There’s no doubt, Google is good for business.
Think of it. There’s Google +, Google Places, Google Docs, Google Analytics, even YouTube. And setting up a Google Account lets you access all these wonderful Google products with just one name and one password.
Sounds simple, right?
And really, it is. Just make sure that you set up your own Google account for your business. Why? Because all Google data stays with the corresponding Google Account. And if someone else signs you up for a Google product using their Google Account, they control your data, not you.
Let’s take the example of Google Analytics. This popular program is a great way for businesses to track their web traffic, performance, conversion rates and sales. This is information that’s vital to your marketing strategy and business growth. And it’s also highly confidential.
I’ve had clients come to me because they were locked into contracts with third-party providers who had set up the client’s Google Analytics profile on the provider’s Google Account—not the client’s. So when the client changed providers, they lost all access to their Google Analytics data because it wasn’t linked to their Google Account.
By establishing your company’s own Google Account, the data is YOURS. You own it. Plus you’ll have the flexibility to set up admin. profiles to allow access to a variety of users, both internal and external, if you want. But you’ll never have to worry about losing control of any of your Google information.
Here’s a link to a page that summarizes how to set up a Google Analytics Account for your business: https://developers.google.com/analytics/resources/concepts/gaConceptsAccounts.
If your company doesn’t yet have its own Google Account, set one up:
https://accounts.google.com/SignUp
P.S. As I was preparing to write this article I found this old post from 8/15/09. Some of the Google products have changes, merged or even disappeared, but the premise remains the same!
https://www.clickonf5.org/3159/