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 32 Tools to Build Your Business COVER STORY


Google AdWords is a longstanding program that lets a retailer place targeted text ads that appear beside Google search results. More recently, Google has extended AdWords to banners and rich media ads. T e program allows for pay per click and cost per thousand impres- sions payment models. Google off ers a stand alone application for Mac OS and Windows that allows users to manage an AdWords account. Another advertising option, designed exclusively for mobile devices such as phones and tablets, is AdMob Google, which off ers targeted access to mobile users and is relatively simple to buy and measure. Google Product Search (formerly called “Froogle”)


is another way to push products towards purchasers. T is Google offer provides


retailers with


Merchant Center database, which can then, if Google thinks it is relevant, appear not only in the Product Search, but on Google Maps and in standard Internet search results. For brick and mortar retailers, there is a free service


to link the physical location of a business to search results and on Google Maps. T is feature, called Google Places, creates a listing or refi nes and improves an existing list- ing, and shoppers can add reviews to the listing. Free options let a business owner edit and add information, while premium listings allow the retailer to add photos, videos, parking information and coupons. T ere is also an option to turn on a notifi cations service. T e technology juggernaut


increased traffi c and sales to quali- fi ed shoppers for free. Retailers can add products to the search engine by submit ing data feeds by direct uploads, or for the tech savvy, through Google Product Search’s API (application programming interface). However, Google dis- plays search results from several merchants, all on the same page. T is strategy tends to favor those off ering the lowest prices and unusual goods. Google Merchant Center takes the Product Search one step further. Retailers can upload a wide range of data into the


The fi rst thing a retailer needs is customers, and Google specializes in driving traffi c.


continues to innovate and develop new ways to help retailers. T e company just debuted a new service in August, called Google Catalogs, which allows a retailer to publish a print or digital cata- log using a mobile app for tablet computers such as iPads. Another example of a new Google innova- tion is Google Off ers. Echoing the hot retail trend and deal of the day


programs like Groupon, Google Off ers was fi rst unveiled in Portland, OR on June 1. In July, the company debuted its service in New York City and San Francisco. T e program is powered by Google Checkout and integrates with Google Wallet. Merchants and webmasters alike need to evaluate


the results of these traffi c-building strategies and services, and Google has a free solution to do so. Google Analyt- ics is a robust and rich tool that generates detailed traffi c reports on a site wide basis, and with pinpoint precision per page. It integrates very closely with AdWords, so that merchants can track the results of their campaigns. Analytics also off ers data on visits, page views, the time visitors spend, where they come from, what keywords they search with before arriving, and much more. When customers are ready to place orders online,


Google has a payment processing service as well; one that is similar to PayPal. Called Google Checkout, the system allows customers store their credit or debit


Continued On 36  34 October 2011


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