Should Small Business Owners Use Google Services?

Writing by Nick Stamoulis Tweet

Search Engine Land recently asked the question, “Which Google Products Should a Small Business Use?” I liked their answer, but it seems incomplete. Here’s the list of services they suggest small business owners should use:

• Google Analytics
• Google Maps
• Local Business Center
• Google Base
• Google Website Optimizer

The list is incomplete because it leaves out the most important Google service of all: Google AdWords.

Of course, they may have left Google AdWords off the list on purpose. You can’t use Google Analytics unless you sign up for Google AdWords first. But just having a Google AdWords account doesn’t mean that you are using the product. Or maybe they left Google AdWords off the list because they believe that not every business owner can benefit from a pay-per-click campaign. That could be true. But most businesses, I believe, would do well to start a Google AdWords campaign to drive targeted traffic to their website.

Another use for Google AdWords is keyword research. If you run a business of any kind then you can use Google AdWords for your keyword research. It’s free so why wouldn’t you?

Suffice it to say, I’d add one more Google service to Search Engine Land’s list. Google AdWords.