SmallBizResource Blog -- Marketing

Scream and Run: 5 Google Products To Avoid

Posted by Gayle Kesten Monday, Jun 16, 2008, 01:06 PM ET

Just because Google is so pervasive that it has transformed to verb status doesn't mean you should drink every cup of Kool-Aid the search giant offers.

An article from Small Business Search Marketing -- which wants you to spend your precious ad dollars wisely -- cautions against five Google small-biz offerings. Here's why:

1. Google Apps: Despite the convenience of Web-based communications and collaboration tools, think twice if you're dealing with sensitive data. Make sure you're aware of circumstances when Google might share your information. "If I owned a business with sensitive customer data, intellectual property, etc., I wouldn’t use Google Apps to manage, store, or manipulate that data," writes SBSM founder Matt McGee.

2. Google AdSense: Using Google's advertising program makes little sense for traditional small-biz Web sites, such as small retailers, local insurance agencies and attorneys, McGee says. Yes, you could make a few bucks, but you would also be promoting your competition.

3. Google Checkout: According to McGee, customers, not small businesses, are really the ones who benefit from Google Checkout, which simplifies the online purchasing process. The service does little for you in terms of getting closer to your customers. "You can’t upsell related items, and you don’t get to add the customer to your e-mail database for future communications," he says. "Google owns the customer, not you."

4. Google Toolbar and Google Reader: Giving Google a permanent home in your browser's toolbar and/or using its RSS Reader to capture feeds sounds handy, but how much do you want the company to know about your business? McGee quotes Atlas Web Service owner Michael Gray: "If you are an established site with solid rankings that don’t have too much fluctuation (three years or more), there’s no need to give Google any more data. Google has enough good signals for you."

5. Blogger: McGee is all for blogging, but not on Google's platform, which he says "pales in comparison to WordPress, Movable Type, and other blog software platforms." Integration is clunky, the commenting system is hard to use, and having "blogspot.com" in your URL associates you with spam blogs galore, he says.

What do you think? Have you used any of these products/services? What would you add to the list?

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