A few months ago, Google teamed up with the Small Business Administration (SBA) in order to create an online repository of information and how-to videos for the small business community. The videos are divided into nine separate categories:

• Establish Your Online Presence
• Display Imagery on Your Website
• Engage Customers with a Website
• Interact with Your Community using Free Online Marketing
• Promote Using Free Online Marketing
• Educate Your Customers Using Free Online Marketing
• Grow with Paid Online Advertising
• Measure Results with Web Analytics
• Google and SBA

What’s interesting about this online tool is that the video case studies/tutorials are presented by small businesses instead of Google or SBA experts. For example, Humphry Slocombe is a San Francisco-based specialty ice cream maker, who uses social media to inform customers on new menu items and to gather feedback. In his video he talks about how to:

• Utilize free marketing to announce specials, deals, and changes to your offerings. Be as clear and specific as possible.
• Build a relationship with your customers by listening to what they are saying online.
• Reach people beyond your local area. Decide who you want to reach and use free marketing to target and engage them.

The mini-site is transparently self-serving, geared toward encouraging small businesses to use various Google tools. Still, it’s a helpful resource, full of practical, real-world experience and advice.

As mentioned in other posts, Google has been working hard to curry the favor of you, the small business owner. The SBA partnership is just one of several Google attempts to engage the small business world. Recently, Google started up a small business blog (link to post) and enabled small business members of Google Places to respond to reader reviews (link to post).

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.