Google Business Comes To Missouri

Today Google is announcing Missouri Get Your Business Online. Designed with prominent local and national partners to help drive economic growth, the program provides businesses in Missouri the tools and resources to establish a website, find new customers, and grow their businesses.

Now before you get all excited – this ain't the much anticipated Google+ For Business initiative that many of us are waiting patiently for.

Google is partnering with Intuit to provide its popular Intuit Websites offerings for free including an easy-to-build website, a customized domain name and web-hosting for one year. Participating businesses also receive a local business listing on Google Places and free tools, training and resources to succeed online.

Getting online represents an enormous economic opportunity for Missouri businesses. While 97% of Americans look online for local products and services, 63% of American small businesses do not have a website or online presence. That's a lot of small businesses that are virtually invisible to potential customers looking online. The perception that getting online is complex, costly and time-consuming has prevented many small businesses from taking the first step.

“Small businesses in Missouri need to be online because that's where their customers are. Now they have a chance to easily and quickly create their own web presence and grow their businesses online,” said Scott Levitan, Marketing Director for Google.

“As a leading provider of small business solutions, we have witnessed the growth small businesses have seen from getting online,” said Ralph Matlack, Group Product Manager at Intuit. “We are excited to offer Intuit Websites for free to all the wonderful small businesses in Missouri and to help them create a customized presence that represents their unique brands.”

“Because more than 90 percent of our members are small businesses, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce understands the impact that small businesses have on the local economy, and we know that having a Web presence is becoming more and more important to the success of small businesses. Google's free resources to help get Missouri businesses online represent a significant opportunity for our region. We are thrilled to be partnering with Google on the initiative,” said Jim Heeter, President and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

The program has set a target of helping tens of thousands of Missouri businesses get online over the next 12 months. To learn more about Missouri Get Your Business Online, please visit www.MissouriGetOnline.com.