If you own a small business, Georgia’s Small Business Development Centers have a new workshop that can help you hone an online marketing plan and improve your bottom line.
Grow Your Business through Google will be offered by Kennesaw State University’s SBDC on May 19 from 3 to 6 p.m. The cost is $49, which includes a $50 Google coupon that can be used for new and existing AdWords accounts.
Google has partnered with small business development centers to educate business owners about applications that help them operate more efficiently.
“Atlanta is always ranked the No. 1 or No. 2 city for Internet connectivity in America, so you can bet that most people here are using the Internet to do business,” said Drew Tonsmeire, area director for Kennesaw State’s Small Business Development Center.
Tonsmeire went through 70 hours of training and exams to become a Google-certified small business trainer, and has been teaching workshops around the state.
“Every business needs a Web site and it needs to be effective,” he said. “Five years ago, business owners searched for customers. Now customers do the searching and businesses have to know how to be found, either naturally or through online advertising. Successful businesses must make it easy for their customers to find them and do business with them.”
Google, as the top search engine used by consumers and businesses, has designed applications to help. Many of them are free.
The first part of the workshop will cover the basics of using Google and introduces participants to Google Analytics, Google Alerts, Google Places and Google Docs.
“Google Analytics is free software that can help businesses and organizations measure Web traffic to their sites,” Tonsmeire said. “They can track the type and number of visitors, what pages they look at, how much time they spend on the site and whether their visit turns into a sell — all data that can help them refine their online presence.
“The more you understand how your marketing efforts work, the better you can manage them,” Tonsmeire said.
Google Alerts allows businesses or individuals to find out information about themselves and other subjects in the media. “Every time a name or topic is mentioned, Google Alerts will let you know and send you a link, so instead of scouring multiple media applications, the information you need comes to you,” he said.
Google Docs allows co-workers in different locations to share documents, spreadsheets and presentations through cloud (or virtual) computing.
“All of our applications, documents and data are growing bigger. Having all that on the desktop may not be the best solution anymore,” Tonsmeire said. “These kinds of cloud applications are gaining in popularity because they offer security, greater accessibility and more storage space, which can lead to improved efficiencies.”
The second part of the workshop covers AdWords and how companies can reach their audience through using the right keywords to advertise products and services. It can also measure customer response to their advertising.
To register for Kennesaw State’s SBDC workshop, call 770-423-6450 or go to www.sbdc.kennesaw.edu. To learn about Google workshops at other centers, go to www.georgiasbdc.org.
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