Usually I would recommend that people create a Google account especially for business. A Google account offers many features that would work great for business and personal use. Though there are a number of services one could access with an account, today I look at seven of my favourites:

1. GMail

Many people use their account only for sending and receiving emails. However, Gmail offers more than some of the other mail options out there. You can of course not only send and receive emails but also link other email accounts to it (so that a copy of emails received is also sent to Gmail), create different signatures, auto responders and mail filters, send HTML newsletters (as many as 500 per day), use stars and symbols to help you organise your mails, get desktop notifications and even unsend an email along with a number of very useful features.

2. Google Analytics & Webmaster

If you have a website or blog it is most certainly recommended that you signup to benefit from the use of Analytics. Analytics provide a comprehensive view of traffic to your site for free! You are able to view the demographics of your visitors, look at which pages are being visited and how your website is being explored. Other features include visitor segmentation and linking your social media accounts. In essence it helps you to fine tune your site to target your specific markets. Webmaster can be used to further improve SEO, by using it to help you find and focus on specific keywords and check site health/crawlability. Among other features, Webmaster records if and when your site is down, as well as shows internal and external links and number of pages indexed.

3. Youtube

Listen to music, watch videos and movies. Create your own channel to make and add videos. It’s a good place to express your views! You also have the option to monetise your channel and make money from your content. Some people seem to be doing quite well making a living on Youtube.

4. Blogger

Create a free blog on Blogger. You can use your blog for any number of reasons whether business or personal. If you want to advertise your business or product without having to worry about getting a domain name or paying for hosting then this is an alternate option for you. Or maybe you just want to start a blog about a hobby, cause or something of interest to you.

5. Google My Business

Google My Business listing is the information that search engines will reflect of your business entry. What Google My Business does is allow you to control the information that is put out there. Tailor your information, add product images and business details including opening hours. You can also ask your customers to rate your business and write reviews; these will show up in searches.

6. Google Plus

Google’s social networking platform where you can share and discover information. You can add ‘circles’ of friends, acquaintances, people you follow etc. In Google Plus you can join Communities that share your passion or create your own. Start discussions, follow discussions, create business pages, promote your product and share your ideas with others.

7. Drive

Google Drive provides 15 GB of free storage space. It comes with writer, spreadsheet and presentation features. You can store documents, videos, audio, files and other information. It allows for easy sharing of stored data with others by just providing them with a link where they will be able to access the information. You can also set permission rights so others can edit or only view information they are given access to.

8. Hangout

Although Hangout falls under Google Plus I am mentioning it separately because many people still don’t know about this feature. It is something like Skype where you can talk to one or two or several people at once from just about anywhere in the world, for free!

Google Apps for Work is also available for businesses that want more than what a free account offers.

Google is able to offer these and other services for free due to its dominance in the market. It may carry a risk to place your dependence on one service provider but it does make work a bit easier.

Sign up for your Google account here.

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