Google has a surprising number of tools available to users completely free of charge. Some of these are more commonly used than others and we think some are genuinely helpful for micro businesses. So here’s our take on the best and most useful of the Google freebies.
Google Analytics
Probably the one you’re likeliest to know. Google Analytics is a powerhouse of data to help you understand how many people are on your website, what they’re doing and where they’re coming from. The free version more than covers the needs of the vast majority of businesses.
You can sign up at https://accounts.google.com/ and if you’ve never used a web analytics tracking package before, Google has also handily created a beginner level course to help you get to grips with it right here.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console (formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools) is a platform for website owners/business owners to track a range of different things including (but not limited to):
- Any problems Google is having getting around your site or indexing it
- Any problems Google has found with the mark up on your website
- The search queries people are typing in when your site turns up as one of the results
- The queries people are making in Google search resulting in them clicking your website
It’s a really useful place to go if you’re getting to grips with SEO and want to look at your current standing in Google.
You can get it here and one of the best usage guides for Search Console is this one.
Google Data Studio
It’s all good and well getting to grips with Analytics and Search Console, but sometimes I wish they were the same platform. I’m not a fan of clicking between several windows to find all the information I need and that’s why I like Data Studio.
Data Studio lets you pull important data from both Analytics and Search Console as well as a host of other places including social media platforms. You can then organise it into a single dashboard so you have at-a-glance numbers when you need them most.
I use this for both simple one pagers and longer more detailed website performance reports.
Get it here and learn how to use it here.
Google My Business
Google My Business is the platform through which you can manage your own business listings. It’s from here that Google takes the data for its Map listings that show when people search for local services and other local queries (e.g. “plumber in Manchester”).
Get familiar with the platform, list your business premises, even respond to questions from the public and encourage people to leave reviews for you.
Find Google My Business here and learn more about using it here.
What free tools do you rely on?
What free tools, Google ones or otherwise, do you get value out of. Any we should be reviewing? Give us a shout!
