Mesa businesses can count on Google

Nowadays we Google just about everything, right?

From where we want to go to dinner to where to shop for that unique present or special artifact, we go straight to the web. The problem is a lot of small mom-and-pop shops don’t have that online presence. According to a March 2013 vSplash audit that looked at almost four million websites of small business and found that more than half didn’t even have a website. Over a quarter of them couldn’t be found online because they didn’t even have them ranking on their pages. Almost 95 percent of them did not have a mobile site and likewise didn’t have easy listings for their contact or ability to shop online.

Now the city of Mesa is partnering with Google to help their small business owners get recognized online. The campaign is called “Get Your Business Online.”

“With Google, we are reaching out to small businesses and Google is offering them one year of free website,” said Scott Smith, City of Mesa Mayor.

With the help from the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, business owners will be able to get set up and receive the following benefits:

• Website with unique domain and customizable pages
• Access to educational resources
• Free web hosting for one year and an option to continue for less than $10 a month after that
• Business listings on Google Search, Google+ , Google Maps and phones and tablets

“Everyone knows how wide (Google’s) footprint is and to be able to help small and medium businesses get into today’s commerce is important,” said Smith.

Business owners interested in signing up for the program or need more information can visit startupmesa.org.

Recently, Google ranked the city of Scottsdale as the top eCity in Arizona for its online business presence.