Most people use Google on a daily basis to search for products, services, businesses and answers to all life’s questions!

But what many people don’t realize is that Google boasts a growing suite of free applications which can help most business owners save a significant amount of time and money.

This week I want to introduce you to just a few of the Google Tools I think you simply must know about and use if you wish to succeed online.

But best of all, these Google tools and applications are FREE!

In my next few blog posts I will introduce you to some of them and hopefully inspire you to go and experiment…

Setting up your dedicated Google Account – your ‘passport’ to Google World

Before you get started you need to get yourself a Google Account. To do this simply go to https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount and fill in the quick and easy form. If you already have a google account, skip this step.

*TIP* – You can use any email address to set up a Google Account but we recommend using a business email that will not change should staff change. We also recommend you note your username (email) and password in the login/passwords sheet we handed you at the beginning of the program.

… Set up your Google Profile — Tell Google a little about yourself

A Google profile allows you to control how you appear on Google and tell others a bit more about who you are. With a Google profile, you can easily share your web content on one central location. You can include, for example, links to your blog, online photos, and other profiles such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and more. You have control over what others see. Your profile won’t display any private information unless you’ve explicitly added it.

You can also allow people to find you more easily by enabling your profile to be searched by your name. Simply set your existing profile to show your full name publicly. This may be useful if your name is part of your ‘business profile’ i.e. a real estate agent or a masseuse.

If you’ve been writing reviews on Google Maps, creating articles on Google Knol, sharing Google Reader items, or adding books to your Google Book Search library, you may already have a profile.
If you don’t already have a profile, create one here now: https://www.google.com/profiles/.

Go play with those and we’ll be back with more soon…