Boost for Australian businesses this holiday season

We know Christmas is one of the most important times of the year for businesses of all sizes, from retailers to restaurants and travel agents. Though 2009 has been a tough year for many, recent reports suggest that there are reasons for optimism this Christmas: small and medium businesses are showing signs of recovery and consumers are beginning to spend again.

To help Australian businesses make the most of the month before Christmas, we're excited to offer a free $100 search marketing campaign for advertisers that have yet to try Google AdWords. This $100 Christmas bonus must be claimed before 31 December 2009 at http://www.google.com.au/stilltimein09.

Tens of thousands of Australian businesses already use AdWords and search marketing to reach new customers and drive sales. This Christmas, an online presence will be more important than ever, as a record number of Australians head online to research and purchase their holiday list. In fact, in the month of October, we saw strong query growth in several key categories compared to the same month last year, including apparel (+55%), home furnishings (+64%), restaurants (+44%), spa and beauty services (+57%), and travel (+37%).

We're also excited to launch a new way for businesses to understand how people search for and interact with their online business listing. The Local Business Centre dashboard will show business owners information like what search queries led users to the business listing and how many times users clicked through to the business's website. With this tool, business owners will be able to identify trends, such as days of the week when interest in their business spikes, or seasonality in the types of searches that lead potential customers to their listings.

The dashboard is accessible to any business owner who has claimed his or her listing in the Local Business Centre. Business owners who do not yet have an LBC account can quickly create one for free by visiting http://www.google.com.au/lbc. You can check out the video below for more information.



We hope these tools will help Australian businesses see out 2009 in a strong position, ready to make the most of the opportunities in 2010.

Posted by Will Easton, Google Australia retail industry leader