We've moved! Visit
The Keyword
for small business news, stories and resources.
Small Business
Tips and tricks for managing your business with Google’s solutions
AdWords app launches on Android
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Note: To use the AdWords app, you need to be an existing AdWords advertiser. Not using AdWords?
See why
you should consider it.
Staying on top of your campaigns just got easier
Today, we’re introducing the
AdWords app
, an easy way to view and manage your ads’ performance when you’re on the go. This new Android app is available globally for existing AdWords customers.
Businesses, large and small, are increasingly using smartphones to manage everything from customer support to product orders to marketing. Now, you can use your smartphone to keep your AdWords campaigns running smoothly—no matter where your business takes you.
As a companion to your desktop account, this app lets you:
View campaign stats
Update bids and budgets
Get real-time alerts and notifications
Act on suggestions to improve your campaigns
Call a Google expert
Download the
AdWords app
for Android
Tommy Sands, Senior Paid Search Manager from Philly Marketing Labs, tells us, “Having the ability to quickly review and take action in my AdWords accounts when I only have my mobile device enables me to be better and more efficient at managing my campaigns. It's nice to know that I'm only a few taps away from the information I need, no matter where I am.”
Review (and make changes) on the go
Whenever you open the app, you’ll see an overview of your clicks, costs, and conversions. For deeper insights, you can view metrics by ad group, day of week and device.
Changes in campaign performance can happen at any time—now you can address them quickly, even when you’re away from your desk. For example, if you see your best performing campaign is maxing out on budget, you can make adjustments so you don’t lose out on potential sales. You can even pause or enable a campaign for a time-sensitive promotion.
You’ll also receive customized suggestions that you can act on immediately. For example, if there’s an opportunity to get more impressions by adjusting your bids, we’ll let you know so you can make the change right from the app.
Get the app
The
AdWords app
is now available for devices that use Android 4.0 or later. To get started, download it today from the
Google Play Store
. And for more information, visit our
Help Center
. We look forward to hearing your feedback as you bring AdWords with you on your business adventures.
Posted by Geoff Menegay, Product Manager, AdWords
Better than 1,000 words: introducing new photo tools to help you show off your business on Google
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
When it comes to attracting new customers, photos can both entice customers to your business when they’re browsing online and give customers confidence that they’ve come to the right place.
Starting today, you can tell us which image you’d like to appear when customers search for your business on Google. Just log in to
Google My Business on the web
or in the
Android
or
iOS
apps, and visit the Photos section. While you’re there, you can also give your business a fresh look online by updating your profile, logo and cover photos.
Photos you add through Google My Business can be displayed on Google Search, Maps and Google+
We’ll also guide you through adding the best photos to show off what makes your business unique. For example, hotels will receive guidance for adding exterior, room and common space photos that show guests what to expect inside and out. Cafes and restaurants can get customers drooling over their latest food and drink and provide more details with a menu photo.
Log in to
Google My Business
today to see suggestions of photos to add for your business.
Posted by Abhishek Poddar, Google My Business Product Manager
Charge up your phones with call-only campaigns
Monday, February 23, 2015
Cross-posted with
Inside AdWords
People are living their lives online and engaging with your business in new ways. With smartphones in hand, consumers are increasingly looking for products or services while on the go and then placing a call right away. In fact, 70% of mobile searchers call a business directly from search results.*
Today we’re introducing
call-only campaigns
, a new and easy way for businesses to reach potential customers by prominently showing your phone number, business description and call button -- right when people are searching.
Uniquely built for businesses that value phone calls more than website clicks
Call-only campaigns are specially designed to only show on mobile devices that can make phone calls. This means every click you pay for can be a phone call to your business.
Bid just for phone calls
Since every click goes towards a phone call, you can design a bidding strategy based specifically on your CPA or ROAS goal for calls. This helps you maximize the value of every call to your business.
“Our customers are increasingly calling us on their mobile devices to get an insurance quote. The great part about call-only ads is that they give us the ability to bid based on the value of a call so we can meet the specific ROI goals that we have set up for sales that come through the phone."
Jason Johnson
Marketing Director, Clearlink Insurance
Customize ads focused on a single call to action - phone calls
Tailor your ads for phone calls with creatives like “speak to a specialist today" or “call to make an appointment" to let people know they can easily reach your business without needing to visit your site.
For BizLab, a national telecommunications retailer, most conversions happen offline over the phone.
"The new call-only ads have improved lead volume and conversion rates by targeting mobile devices with ads, like “call now” that are simply focused on driving calls.”
Catherine Wilson
Senior PPC Analyst, BizLab
Another major internet provider uses call-only campaigns to connect customers quickly and easily with their sales team.
