Top 5 Free Google Tools for SMEs in Africa
Imagine for a minute what the internet would be like without Google. Quite a difficult one honestly speaking. By providing tons of free Google tools for SMEs, business owners can now run their businesses hassle-free. All it takes is access to the right business tool and at the right time.
Below is a list of free Google tools for SMEs in Africa to take advantage of:
Google My Business
One of the best free Google tools for SMEs in Africa is Google My Business. Small businesses with a physical presence will benefit by signing up their businesses and getting enlisted in the Google directory. All the businesses signed up to enjoy an increased likelihood of showing up before potential customers. Google My Business is a free tool by Google to help local businesses promote their businesses online.
Once Google lists your business, it allows you to connect with customers and get reviews and show up on Google Maps. When a prospective customer types your business name or the services you render, your Google My Business information becomes visible to such a user. Google My Business is free to use and easy to set up; however, Google needs to verify your business first to begin using this service.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a notification service tool by Google. As business owners, it helps you monitor specific web content. When a user searches for a particular term on Google, Google Alerts sends emails when new results such as blog posts, articles, web pages, e.t.c. show up that are similar to what the user searched for. Below is a list of what Google Alerts help you with as a business owner:
- Monitor the number of times other sites or people have searched for your business/services.
- Monitor and provide you with information about your competitor’s activities.
- It keeps you informed about your industry.
How to set up Google Alerts
- Visit Google Alerts.
- Enter a topic you want to follow in the search box.
- From the drop-down, select the type of results you want o to follow, how often you want to get updates, whether you want ‘all results’ or ‘only the best results.’
- Enter the email address you want your alerts sent.
- Click on ‘Create Alert.’
Once you’ve completed these steps, a preview of your result will shop up at the right-hand corner of the form.
Google Analytics
For businesses with websites, one key ingredient for growth is Web Analytics. It provides you with visitors data so you can effectively analyze what you’re doing on your website. Several web analytics tools exist out there, and one of them is Google Analytics. Google Analytics is one of the free Google tools for SMEs that helps track and understand your customers’ behavior and content. User experience, e.t.c. Also, Google Analytics provides you with the necessary information for shaping your business strategy successfully. It provides you with key information about the visitors coming to your site daily.
Why should you use Google Analytics?
- Google Analytics is free to use. As a business owner, you have access to essential information and statistics that can help maximize your website’s performance. Although there are other analytical tools out there that offer you an initial free trial period, Google Analytics still tops them all.
- With Google Analytics, you spend lesser time inputting data into documents. You can access your analytics reports anytime and implement suitable strategies to move your business forward.
- Google Analytics comes with several Google report templates for you to choose from. Depending on your preference, you can choose the dimension and metrics that best suit your needs.
- With its clear and easy-to-use dashboard, Google Analytics can be integrated with other platforms and tools. Also, it is available for use via mobile app.
- Google Analytics helps to determine the bounce rate on your website. Bounce rate refers to the percentage of visitors that leave your website after visiting a page. Asides from determining the bounce rate, it also helps you know when your website visitors aren’t getting what they need.
Think With Google
Think With Google is another free Google tool for SMEs to get insights, useful articles, documents, case studies, e.t.c. of industry leaders. Google updates the Think With Google website regularly with a ton of useful content that can be useful in growing your business. Also, the site has quite a collection of highly creative AD campaigns you can draw inspiration from for your business.
Google Search Console
Google search console is one of the best Google free tools for SMEs in Africa. With this tool, you can improve the search engine optimization (SEO) of your website. Furthermore, Google Search Console supplies you with important domain name insights in addition to search trends. As a business owner in Africa, you need all the information you can get concerning improving your website’s ranking on the search engine. One tool that can help you with that is the Google Search Console.
More activities you can carry out with Google Search Console include:
- Identification and fixing of crawl errors.
- Submission of sitemaps, thereby making it easier for robots to crawl and index your website.
- Monitor the number of clicks you get for a particular search term.
- Search for structured data, rich cards, accelerated mobile pages, e.t.c.
Conclusion
There is quite a handful of free Google tools for SMEs in Africa to choose from as a business owner. Each of these tools has been carefully and strategically positioned to provide a unique experience for the users. The tools above are guaranteed to take your business to the next level if properly leveraged. As a business owner in Africa, which of these tools do you already use?
