Note: Please read the Introduction before if you want more information about market research.

Google provides great services for an entrepreneur looking to gauge a particular consumer base.

One of the most important ways to gauge your market is through a survey. There are many ways to do this. You could simply go to a coffee shop and ask people about their tastes and preferences for a particular product related to coffee. But, in our Internet-savvy world, there is a much better way to gauge your audience.

In this section, I will outline a 3-step method that will allow you to validate whether people are interested in the product or service that you are about to develop. By following this 3-step method, you will see if your business is viable.


A brief overview of the 3-step method:

1. Using Google Sites, set up a landing page, which describes your product or service, has at least three survey questions on it and has a contact email address.
2. Using Google Adwords, make at least three ads that contain catchy descriptions of your product and have a link to your landing page created in Google Sites.
3. Using Google Analytics and data provided in Google Adwords, analyze the data and results to see whether your business is viable.

Google Sites is a free service that allows you to set up a simple website in minutes.

In order to begin, you must first (if you don’t already have one), create an account with Google. Since, in this guide, we will be using Gmail for the contact email, we will create our Google account through Gmail.

In order to do this, open your Internet browser and go to www.gmail.com.

Click on the “Create an account” button on the bottom right. This is where you will put in the desired username as well as other information in order to create your account. The most important part of this step is to make an appropriate and descriptive username. This is the email that you will (if you choose to use Gmail) display on your Google site.

Fill in the desired information. After you have completed this, click the “I accept. Create my account” button on the bottom. After you do this, your Gmail and Google account will be created. You will be redirected to your Gmail account. However, for the next step, you will need to go to “My Account.” The link for this is located on the Google homepage (www.google.com). On the top right, you should see a link to “My Account.” Click that link. If you do not see that link and only see two options (iGoogle and Sign In), you have been logged out of your newly created account and will have to sign in before proceeding.

Under the “My Products” section, you will see a link to “Sites.” Click that link. If you do not see that under “My Products,” visit www.sites.google.com.

You will be redirected to the Google Sites main page. Click “Create Site.”

Fill in the desired information and choose you site theme. For this demonstration, I am making a mock-website for a “High-tech dog toy manufacturer.” After choosing your theme, you will be directed to a rather plain website as seen below.

In the top right, you will see a button that says “Edit Page” with a little pencil icon next to it. Click that button. In the box that says “Home,” add your heading. This will be the first heading that most users see. Make it catchy! Now, on the top left under the “Google sites” icon, you will see four tabs. Click the “Layout” tab. You will be redirected to the “Layout” page of Google Sites. If you like the current layout of the site, you do not need to change anything in the Layout tab. However, if you want to change this, in the layout tab, click the “Site layout” on left sidebar under “Site Appearance.” Modify the page and save. Click “return to site” on the top left side.

Now, we will add the content of the page. Remember, this is the page that will contain a 3-4 question survey for potential customers. You will need to add a description of what your product is, a 3-4 question survey and then contact information.

Here’s what my mock-website looks like:

As you can see, the top portion contains a brief description of what “Dog Toys Incorporated” is, what separates us from others and a brief description of one of our potential products.

The middle portion has a survey with three questions regarding my potential product. I ask the following questions: “Would you buy our chewable dog toy? Why or why not?, If you saw our chewable dog toy at a store, what price would you think it was?, and Do you think it is a good idea to have a dog toy track your dog’s health?”

The last portion of the website has my contact information.

You now have your Google site made. Read 3-Step Method for Market Research Using Google Adwords (Step 2)!