Web Biz Strategy

Today when I logged into my Gmail account, I was greeted with an invitation to try Video Chat, another service being rolled out by Google in their attempt to have users integrate Google into every aspect of their online experience. 

Google is certainly not the first company to try this.  AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo have all sought to be the one-stop-shop for online activity, but these days Google is giving them a run for their money.

A key part of the Google strategy? Give away the farm to individuals and small businesses,  encouraging widespread adoption, and then charge corporate clients for premium or enterprise versions of the software.  

All of these tools are incredibly valuable.  Whether you’re a business owner or a web developer, if you’re not taking advantage of this suite of software in one form or another, I’d say you’re missing out.

1. Google Analytics. I recommend that every web site run Google Analytics, even if the company is paying for a commercial analytics program, or if your hosting company includes another tracking program. It’s free, it takes about 3 minutes to set up, and if nothing else it gives you a second opinion. For small businesses who can’t afford analytics software, this is web marketing 101, just do it!

2. Google Webmaster Tools. Help Google see your site, and learn how Google sees your site, with Google Webmaster tools. Like Google Analytics, this is a “gimme” - every site should be verified in Google Webmaster Tools and have a Google Sitemap (XML) submitted to Google.

3. Google Local. Now with phone verification instead of postcards, you can have your business entered into Google Local within minutes, and you’ll be showing up in results within days.  Post an online coupon for free when you create your listing. Now that Google has started providing local results regardless of whether an address was added to the search, putting your clients in Google Local is one of the most important moves you can make. 

4. Gmail. You can tie Gmail to a domain, thereby using your current site domain but with the storage and power of Gmail. I use Gmail as my main e-mail and highly recommend it. Many companies have their own mail servers for security purposes, but if you’re not hosting and managing your own mail, Gmail has large storage, offline integration, great search, good spam protection, integration with chat and now video chat, and more. 

5. Google Alerts. Free reputation monitoring from Google. Set up alerts for your company brand or your name to see what’s showing up on Google. You can also create an RSS feed from a web search or blog search to keep track of your brand that way.

6. Google Keyword Tool.  Do you sell Crepes in Las Vegas? Want to find out how many people are searching for “Crepes Las Vegas”? Use the Google Keyword Tool to find out what people are searching for, and how many people are searching for each term.

7. Google Docs and Google Apps. Free online equivalent of Microsoft Office with Docs, Spreadsheets and Presentations, plus free storage and view-from-anywhere capabilities with Google Docs. I haven’t used the online collaboration features but they’re there.

8. Google Chat, Google Voice and now Google Video Chat - Free voice and video chat, enough said.

9. Google Website Optimizer. Google’s tool lets you test different site content in order to maximize your visitor conversion rates. I haven’t used this yet but I will soon!

You get the picture. As a webmaster and SEO person, I use the Analytics and Webmaster Tools for all clients, Google Local for clients with a physical address, Google Alerts for client reputation monitoring, and the Google Keyword Tool for research. I’m also using Google solutions for my mail, chats and online docs, so I’d say with me their strategy has worked, and it’s been a win/win situation all around.