Iowa, Get Your Business Online!

Google Offers New, FREE Tools to Help Small Businesses Build an Online Presence 

Soundbite and Script

September 12, 2011

ANNOUNCER:

GETTING ONLINE REPRESENTS AN ENORMOUS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESSES IN IOWA.  WHILE 97 PERCENT OF AMERICANS LOOK ONLINE FOR LOCAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, 59 PERCENT OF SMALL BUSINESSES IN IOWA DO NOT HAVE A WEBSITE.  MARY HIMMINKOOL, HEAD OF GLOBAL ENTREPERNEURIAL OUTREACH FOR GOOGLE , SAYS THE PERCEPTION THAT GETTING ONLINE IS COMPLEX, COSTLY AND TIME-CONSUMING HAS PREVENTED MANY SMALL BUSINESSES FROM TAKING THE FIRST STEP.  FOR THIS REASON, GOOGLE, ALONG WITH LOCAL PARTNERS, HAVE DESIGNED A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND PROGRAM CALLED ‘IOWA, GET YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE.’ 

MARY HIMMINKOOL, HEAD OF GLOBAL ENTREPERNEURIAL OUTREACH FOR GOOGLE:

“The program is an easy, free and fast way to help businesses in Iowa grow.  Our tools and resources make it simple for any business to create and publish a business web site.  Even Web hosting and a customized domain name are free for one year, courtesy of Intuit.  To learn more, go to Iowa Get Online dot com.” 

ANNOUNCER:

BUSINESSES CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PROGRAM IN PERSON AT A SERIES OF GOOGLE HOSTED EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OR ON THE WEB AT IOWA GET ONLINE DOT COM. I’M JON DRYDEN. 

ADDITIONAL SOUNDBITE:

“Small businesses in Iowa know how important the Internet is.  They use it every day as consumers; now they have a chance to easily and quickly get their business online. This is a real opportunity for businesses to find new customers, increase sales and grow.”