Five unknown Google tools your business really should be using

We all know that Google is a vast company, whose forward thinking and creative mentality means that they try their hand at a whole lot more than just maintaining a search engine (driverless cars, Project Loon and Google Sky being more prominent examples).

But many simply aren’t aware of the work Google does to assist businesses online. They have a plethora of tools, apps and resources – (almost) all free – that give business owners a leg up in their pursuit of online marketing success.

We’ve put together a list of the five that we feel all businesses should have used, or be using on a regular basis, as part of their online strategy:

1. Full Value of Mobile

Google’s Full Value of Mobile calculator tells you just how much having a mobile site is worth. The tool helps you to analyze how customers interact with the various aspects of your business, from mobile sites to calls to cross-device ability. It’s a little trickier to use if you don’t have Google Adwords campaigns running, but the time invested is worth the results.

2. Google Correlate

Google Correlate finds search patterns which correspond with real-world trends – a particularly useful tool for those focusing their marketing efforts on SEO and SEM.

Part of Google Trends (another useful tool), Correlate is a great way to get a step ahead of your competition online.

3. Google Think

A huge resource that provides fantastic resources on improving your brand visibility on the internet, whatever your goals and whatever your industry. They have a newsletter – subscribe to it.

4. Webmaster Tools

Google’s Webmaster Tools allows webmasters to monitor a site’s health and traffic, providing search data, traffic information and fixes that are needed, as well as various additional tools such as Structure Data Markup Helper and Google Places for Business.

5. Get Your Business Online

A complete guide to setting up an online presence for your business. Very much a beginners guide, but still a useful resource for even the most savvy internet marketer.

Have we missed any essential tools here? If these five don’t cover the angles you’re looking for, we’d recommend a great article from Lifehacker which explores this topic to deeper degree.