“With a phone call as the only call to action, call-only ads improve the mobile shopping experience by eliminating the intermediary step of visiting our website. They provide an easy way for consumers to get the product they want by calling into our sales center directly. Better customer experience coupled with an increase in calls & sales provides a win-win for both consumers and advertisers.”
Josh Leibner
Director of Paid Search at Red Ventures, marketing partner for large businesses
Learn more
If you’re currently using the call extensions setting to create call-only ads, you can find details on how to upgrade to call-only campaigns in the
AdWords Help Center
.
Posted by Amit Agarwal, Product Manager, AdWords
*Google/Ipsos, The Role of Click to Call in the Path to Purchase, September, 2013.
Introducing Google Small Business Community Office Hours
Thursday, February 12, 2015
With a mission to help small businesses to get the help they need to succeed on the web, the
Google Small Business Community
team connects small business owners to experts and each other every day. In addition to our monthly Hangouts on Air, we’re now excited to bring you more ways to connect with experts to answer your most pressing questions. Each month, we will have experts spanning different fields pertaining to small businesses.
This month, our theme is productivity and we have three experts in to lend their advice. Ray Ramon is joining us from InfusionSoft, a company that helps small businesses streamline their marketing processes. We have Jamie Viggiano from TaskRabbit, a task-based service that helps small businesses find temporary help. We’ll also have some experts from the Google for Work team to talk about cloud-based tools that help you and your team work better, together.
Join us on
February 17 at 12 PM PT
for a live text Q&A where our experts will answer your productivity questions, such as
“What are some of the tasks a small business can automate to be more productive?”
and
“What are ways I can save time with Google apps?”
What are some topics you’d like us to cover in our monthly Office Hours? Join the Google Small Business Community and let us know.
Posted by the Google Small Business Community
Introducing .HOW: a new space for learning
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Since its inception, the Internet has been a powerful platform to share knowledge, connect with others, and search for information. We turn to the web to learn how to look great, make a killer banh mi,
impress a French woman
, speak, play, learn, and live -- the list goes on. Indeed, more people
search for “how”
than any of the five “W”s, finding their answers in blogs, videos, online books, interactive tutorials and other corners of the web.
That’s why we’re happy to introduce .HOW as the latest domain from Google Registry, and the most recent addition to our
broader effort
to bring
new spaces
online. We believe .HOW can become an intuitive way for creators and consumers to share, identify and discover some of the best learning content on the web. Now you can buy a simple, memorable and meaningful .HOW domain name of your own, sending a clear message that your content is there to teach people something great.
People are already getting started. From
sustainable renovators
to
a cappella aces
, champion
skydivers
to
video game makers
; small businesses, nonprofits and teachers of all kinds are using .HOW domain names to reach their audiences.
What will you teach on your .HOW? Check
www.get.how
for more information, or to get your .HOW domain name now.
Making it easier to get your business online with Google Domains
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
A domain name says a lot about who you are and what you do. For businesses especially, picking out the right domain name is often the starting point to building a successful online presence. With new domain endings like .recipes and .clothing, there are now more options to choose from than ever before.
Last year, we
shared news
that we were beginning to test a new service called
Google Domains
to help people get online starting with a domain and website. We partnered with some of the most reliable and easy-to-use website building providers on the web:
Shopify
,
Squarespace
,
Weebly
and
Wix
. Together, we’ve helped businesses like
Scott Pincus Design
and
Hidden Springs Soap
get a domain, build a website and find new customers online. It’s really that easy.
Today, we’re excited to make Google Domains more widely available by lifting the invitation restriction for those in the U.S. For those in other countries, you can
sign up here
to be notified when it is available in your country. And thanks in large part to the feedback we received from our early beta testers, we’re opening the doors with a new batch of features. Some of the enhancements include:
Improved search and suggestion experience
to help you find the perfect domain name
Over 60 new domain endings
like .company, .florist and .coffee (view the full list
here
)
A simple dashboard
to manage your domain, website and email settings
The integration of
Blogger
so you can create a blog and easily connect it to your domain
The ability to quickly browse website template themes
and compare the plans and features of our website building providers
Dynamic DNS
so you can setup your domain and keep it pointing to the same computer even when the IP address changes. Read more about it
here
.
We’re excited to share the open beta with you today and still welcome your input, questions and feedback. Don’t be shy!
Get started today at
www.google.com/domains
.
3 simple steps to get your business mobile-ready
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Is your business mobile-ready? It should be. With 1.75 billion smartphone users worldwide
1
, you could be missing out on a lot of potential customers.
