My Google Juice Bar Experience: LiverGrease

We spoke to Christopher Wylie of Liver Grease and Oil Ltd to find out how he was getting on with his new website after visiting the Google Juice Bar. 

"Liver Grease Ltd is just about to celebrate its 202^th Birthday and thanks to the Google Juice Bar we’re now constructing a website that’s in keeping with modern traditions. I’ve been back to the Google Juice Bar as and when I’ve needed help with anything and I’ve been very pleased with the whole experience. The Getting Liverpool Business Online project exceeded my expectations and was a valuable introduction to getting the business working effectively online.

The website I had created for me at the Google Juice Bar is nice and simple, it’s really easy for me to edit and update and I’ve taking on board all the great advice I’ve been given, for instance, I now use CAPTCHA codes to deter spammers and rather than boring pictures of drums of oil I’m now in the process of putting pictures of my customers using our products on the website!"

Case Study: Melissa Bragg of Let's Go Punlishing

Melissa Bragg runs Let’s Go Publishing which produces School Select, as well as a number of regional publications

School Select is a listings magazine showcasing companies who provide workshops to schools; it is also Let’s Go Publishing’s core product. 35,000 copies are sent out every six months to teachers across the UK and the company have recently launched an online directory. “We use Google Adwords to ensure we have a good flow of teachers coming through to the site, small businesses know that they have a much better chance of being found online through our site.” “Google Adwords also helps us to find new potential advertisers, we used to have one or two calls a year from people who’d seen the magazine, now we get calls every other day!”

Although Melissa uses Google tools regularly, she signed up for her free Google Juice Bar appointment to help take the business to the next level. “We’re looking forward to getting some expert advice, as we are often given conflicting information and end up feeling a bit lost. We also want to find out how to grow our organic search rankings.”

Announcing Google AdWords Express!

Google AdWords Express is a new way to use Google to provide local consumers with what they’re looking for and creating fresh custom for your business. With 97% of consumers researching products online before buying locally*, a local business has an opportunity to attract a huge volume of potential customers that are already looking for them online.

Relevant to customers
Google AdWords Express is tailored for local businesses to create relevant ads for local customers. By setting up a Google Adwords Express account your business listing will appear in a prominent position for customers in your locality in the results of their Google search.

It works with keywords to appear in relevant searches and increase the number of people finding your business, and this is all managed by Google automatically.

Integrated and user-friendly
Your Google AdWords Express account is integrated with other Google services. It functions alongside a Google Places page so that it is specifically targeting local customers.

Your business also becomes highlighted and stands out from the crowd on searches in Google Maps. If your business has a website then you can provide a link for customers to follow. If not, then your Google Places page is linked allowing you to provide all of the business details a potential customer might need.

Customisable
Once you have set up the service you only pay when your ad is clicked by a potential customer, you also set your specific budget and will never be charged more than that amount for the service.

Self-sufficient
Once you are set up, Google AdWords Express automatically does everything for you with no need for any further input should you not want to, leaving you to concentrate on other aspects of your business.

Follow these 3 basic steps to set up your Google AdWords Express account:

1. Find and claim your place of business at Google AdWords Express.
2. Insert relevant details for your ad
3. Choose your campaign and budget

Or make an appointment at the Google Juice Bar and they will go through the process with you.

* Source: BIA Kelsey

Case Study: Chris Arnold of Smaller Earth

Chris Arnold is the CEO of Camp Leaders and Smaller Earth

Chris established Camp Leaders in Liverpool in 1999. He started with £500, was based in his Dad’s spare room, and sent 32 young people to work at American Summer camps. Over the following years Chris’s business has grown exponentially with the numbers of Camp Leaders doubling each year until he was sending over 800. The following year there were over 2,000 Camp Leaders, according to Chris this unprecedented growth is entirely due to the company investing in Google Adwords to give them an edge over the competition. Chris is very enthusiastic about Google, “Google Adwords changed our business, it launched us into a different stratosphere.”

 Smaller Earth was created from Camp Leaders and provides young people with meaningful volunteering opportunities across the globe. Chris now regularly travels all over the world, and he uses Google’s suite of Business Apps to keep his offices from Liverpool to Stamford to South Africa up to date, “Google Docs and Google Calendar are perfect for my business, the whole company uses them.”

‘Your Big Year’ is a new initiative from Smaller Earth. It’s a competition giving young people the chance to win a year’s trip around the world whilst witnessing social problems first hand. They will also have the opportunity to meet world leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu to discuss what they have learnt from the experience. “I genuinely think that Google has made us the business we are today, thanks to them we are currently on course to meet our company objective of having a positive impact on 20 million people by 2020.”

Google Workshop attendees tell us what they want!

We asked attendees at a Google Workshop what they were hoping to get from the session, here are a few responses that we got. 

Jennifer and Saphena visit the Google Juice Bar

Jennifer John and Saphena Aziz from Sense of Sound  visited the Google Juice Bar for information on running a Google Adwords campaign. 

How to get your website working for you

Customers aren’t just a cog in your business’ machine, they are the lifeblood. So it is essential that your website goes that extra mile and ensures that your customers’ experience on the site is enjoyable and productive. If you would like some advice on how to improve your website, then why not book a Google Juice Bar appointment? You will get a one-to-one meeting with a member of the Google team, where they can guide you through any questions you may have. You can book an appointment by visiting www.gbbo.co.uk/liverpooljuicebar 
In the meantime here are a few tips on how you can add value to your website:


1. Make it easy to get help

It is crucial that customers can quickly access answers to any questions they have whilst browsing your website. You can make this happen by sharing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), links to additional resources and by placing your company’s contact details in a prominent position on the site.

Making this information easy to access will improve your customers' experience of the site, as well as helping you to ensure that any problem with the website, a product or a service is rectified quickly.

2. Know who is visiting your site
In order to create relevant and up-to-date information for your website, you need to understand who is visiting, how they found you and how long they stay. The best tool for this is Google Analytics, as it tracks the conversion rate of visitors on your website and can accurately measure click-through rates, and tell you whether that has come from direct searches, search engines, social media etc. If you would like more information on Google Analytics visit www.google.com/analytics

3. Put yourself on the map

Literally. If you have a shop, restaurant, or any business where customers need to find your premises, then why not register on Google Places? It’s a simple process which allows you to embed the exact location of your business onto your website. Also, if a potential or existing customer searches for you on Google, your business will be shown as a map reference as well as a website link. This connects you with local customers

Google Places is a really nifty tool that doesn’t cost you anything to register. You can add your business logo, contact details and a short outline of your business. For more information head to www.google.com/places


4. Social media accounts

Are you on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Picassa, LinkedIn or any other social media channels? All of these can be used on your website. Include links on your home page and contact page to encourage your website’s visitors to follow you, become a fan and engage with your company as a whole. 



5. Remember to keep it simple

With all the added extras that have been suggested for your website, it could quickly get out of hand. It’s important to remember to keep your site clutter-free and that customers or browsers don’t receive an overdose of information. Make sure you keep things accessible and easy to navigate.

Google Workshop at Aintree Racecourse - Photoblog

On the 6th of October Google held on if it's free Getting Liverpool Business Online workshop for 150 delegates, who came from businesses across Merseyside. Here are some photos from the day:

Networking over lunch.

The main presentation covered everything Google can do to help your business

The break-out session on Google Places

Learning about Google Adwords

Business were also able to sign up for one-to-one support at the Google Juice Bar 

The popular social media session

More Google Juice Bar sign-ups!