The Internet is an infamous communication tool. With the emergence and continuous growth of social networks, it is used – and abused – by people around the planet to exchange information, boosting the way we communicate with each other. Now is the time for you to turn the Internet into the invaluable asset it can be for your business. Welcome to Google 101, a manual to get you organised online.
Google Search. This is the easiest one. Everybody knows about Google Search. Whether you are looking for a website where to meet fellow entrepreneurs or a supplier of stainless steel located in your neighbourhood, with a few key words you can get the answer you are looking for in less time than one needs to switch off the light.
But it is also easy to get lost and waste time, e-wandering from one site to another. Before you end up spending half of the day stuck on the search engine, make the best out of your searches with products like Chrome www.google.com/chrome/. It will help you get organised, you can bookmark whatever is relevant to your business and create folders to keep links easily accessible.
Google Mail or Gmail is one of the safest, most user-friendly mail platforms you can find. It also offers a wide panel of options suited for businesses. You can create an email address that will hold the name of your company, like joedoe@africareport.com. It works the same as a normal private Gmail account, except that it is named after your company. The upside is that your employees, freelancers, contractors will be able to check their emails whether they are in the office or out. All they need is Internet access.
Gmail Canned Responses. This is typically designed for businesses sending standard replies to emails received. Canned Responses is a system that will send for you a message previously written and saved. It works on the same principle as automated responses, with a few keystrokes, you’ll get the same message sent to many people.
Google Alerts is one unbelievably precious tool to know what people are saying about your business on the Web, to check on competitors and keep yourself updated. After you enter a relevant term in the search box of Google Alerts, it will inform you accordingly, whenever something posted on the Net is also appearing in the top ten search results.
Google Docs. With Google Docs, you can store files – any documents, from Word to Excel spreadsheets and PDFs – on the Web, just like you would do on a flash drive. The upside of this is that you don’t need to carry anything around. Wherever you go, you can just log in and get the documents you are looking for.
Google Calendar. Google Calendar can be used synchronically with any smartphones. If matched with Outlook (Window) or iCal (Mac), it will allow you to share events with other users, send reminders, share important dates. Google Calendar is an interactive calendar that gives you flexibility and instant real-time sharing.
Google Checkout. This is a payment method, just like PayPal. It will be invaluable for customers wanting to buy from you via the Internet. Google Wallet is the latest ‘release’, an exciting service, allowing customers to pay by “waving” their cellphones at the cash register.
Google Analytics. This tool will allow you to check how many visitors are coming to your website, how long they’re staying there, where they are coming from, and more. With this in hand, you will be able to make the necessary adjustments and reach a wider target. You may also be able to check what were your customers interested in, depending on how much time they spent on certain items or articles.
You have now all the tools you need to get your business to run smoothly. The World Wide Web is a helping hand for any entrepreneur so, grab it and enjoy the ride!