Here are 3 steps you can take to maximize the potential of mobile for your business.
Step 1. Optimize your website for mobile
Have you checked out your website on a smartphone recently? For the 65% of users who start their search on their smartphones
2
, that may be their first and only exposure to your business. Make that a good one.
First, find out if your website is mobile-friendly.
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
can help you do that. You should also load your website on a smartphone and pay attention to these 3 things: How quickly does your page load? Does your page fit on a small screen? Is key information visible without scrolling?
There are many ways you can set up your website for mobile optimization. Google generally recommends
responsive web design
, where code is used to adjust the same page to different screen sizes. You can try to set up the code yourself, or you can use templates from sites like
Strikingly
or
Wix
.
Depending on your needs, you might want to consider creating a separate mobile site. Tools such as
Mobify
and
DudaMobile
can help you set that up easily.
PageSpeed Insights
is another useful tool that can suggest ways to improve the loading speed of your website for both mobile and desktop.
Listing on
Google My Business
might also be a good place to start. One of the great things about Google My Business is that all its listings are already optimized for different devices. It will also list your business info on Google Maps. Even if you already have a website, it is an easy way to start expanding your mobile presence.
Step 2. Engage your mobile users with social media
Social media is a big part of the mobile experience, and a great way to engage your customers. In the US, 42% of smartphone users visit social network sites at least weekly on their devices. This number is even higher in Asia, so if you’re based in Asia or thinking of reaching customers there, you should start thinking about social media
3
.
You can do this by sharing interesting content about your business, such as stories, photos and videos on sites like
Google+
and
YouTube
. Have a new shipment of 60s dresses for your vintage clothing store? Share some photos. New fall dish on your restaurant’s menu? Let customers know. They might even share your content with friends, and help you find new customers that way.
Set yourself a schedule so that you get into the rhythm of updating regularly. It doesn’t have to be daily, just something that you think is manageable for you. You can also use your social pages as a way to share updates like extended opening hours or holiday sales. Planning on selling everything at 50% off for Christmas? Share it.
You can also respond to customers’ ratings and reviews using Google My Business. This is a great way to have a conversation, get feedback and really give a human voice to your business.
Step 3. Advertise to mobile users on search
Search is the activity that smartphone users engage in most frequently, even more so than social media
4
. Maybe you own a ramen store in Tokyo that is open late into the night. Chances are, someone searching for “dinner in Tokyo” at 1am is a potential customer you’ll want to reach.
Advertising on Google
can help you reach the kind of customers who are already looking for what you offer. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, AdWords’
location extensions
feature can direct people to visit you in person. You can even design your ad campaigns so they only appear to people already near your store. Someone searching for “flower shop” on their phone, 500m from your store, is someone you could reach with a Search ad. Did you set up a Google+ page in Step 2? You can
show off your excellent ratings
on your ads as well.
Mobile opens up many new ways to grow your business and connect with your customers. Get your business mobile-ready so you can take advantage!
1. Forecasted,
eMarketer (2014)
2. In the US,
Think with Google
3.
Consumer Barometer (2014)
4.
Consumer Barometer (2014)
Labels
Brazil
1
Business Photos
2
Chromebooks
1
consumer surveys
1
Economic Impact Report
3
Education
1
English
419
Events
3
Get Your Business Online
7
Gmail
8
GoMo
1
Google Ads
61
Google AdSense
4
Google Analytics
7
Google App Engine
1
Google Apps
60
Google Apps for Work
2
Google Calendar
6
Google Docs
18
Google Domains
3
Google Forms
1
Google Maps
15
google my business
16
Google Offers
1
Google Partners
2
Google Places
45
Google ReWork
1
Google Search
6
Google Shopping
2
Google Sites
7
Google Small Business
20
Google Small Business Blog
419
Google Small Business Community
9
Google Tags
4
Google+
9
Google+ stories
8
Help Desk Hangouts On Air
20
Holiday
3
Learn with Google
4
Livestream
1
Local Services
3
marketing
1
mobile
13
mobile optimization
4
mobile sites
4
Mobile Speed
1
National Small Business Week
3
Newsletter
3
Online security
3
Primer
2
Research
1
reviews
1
Rio de Janeiro
1
Road Trip
1
site design
1
Small Business Saturday
1
Small Business Week
4
Street View
1
TalkBin
2
Test My Site
1
Training
2
Webmaster Academy
2
YouTube
7
Archive
2018
Dec
Oct
Jul
Apr
Feb
Jan
2017
Oct
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
2016
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
2013
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Feed
Follow @googlesmallbiz
Follow
Site Feed
.jpg){kind=logo}
Follow
