Millions of Australians regularly turn to the Internet to research local shops and services. They start their taxes online; there are 4,000 Google searches every day in Australia for accountants. They go online to remodel their kitchens; there are 12,000 searches every day in Australia for builders. And they look for a nearby cafe to get their morning cup of coffee; there are 30,000 searches every day in Australia for cafes.
Yet two-thirds of Aussie small businesses are invisible to Aussies online. According to research from MYOB Business Monitor, only one in three Aussie small businesses have a website. These businesses tell us they’re not online because it’s too expensive, too complicated, and they just don’t have the time.
Until 9:50am this morning, Terry Randall was one of these small business owners.
But now, Terry has a new website for his excavations business, which means customers can now find him online. Terry is the first of what we hope will be more than 50,000 Aussie businesses to set up a website through Getting Aussie Business Online.
Getting Aussie Business Online is a nationwide campaign from Google and MYOB to give a free website to more than 50,000 Australian small businesses. It’s designed to knock down the common barriers to small businesses getting online by making it easy, quick, and free to set up and maintain a website.
To set-up your website, visit Getting Aussie Business Online and enter your Australian Business Number (ABN), your business phone number, and a few details about your business such as street address and opening hours. Your site can be up and running in 15 minutes. You’ll also get a free .com.au domain for two years and resources to help you add information and features to your website over time.
We’ve long believed in the power of the Internet to help businesses thrive and to help consumers find information quickly and easily. Getting Aussie Business Online makes businesses like Terry’s visible to their customers and, in the long run, improves the Internet for all Australians.
Posted by Claire Hatton, Google Australia’s Head of Local Business
