Google continues SME focus

Google aims to create seamless user experience across all its products using Google+ as a platform to integrate that.During Google's first annual g|Malaysia event here yesterday (3 October), Deon Moh, small medium business marketing manager for Google Malaysia, said Google+ is a platform that has many social elements to help businesses reach out to consumers and engage through its social elements.He says the differences between Google+ and other social networks include the +1 button, which allows the sharing of recommendations with contacts via Google search."As we search, ads pop up on top of the search page and the addition of a social element to that gives it more credibility. From a business perspective, it lets the fans speak for the brand when its Circle uses +1 on its pages," said Moh.He says tools like Hangout, which allows for face-to-face catch-up with up to 10 people at a time provides a platform for more interactivity. Users are also able to record these videos and post them directly on YouTube.Most recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak held a Google Hangout session under #TanyaNajib, where he answered queries on mainly the Budget 2013. The 71-minute session was broadcast live on YouTube."A lot of companies tend to do social campaigns, dedicating time, money and resources to it, with no way to measure the impact of the money allocated to it," added Moh.Google+ has the addition of tools that allow companies to track their usage. This includes Google Adwords, which tracks how ads are doing when the +1 button is showing versus when its not.Google Analytics allows the tracking of social reports, which is able to show site traffic and determine which social or web sites users are from, tracking over 400 sites.Globally today, there are 400 million Google+ users, with 100 million 30-day actives."We see a lot of potential in the Malaysian market and Google+ will definitely be something we start focusing on in the near future. We are first focusing on getting more businesses online," said Moh.Google has been doing this through its ‘Getting Malaysian Businesses Online' initiative, through which it received 25,000 sign-ups from SMEs with 9,000 published sites.In terms of plans to integrate the programme with the social element, Moh said that SMEs who aren't ready for a website are also given the option of starting a Google+ page first.But Moh says that businesses are still apprehensive when it comes to accepting digital or the online space.