SBA, Google launch partnership

Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 12:40pm PDT
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Susan R. Miller

How many times have you heard or said “Google it”?

The term has become synonymous with conducting a search on the Internet. But, few small businesses actually know how to use Google to advertise and grow their business.

That was the message Google and the U.S. Small Business Administration delivered during a webinar Wednesday morning to announce the launch of their partnership in an effort to educate businesses about how to succeed online.

Although the SBA has 14,000 counselors nationwide, and has taken numerous steps to put new technologies into the hands of small business owners, “we knew we needed to do more,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “This is another tool in the tool kit for small business owners.”

Mills was joined by John Hanke, vice president of product management for Google, who stressed the importance of making a good online impression.

“There is a ton you can do to make information accurate, as well as to add products, brands, services, photographs,” Hanke said. “People will make a decision about you partly on how you look online. We want people to understand that.”

The initiative, which has its own Web site at www.google.com/help/sba, provides a series of videos to teach small-business owners skills such as how to create an online presence and how to measure the success of those efforts. The best part, Mills said, is that it’s free.

Hanke noted that creating an online presence is just the first step. Following up by engaging with customers is just as important.

“There is this whole dialogue happening by your customers, and if you are not paying attention, you are not hearing what people are saying about you when you are not around,” he said.

By listening to customers, small businesses can better serve them, Mills noted.

Hanke also stressed the importance of search engine optimization.

Susan Holt, owner of CulinAerie, a cooking school in Washington, D.C., said she started her business in 2008, just as the economy tanked.

A friend told her about Google analytics, and she said that, by using certain keywords on the school’s Web site, it was able to grow business by 300 percent in a short time.

“It was the least expensive and biggest bang for the buck,” Holt said.

Added Hanke: “You can change your Web page to make sure you are speaking to the desires people have.”

Mills noted that business owners who aren’t comfortable using online tools can take their time and ramp up slowly.

“It’s a perfect fit in this online world,” Mills said. “You can take it on in small bites and, if things work, you can go the next step and next step. There’s a real synergy with small business. This is a good way to find out what is the right message, what is resonating, who is answering – and do it step by step.”

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