It may come as a surprise, especially in today's digital environment, but only about 50 per cent of businesses in Canada have an online presence.
Aaron Brindle, head of communications for Google Canada, said those businesses that can only benefit from getting online and making sure they can be discovered by markets around the world. It would only serve them well to learn the fundamentals around analytics, so they can get a better understanding of potential markets for their product.
Enter Grow with Google, an initiative that aims to help Canadians create economic opportunity through digital skills training across the country. Google hosted a free, one-day event at Science North, featuring Google-led workshops, one-on-one coaching sessions and hands-on help for attendees.
“Affording opportunity and giving back is in Google's DNA,” Brindle said. “It's something that has shaped how Google always thinks about business. Grow with Google builds on that. It takes 20 years of product and services in economic opportunity and packages it up for communities to help them leverage potential and build new skills, enhance their enterprises and to evolve in a rapidly evolving economy.”
Sudbury is the seventh community in Canada to host Grow with Google workshops. It was a sold-out event on Friday.
“This is the first time we've been in Northern Ontario,” Brindle said. “Getting outside of Toronto, you get to see the innovation that is happening in communities like Sudbury. It's extraordinary to see how economies like Sudbury are evolving, and how much of that is based on digital technology. We all know Sudbury is a mining town, but it's now a mining technology town, and we're hoping the tools we provide today afford those opportunities to grow.”
While half of Canadian businesses are still not online, other businesses that have an established presence on the World Wide Web will benefit from Google's mentor workshops.
“We have teams from across different functions at Google that can walk them through indepth programs that can perhaps support their business,” Brindle said. “For those already online, it's a way to go through a sort of digital hygiene checkup to make sure they are taking advantage of all the opportunities available to them.”
Grow with Google gives entrepreneurs the tools to “pop the hood on (their) website and get into the analytics, so they can get a better understanding of just who is visiting their website and where potential markets might be.”
It's those kinds of connections Google is hoping businesses will make with these workshops, and then use that information to form their campaigns and shape their business.
“If it's businesses that are just getting started, we're hoping this inspires them to get involved and take advantage of these kinds of tools.”
As part of the event, Google.org announced it is committing $125,000 to digital skills training in the City of Greater Sudbury. Google will work closely with Canada Learning Code’s Sudbury Chapter to deliver additional hands-on, in-person training for entrepreneurs, small business owners and individuals. The curriculum will offer more than 100 hours of learning experiences covering fundamental topics like website management and introductory coding.
For more information about the larger Grow with Google initiative and access to digital skills training tools, visit G.co/GrowCanada.
