Google Reaches Out to Silicon Valley Businesses

If you can't find a small business' website on Google, it might not be the search engine's fault.

While 97 percent of Internet users look online for local products and services, 62 percent of California small businesses do not have a website or online presence, according to a statement released by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto).

To help bridge this gap, Google and Intuit partnered with the Chamber of Commerce Mountain View for a full-day workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 4 as part of Google's "California Get Your Business Online" initiative to help business owners get websites and promote them.

According to Scott Levitan, director of small business engagement, Google's outreach initiative began in California 2012, but the company already had similar initiatives in other parts of the country as early as July 2011.

For the event at the Googleplex, they reached out to the Chamber of Commerce of Mountain View who helped spread the word to their membership. (Make sure to check out the video!)

Presenters included former Googler turned and now consultant Fred Vallaeys who explained how businesses could use Google products to market their business (YouTube, Google Plus), track the penetration of their outreach efforts (Trends, Alerts) and even hold videoconferencing workshops (Hangouts and Circles).

But the workshop also aimed to help business owners without websites get online and that's where Intuit's Jake Jepsen skills came in handy. He shared that Google chose to work with their Mountain View neighbor because their website products "were the easiest to use and they can get up and running quicker."

Throughout his years of teaching business owners how to build websites Jepsen himself learned that sometimes those without a website didn't have one because of a lack of time, understanding or even fear that they couldn't make them perfect. This made these types of workshops essential, he explained.

"It's a roomful of people who know about websites and computers and want to help you," he said.

The ability to learn from the experts was the reason Mustafa Gurleroglu, president of MG Insurance Agency, attended even though he has a website.

"All of this stuff is confusing and complex at times," said Gurleroglu, whose company is based in Milpitas. "You really have to go to the specialists to get insider information. That's why I'm here."

Sev Daudert, president of Tomatoprints, also has a website. She attended because having a website is half the battle.

"We are in Silicon Valley and this is the best way to get your business exposed within your communities and others," Daudert said. "I want to be able to do that with the tools that Silicon Valley offers us."

"That's my goal."

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