Whatever business you’re in, it is always important to reflect on what you do and think how you can improve. At Good Looking Design we're passionate about design and we're grateful that Framer (the software our websites are built with) does a lot of SEO optimisation as standard, however there is always more that can be done. We are always looking for ways to give our clients the best experience and also support them in understanding the role they play in boosting their online presence. 

With this goal in mind I was lucky enough to attend the in-person Google Digital Garage - organised by EnterpriseNation. This workshop is one of many free workshops being held across the country by Google. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect as the details were quite limited when I signed up but I was pleasantly surprised as it was really informative. Although there were some things I was already familiar with (as you’d hope considering the business we are in) there were still plenty of suggestions that I will go away and do more work on or suggest for my clients to explore.

The sessions

Get your business visible on Google
Problem solve like a consultant
Boost your productivity with AI
Marketing strategy and AI

The first couple of sessions had content I was more confident with however there were some discussions about Google Ads Insights Finder, Answer the public and Google Trends that I will be researching further into. For general business owners there were many suggestions that would be really helpful if you didn’t have the budget to work with a design agency. This included topics like the importance of brand guidelines, some basic UX (user experience) principles and how to register your physical business on Google Business Profile.

The sessions about AI had a lot of ideas for how it can be used to support in running and marketing a business. One of the points emphasised throughout though was that over reliance on AI can work against you. They encourage users to use AI to improve what you’re doing creatively rather than replace it. This is the same view that we take here at Good looking Design and encourage our clients to take also. For small businesses that don’t have budget for specialist support from copywriters etc AI can be great for helping you produce content. AI can also be a really useful tool for brainstorming or mocking up your own ideas. Non Google services were also referenced however Google's own service Gemini was the main focus of these sessions. 

How your business can access free 1-to-1 mentoring with Google

Something I didn’t use but was available was 1-to-1 mentoring. A client of mine who was also at the event did a mentoring session and said it was useful and gave her some points to consider and actionable goals. This was available during the day but is also available for people to sign up to virtually here, this is also free.

Conclusion

There was a real mix of attendees ranging from those looking to upskill to find a new job to hypnotherapists, handywomen, and photographers. We even had a surprise visit from our local MP. All appeared to come away with ideas they could try within their business and for a completely free event (including lunch) I thought it was a great way to spend a Friday. I would definitely recommend it to any of our clients or anyone who owns a small business.