, free, and fast to for any business to get online. We think that small businesses are vital for the future, and we want to see small businesses connecting with customers using modern technologies. Get Your Business Online gives small businesses the opportunity to grow through creating an online presence.
How can I get my business online?
Just visit http://gybo.com in the United States and get started right there. We’re offering a free domain name and hosting for a year, so all you need’s a Google account. You can use the Intuit site builder to make your business’ website, so there’s no HTML knowledge required. Don’t forget to publish your website after building it!
Can you share some tips for jumpstarting your online presence?
Keep your website up to date and accurate
Add your website to your
local Google+ page
Promote your website: business cards, receipts, etc.
Get
analytics
on your website.
Make your website
mobile-friendly
Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local Community Manager
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