Free tools to help your business

IS YOUR BUSINESS USING THE DIGITAL SKILLS IT NEEDS TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS? IF NOT, GET TRAINED AND MENTORED BY GOOGLE

Google is offering tailored programmes to help UK businesses: 1) Be discoverable on Search and Maps via Google My Business 2) Learn more about digital marketing and being successful online via Google Digital Garage webinars 3) Get virtual face-to-face mentoring with industry experts via their partnership with Digital Boost.

Verifying your business on Google is the easiest way for you to communicate with your customers.

Google My Business is a free service that lets you manage your online presence and become more discoverable across the whole of Google, including Search and Maps.

For cafes and restaurants, for example, it allows you to switch to a takeaway or delivery service, or share your menu online. The tool gives you access to insights that will help you understand where and how customers search for your business. This information is vital to developing the building blocks of a successful online strategy.

2. TRAINING WITH GOOGLE DIGITAL GARAGE

There has been a huge increase in demand for digital skills. Popular webinars include: Digital Marketing Strategy, Setting Up Your Online Shop and Getting Your Business Visible on Google. As well as being free, these courses run frequently online, so businesses that may have previously struggled to find time to travel to a training session can now access them more easily.

Christine Braithwaite is a Google Digital Garage trainer with expertise in both traditional and digital marketing. She says: “Even though we were doing face-to-face training all around the country lots of people have told me they wouldn’t have been able to attend a physical event, so online training has meant a whole new audience can benefit. “We can share our screens so we’re looking at the same thing at the

Video mentoring has proved effective same time, just like you do in a face-to-face meeting,” she says.

In partnership with Digital Boost, Google offers mentors with an indepth knowledge of Google’s products. SMEs and charities who sign up can request coaching on specific topics and be matched with a mentor with relevant experience.

Priya Chauhan, a Google trainer and mentor is passionate about passing on her skills and knowledge: “My work is so rewarding – I genuinely get to help people,” she says. “I see that moment when they understand how they can use Google tools to help them, and it’s like a weight being taken off their shoulders.

Priya believes that leaving a business with “homework” really helps move them along. Priya adds: “I always leave businesses with an action plan. The key is that we enable them to empower themselves. Further sessions can be booked, but they work best after those initial tasks have been completed.”

Priya Chauhan, Google Digital Garage trainer