Google Philippines encouraged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to maximize the opportunities available for them online to grow their businesses in a workshop hosted by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) on October 8. The lecture called “Maximizing Business Reach through Technology” is part of this year’s AIM Accelerate program conducted annually by the business school to educate SMEs about the potential of the Internet in increasing market share and profitability.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry 2012 report, there are almost a million micro, small and medium enterprises operating in the country but only 10 percent have online presence.  “More Filipinos are now increasingly online. That means consumers are constantly on the web searching for the best products and services that will meet their needs,” says Google Philippines Country Manager Ken Lingan. “As a business, you should be there when their consumers look for your services or goods. We’re pleased to say that there are a lot of tools that SMEs can easily use to strengthen their online presence.”

One of the business solutions that Google shared during its lecture is its advertising service, AdWords, that lets SMEs reach new customers through ads that show up on Google Search as consumers look for what they need using keywords. With AdWords, SMEs get the same advantage as large businesses because they can advertise with their set budget and pay only when people click on their ads.

Another business essential presented was Google Analytics, which gives insights on web traffic, specifically how visitors find and use the SMEs site, how long they browsed the site, and what links visitors clicked. Having this insight gives the businesses ideas on what items on their websites are interesting to their consumers and how they can improve their content to increase conversion (sales).

Alongside advertising tools, Google shared the concept of Micro-Moments, which it says, is a critical moment where businesses can shape purchasing decisions and preferences. Google called the periods when an individual reaches for his phone to quickly research on a product as the I-want-to-know, I-want-to-go, I-want-to-do, I-want-to-buy moments of the consumers. These micro-moments are when businesses must be quickly visible to the consumer so that they can be the top-of-mind choice.

Winning these micro-moments could drive better results for businesses in the Philippines. The 2015 Consumer Barometer Report reveals that 66% of Filipino smartphone users have researched about a product or service on their device. Filipino SMEs can fully utilize these micro-moments to open their business to new customers not only in the country but also in other parts of the world. These micro-moments hold many opportunities for business owners as nine out of 10 mobile users searched for local information and eight in 10 have acted on that information as a result, according to the same report.

“We want to enable Filipino businesses with information that can help them succeed online. With our services like Adwords and Analytics, we are giving Pinoy entrepreneurs the opportunity to be found by consumers at the right time, at the right place. We are also further educating them about groundbreaking ideas such as micro-moments that opens up to them the many opportunities they can tap into for their business growth,” Lingan concluded.

To learn more about Google business solutions, visit http://www.google.com/services