Apps Every Business Owner Should Have

Running your own business can be overwhelming, and being a startup adds another layer of difficulty. But don’t worry, there is a never ending supply of apps and tools that will help you run your business. From graphic design, image editing, right through to analysing your website and running ads. Here are the top tools to get you going, and how to set them up!

Job number 1. If you don’t already have one, get a Google account.

By doing this, you’re unlocking a world of tools and features that can be crucial to helping you run your business, and most importantly connecting you with your customers.

Google My Business

Anyone can create a free business profile on Google, which will appear in Google Search and Google Map results. Without a Google My Business account, this profile can exist on its own but you won’t have any control over what is listed on it, as the information can be managed by the public.

This is why signing up to a Google My Business account is crucial. As a verified owner of the Business, it gives you total control over your profile including opening hours, photos, and importantly – reviews.

Google Analytics

This is another brilliant, and free, platform from Google which can help you find out who is visiting your site, what they’re doing when they get there, and why they might not be purchasing your product or are leaving without enquiring.

 

Google Search Console

Where Google Analytics focuses more on the customer and how they are interacting with your site, Google Search Console focuses more on how your website performs in search engines, and how you can help to improve it, and fix any issues that could be affecting how you are found on Google.

Google Ads

 

This platform can be a little intimidating if you have no experience with advertising, but if you take it step by step and allow yourself a little budget to experiment and learn, you can really earn great exposure for your business.

Google Ads allows you to easily create your ads which will be seen across the entire Google Network – this includes over 2 Million websites PLUS being visible in Google Search results in one of the top spots. You don’t have to spend an extortionate amount of your budget, aim to start with around $500/month and you can scale up from there.

Canva

Canva is a graphic design platform that allows anyone to easily create social media posts, logos, business cards, ads, videos and plenty more, using professionally designed templates. 

There are thousands of templates to choose from, all of them extremely customisable. It’s the capability of Photoshop, without the required expertise! And best of all? There is a completely free version with a lot of functionality, or a paid version opening you up to more design elements and capability.

Email Marketing Platform

 

 It’s a great idea to collect email addresses from potential customers, existing customers, and those that want to keep in touch with your updates. You can do this through a subscription box on your website, by offering an incentive to sign up, and by collecting email addresses with purchases.

Here are some of the top choices, all of which have a free plan available:

  • Sender
  • MailChimp
  • Zoho Campaigns

Stock Image Libraries

Nothing lifts your website like some beautiful and striking imagery – and there are some really great resources that you can access with incredible photo libraries.

These are three of my favourites:

  • Shutterstock
  • Pexels
  • Canva

Photo Editing

Have you ever wanted to adjust the look of one of your images but not known where or how? Enter Colourtone or Lightbox!

These are two of the easiest image editors out there, and are free to use!

Photo Editing

As a startup business you’re going to want to utilise as many tools and resources as you possibly can, it will help you to grow and scale, enhance your brand and business, and save you so much time and energy!

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