Google and MYOB have teamed up to launch a new service designed to help local businesses get online with a free website, domain name and $75 worth of advertising credits.
Getting Aussie Business Online (www.gettingbusinessonline.com.au) is a joint venture between the search giant and accounting software maker.
The two companies have scheduled a press event in Sydney on Tuesday, 2 March, but the website is already online, albeit incomplete. The website is hosted by Google.
Getting Aussie Business Online will offer local businesses a free “easy-to-update” website for one year, a free .com.au domain for two years (a standard registration period), a $75 AdWords trial with “expert phone support” and “ongoing tips and education”.
“A website today is like a phone - every business needs one. If you don’t have one, now is the perfect time to Web Up,” is the slogan for the new service.
“Google and MYOB have come together to create Getting Aussie Business Online. We’re taking the time, hassle and cost out of getting a website so that you can get on with running your business.”
The website features a video demonstration which is still marked as “private” at time of writing.
To get a free website, business owners need to fill in the business details form with the business ABN and phone number and choose a website address (URL).
Once an account is created the website will be hosted on Google’s or MYOB’s infrastructure.
Getting Aussie Business Online also has options for businesses not yet ready for a website, including “tips and tools” and links to Google’s free map listing service, Google Places.
For businesses that already have a website, promotional tools are also being spruiked.
To talk up the benefits of having a website, Getting Aussie Business Online has a showcase of existing Google AdWords customers, including a number of YouTube videos.
In 2008 MYOB acquired Web hosting provider SmartyHost so the Google partnership is another move away from its core accounting software business.
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