Yes, you can now get a free site that you can be proud of courtesy of Google Inc. Come to think about it, what isn’t possible with Google when it comes to giving out freebies? I remember back in the days email providers used to have a limited space policy and Big G came around and changed the game, giving users more space for their emails.

getting a free site training

Recently, I was invited to attend a trainer the trainers session at the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan African University by the GBNO team. Since I a professional when it comes to setting up websites that rank on the search engine, I participated in the session with a different view – while other participants focused on look and feel of websites, I focused on SEO. In the days, ahead I will publish a post on the SME toolkit blog on how to make your free site rank better on the search engines.

So the question is who else wants a free site?

If you do, then click here to get started today with Get Nigerian Businesses Online (GBNO). Get Nigerian Businesses Online is a Google-led initiative to help drive the economic success of small and medium businesses in Nigeria by enabling them to tap into the online marketplace.

Google says that Small and medium businesses are vital to Nigeria’s economy; there are approximately 43 million Nigerians online and that number is expected to continue grow. In the past 10 years the number of Nigerians online has grown at an explosive 82% year-over-year. For businesses to continue to play a vital role in the Nigerian economy, they need to go where their customers are going and that is – online!

Get a free site from Google today. It’s easy and at no cost!

The Internet is fast becoming the first place customers go to find information on products and services they want to buy from businesses like yours. Google and friends have come together to help Get Nigerian Businesses Online.

Let me point out 4 limitations with this free site

1. Limited ability to fully do search engine optimization (SEO)
2. Limited customization
3. Inability to use freely use 3rd party tools and plugins
4. Your website is not within your control (your are hosted on a sub domain with GBNO – not so good)

A lot of people may not have read the terms of service (TOS), so here’s an interesting clause;

11. Withdrawal of services.

a. If you use the GNBO Site or any of the services offered through the GNBO Site in contravention of these terms, or of any other terms referred to in these terms, or if you use them against the spirit of the GNBO campaign, the services you are being provided may be withdrawn from you.

What this simply means is that you can wake and your site is gone for whatever reason.

Despite these limitations, I want to say that this is a great initiative and one that is worthy of commendation.

If you ever need help when setting up your free site then contact the GNBO team

Phone: Call the GNBO team on 0700-3372-2746, Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. They are ready and waiting to resolve your issues.

Email: Send an email to our GNBO support team to get answers to specific questions. The team will work to respond promptly.

FAQ:  Some of your questions may have already been answered. Click here to review the FAQs.

Forum: There is also a forum where you can interact with other business owners.

Finally, I must commend Google Inc and partners (including MTN and Ecobank) as well as vendors (including Upperlink, Aptech and Descasio), for this laudable initiative of giving businesses in Nigeria free sites. In my opinion, it will go a long, long way and ultimately help businesses (who create a website marketing plan) grow.

It is far better to have a GBNO Free Site for your small business than to have no website at all – it a silent sin not to have a website at all irrespective of your business, even if your business is pure water packaging or sales as an example.

What do you think about this? Is this a cool initiative?