Google for Small Business FAQs

Google for Small Business brings together the best of Google’s products, tools, and resources to help small businesses succeed online. The website provides step-by-step guidance to help small businesses stand out on Google, reach more customers, and work smarter with digital tools. The site is free, and many of the tools we recommend are free as well. Keep up with the latest and join our small business community by following us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Google has a number of digital tools and business solutions. While there are many to choose from, we like to spotlight a few that are especially helpful for businesses just starting out or looking to use more digital tools. You can get a web address with Google Domains, build a simple website with Google Sites, collaborate effectively with Google Workspace (formerly GSuite), and show up on Google Search and Maps with a free Business Profile. Get started with our step-by-step Digital Essentials Guide.

Many of Google’s digital tools for small businesses are free. You can stand out on Google Search and Maps by claiming a free Business Profile, promote products to online shoppers using free product listings, build a free simple website using Google Sites, gain free tracking and insights into web traffic using Google Analytics, and bring your brand to life with a free YouTube channel. You can also get started with a free Workspace trial. Explore our complete list of recommended free products from Google.

Be sure to appear when consumers are searching by claiming a free Business Profile on Google Search and Maps. Purchase a web address on Google Domains, and build a free simple website through Google Sites or set up an online store (for ‘e-commerce’ or online sellers) with one of our website building partners. Ensure your website appears on Google Search (is search engine optimized aka ‘SEO optimized’) and set up tracking capabilities with Google Analytics to understand your web traffic. Maintain a two-way conversation on social media and platforms such as YouTube to build trust and encourage purchases. Next, consider reaching even more customers through email marketing or advertising with Google Ads.

Get started with a web address and a website, ensuring your website is search-friendly (‘SEO optimized’), and set up with web tracking capabilities. Be discoverable and stand out on Google Search and Maps by claiming your free Business Profile. Personalize it by updating essential information like hours and contact details, showcasing your products or services, providing quotes or enabling online bookings, and responding to reviews. Depending on your business type, a strong social media presence could also be helpful.

If you don’t run an e-commerce business, consider creating a simple, custom website with Google Sites. For e-commerce businesses, get started with one of our web builder partners.

Get started by understanding how Google Search works. Ensure your website appears on Google Search using a free tool called Google Search Console. To improve your site ranking (help it appear higher on the search results page), include useful and descriptive information about your business (including contact information), short and meaningful page titles, relatable descriptions and copy, and completed image or video tags. Explore our free online lesson on SEO best practices for more.

If you have a physical location for your service business or operate locally, you can turn searches on Google into customers by claiming your free Business Profile. Through your profile, customers can contact you and even book appointments directly on Search and Maps. Join the conversation by actively replying to reviews and managing your social media presence. We suggest claiming a web address, creating a dedicated website, and ensuring it is search-friendly (‘SEO optimized’) to capture any incoming demand. Next, set up web tracking capabilities with Google Analytics, and consider expanding outreach efforts through email marketing and advertising with Google Local Service Ads. Explore our free guide for service businesses for more.

Make sure your business can be found on Google by claiming your Business Profile, purchasing a web address and building a custom, search-friendly (‘SEO optimized’) website. If you have a limited catalog of products or want an easy way to accept payments online, add simple selling functionality to your existing website through PayPal or Shopify. For a robust online store, create a dedicated e-commerce site through one of our web builder partners. You can also list your products for free across Google properties, and add them to your Business Profile. Join the conversation by replying to reviews and managing your social media presence. Once you have set up web tracking capabilities, consider expanding your outreach through email marketing or online advertising. Explore our free guide for retail businesses for more.

Make sure your restaurant can be found on Google by claiming your Business Profile. Showcase your menu, add a booking button and highlight any special services (e.g. delivery, pickup) on your Business Profile to drive more orders and foot traffic. Join the conversation by actively replying to reviews and effectively managing your social media presence. Explore our free guide for restaurant businesses for more.

You can create a personal or business channel for your business for free. To create a channel that only you can manage using your Google account, simply create a personal channel. To create a channel with a different name than your Google account and more than one manager, create a brand channel. Get started with these step-by-step instructions.

Google offers a number of free career certificates, including in Digital Marketing & E-commerce – get started on Grow with Google. Access best-in-class product certifications (including Google Ads) on Skillshop.

Learn at your own pace with Google for Small Business’ free library of lessons. To troubleshoot specific issues, explore these Quick Help videos.

Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and others can be a quick way for small businesses to reach audiences online. You should choose platforms based on where your customers are, create easily searchable and memorable names or profiles, post content consistently, interact with followers regularly, and track campaign performance. To expand your reach further, you could also consider paid advertising on these platforms, such as through YouTube Ads. Explore our free online lesson on social media.

Your email marketing tool should provide you the ability to create, customize and embed email sign-up forms into your website or blogs, and then automatically add collected addresses to your mailing list. They should also have helpful templates and strong reporting capabilities. Constant Contact and HubSpot are two such tools, though there are several to choose from. Learn more with our free online lesson on email marketing basics.

Start by building your email list, for instance through a sign-up form on your website. Only ask for necessary information (name, email address, consent), and incentivize joining your mailing list by offering discounts, exclusive access, and/or helpful, free content. Build out content for your email program, and be sure to measure success through metrics such as open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, and unsubscribe rate. Explore our free online lessons on building an email list and measuring success in email marketing.