3 Hidden But Super Powerful Google Tools For Your Small Business

Free Tools For Your Small Business

3 Hidden But Super-Powerful Google Tools For Business

Better than Cat Videos on YouTube

Check out these super-powerful Google tools to help your laser tag business.

You and I both know that Google does loads more than just a simple internet search. Love it or hate it, Google is massive. And they offer a treasure trove of valuable tolls that are often undiscovered by regular small business folk.

Ok, letâ€™s do a "sound-off". You've watched cat videos on YouTube. You would have used Google Maps, Google Analytics, Google Ads and Gmail.

Check!

You might also dabble with Google Calendar, Google Docs, you've even added a few extensions to the Google Chrome browser, and you might have made a little bit of money via AdSense.

Check!

Before we get to the hidden but super powerful tools lets do a quick run-down on the "everyday" Google Tools.

Everyday Google Tool #1: Google Analytics

So if you have a web site, then you will want to track who visits you, how long they stay, and which search terms they used to discover you. Analytics is super powerful and offers a treasure trove of useful stuff about how your audiences interacts with your web site.

Spoiler alert!

Everyday Google Tool #2: Google Maps

If you have a smartphone then you have probably used Google Maps.

From a helpful voice-over letting you know that you want to get off at the next bus stop or how to drive across the country to visit Aunt Lisa's Thanksgiving Dinner.

Let's face it, it is super useful.

As a small business operator, you will want to register via Google MyBusiness so your venue or shop shows up on maps results.

google map - battlefield sports usa — Battlefield Sports USA on Google Maps

bfs australia google map — Battlefield Sports Australia on Google Maps

Everyday Google Tool #3: Google Ads

Google Ads used to be called Google Adwords.

There has been loads been written about Google Ads elsewhere!

You pay Google to show your advertisements if someone searches for a key phrase. If you are just starting out and can't wait for organic traffic the you can go to the top of the list, for a price.

Everyday Google Tool #4: YouTube

k so if you haven't actually watched a cat video on YouTube you do know it is a "thing".

Google owns YouTube.

And YouTube has millions and millions of visitors every day. You can create video about your small business, create a "channel" so people can discover new and interesting info about your business.

And people do watch. One of our videos has been watch more than 135,000 times!!

Everyday Google Tool #5: Gmail

Before Gmail there was Hotmail and AOL. Ahhhh, the good ol' days!

No serious, Gmail might just be the best tool that Google have created.

Your Gmail account not only enables you to sign into online apps, it actually sends and receive email. LOL.

Everyday Google Tool #6: Google Calendar

As an operator in the entertainment business you will offer a series of events.

You can publicly display your calendar with others and embed it into your website. If you are a mobile operator and run from several venues then it is a terrific way to let your customers know when you will be on which date.

For example, on our local business we let people know when we link to Google Calendar with the dates / times we will be at a certain venue, such as Laser Skirmish Mt Cotton or Laser Skirmish Gold Coast.

laser skirmish gold coast — Snippet from the Laser Skirmish web page showing the Gold Coast venue

laser skirmish mt cotton — Snippet from the Laser Skirmish web page showing the Mt Cotton venue

Everyday Google Tool #7: Google Docs

Growing in popularity Google Docs is starting to give Microsoft Office a run for its money.

If you want to share documents, spreadsheets, presentations or other documents with other users online, then Google docs is your tool.

Everyday Google Tool #8: Google Chrome

Browsing online has become second nature. Long gone are the old clunky Mosaic and Netscape Navigator browsers.

Nowadays there are many high-quality browsers available.

But did you know that Google Chrome's browser has more than 188,000 extensions and counting!

Ok, so not all of them are riveting bust there are loads that are super useful.

Everyday Google Tool #9: Google Adsense

While not all web site owners want to splash banner ads all over their home page, Adsense is ubiquitous. If a web site gets a decent amount of traffic then you might be able to generate a bit of revenue via Adsense.

By placing some ad code on your site, you can (potentially) earn some passive income.

SECRET GOOGLE TOOLS

As a small business operator Google also offers a plethora of well know tools that can help you.

But there also some not so well-known tools, some might say "secret" tools that can also be very useful.

Secret Google Tool #1: Position inside Search Console

Search Console used to be called "Google Webmaster Tools".

Search Console is similar to Google Analytics but it offers more of a "Google's eye-view" of how your web site is going.

When you first log into your Search Console account you will be shown the "Overview" dashboard.

This shows a graph with the number of clicks to your site over the last 3 months.

If you click on the second menu option "Performance" then the graph will show 2 lines; one for total clicks and one for total impressions. Now here's where it gets interesting.

example search console dashboard — The Search Console Dashboard

example search console dashboard with performance — Search Console showing clicks & impressions

You can click on the "average position" section and the graph will add a third line showing how your site has been going compared to others.

At this point there might just be too many lines on the graph.

So, you can un-select the Total Clicks and Total Impressions to see the Average Position results more clearly. As you can see in this case the site's position has been steadily improving over the period.

search console showing average position — Search Console including Average Position

search console showing position only — Search Console showing Average Position only.

Secret Google Tool #2: Google Trends

Ok, so maybe not super-secret, but a great little tool.

Google trends is a terrific way to keep up with what's hot and what's not. The language people use over time changes, and the phrases people use can change from country to country.

You can see in this example that people in the UK use the term "work Christmas party ideas" more than "office Christmas Party ideas". Whereas in the USA the opposite is true.

With this tool you can try different variation on a theme and see which keyword phrase is right to focus on for your small business.

christmas party ideas usa — Google Trend Results for "office Christmas party ideas" in the USA

christmas party ideas uk — Google Trend results for "office Christmas party ideas" in the UK

Secret Google Tool #3: Analytics Annotations

Yep as mentioned before Google Analytics is an everyday tool.

But it has some secrets that are super useful.

Take "annotations" for example.

If you want to track changes that you have made to your web site by date then give annotations a go.

Or say you want to record when those pesky Google Algorithm changes happen.

Or even if you want to input major real-world events that might affect your business, such as Halloween or major sporting events, then you can note these dates. Then you can see if these items have had an impact on your traffic. But annotations are hard to find! Here is how to do it.

Step 1: Open Your Google Analytics account as usual.

Step 2: On the side menu, select Acquisition. Then click on "All Traffic" and then "Channels".

Step 3: In the top right-hand corner use the drop down on the date selection and choose "Last 30 days". But you can customize this can select any date range you want.

Step 4: See that teeny-weeny down arrow in the bottom-middle of the graph? Squint! Or you will miss it! Click on that and it will reveal a new section where you can input annotations.

google analytics dashboard — Log into your Google Analytics account

google analytics annotations — Here are the Google Annotations.

create an annotation — Create an annotation

save an annotation — Save your annotation.

Conclusion

There you have it.

You have discovered three hidden but super powerful Google tools and nine well-known Google tools for your small business. Try them out! And see which one works best for you.

What do you know about these everyday or powerful Google tools? Is there something we missed? Which Google tools do you use for your small business, let us know in the comments

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