State Business Featured—

Google, SBA Launch Small Business ‘Tools For Online Success’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The US Small Business Administration (SBA) and Google recently announced a new partnership and unveiled “Tools For Online Success,” an array of online resources and training designed to help small business owners harness technology to grow their businesses.

The Tools for Online Success site, www.google.com/help/sba, features tutorials, video testimonials, and tips from savvy small business people who have leveraged the web to become more efficient, more cost-effective, and more successful.

“As the web evolves and consumers adapt accordingly, we know that more customers are finding traditional ‘Main Street’ businesses online,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “With these tools for online success, we can ensure these small businesses reach new markets and customers so they can continue to create jobs.”

“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, 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.”

Google and the SBA unveiled the partnership during a forum at the SBA’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and broadcast live online to press and small business owners across the country. Susan Holt, principal and owner of CulinAerie, a recreational cooking school in downtown D.C., shared her experiences working with the SBA and explained how she has used online tools like Google Places and search engine optimization (SEO) to attract more aspiring cooks.

Ms Holt is just one of the many small business owners from across the country who are sharing how they have used online tools to reach new customers. Many are featured in the video testimonials found at the site.

Each video documents the unique success stories that these small businesses have created using online technology. Christopher Bartlett, owner of Skaters Landing in West Hartford, is another featured business person who uses online videos to teach customers from all over the world how to properly shop for and use ice skating products.

“We really were able to reach out to new markets,” said Mr Bartlett. “I don’t look at [our online efforts] as a place to go to and hard sell, but to really talk with people and answer some of the questions that people might have.”

Visit www.skaterslanding.com to learn more about his business.

 Continued success stories like these are the goal of the Google/SBA partnership. Visit the Tools For Online Success website for a full run-down, but here are a few easy tips all small business owners should be using:

*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 does not 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 smart phones 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.