The journey to launch a successful e-commerce website involves more than just great design and products; it requires the right digital tools. At Links London, we’ve been working diligently to build an exceptional shopping experience for our customers, and along the way, we’ve turned to Google Workspace to help streamline our operations and stay connected.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through how Google tools like Gmail, Search Console, Google Merchant Center, and more are enabling us to create a website that’s efficient, professional, and ready for the future.
Why We Chose Google Workspace for Links London
When setting up a business, one of the first crucial steps is ensuring smooth communication. For Links London, this meant choosing a robust email service that could handle both day-to-day operations and future scalability. We opted for Gmail, part of Google Workspace, due to its reliability and comprehensive features. Unlike other providers we’ve tried in the past, Google Workspace offered more than just email—it gave us a suite of integrated tools designed to work together.
In just a few minutes, we set up a professional @links.london email address, and the workspace offered seamless integration with the Google apps we already knew we’d be using to run our business.
The Importance of Google Search Console
Building a website is one thing; getting it noticed by search engines is another challenge entirely. That’s where Google Search Console comes into play.
Search Console allows us to monitor how our website appears in Google Search results and alerts us to any issues that might prevent our site from being indexed properly. During development, we discovered that some of our product pages had indexing issues, and Search Console provided the tools we needed to identify and fix them. This tool is invaluable for ensuring our customers can find the site easily once it launches.
However, what surprised us most is that search engines can take time—sometimes weeks or months—to fully index and rank a new website. In fact, it can take three to six months for product pages to be indexed for search results. Patience is key, but we’re ready to tackle any roadblocks thanks to the insights provided by Search Console.
Email Powered by Gmail
Many people think setting up email is a simple task, but we learned otherwise. With Google Workspace, we were able to link our Links London domain to Gmail, creating an efficient email system that integrates perfectly with the rest of our workflow.
For example, Gmail’s integration with Google Drive and Google Calendar allows us to share important documents instantly and schedule meetings without switching platforms. Everything is connected, making our workflow faster and smoother.
We compared it with other email platforms, and while Microsoft Outlook offers a similar solution, the ease of Google’s interface and integration made it the perfect fit for us. With Google Workspace, we can expand and scale our communications without worrying about managing multiple systems.
Using Google Merchant Center for Product Listings
Once our website is live, one of the key challenges will be making sure our products are discoverable. Google Merchant Center will allow us to upload product listings to Google Shopping, helping us reach a broader audience. This tool lets us showcase Links London products directly on Google’s shopping tab, giving customers a seamless experience from search to purchase.
Right now, we’ve loaded preliminary data into Merchant Center, but until the site goes live, it’s not fully operational. However, we anticipate it will be a game-changer for reaching customers searching for our iconic jewellery products.
Overcoming Challenges with Google Workspace
Like with any platform, we encountered some initial challenges. For example, during our free trial of Google Workspace, we ran into a strange issue: free services like YouTube stopped working while paid tools were running smoothly. Although this was unexpected, Google’s support team quickly helped us resolve it. The overall experience has been positive, with intuitive interfaces and easy setup for even the least tech-savvy among us.
We’ve also been able to create multiple profiles in Google Chrome, allowing us to keep different brands and projects separate. This feature alone has been a lifesaver for managing multiple logins and workspaces simultaneously.
Next Steps for Links London’s Website
Our website is almost ready to launch, but we’re not quite there yet. Right now, our focus is on finalizing the product listings and ensuring all backend functions are fully operational. With Google Search Console and Merchant Center ready to go, we anticipate a smooth launch in the coming months.
Once we’ve finalized the integration of products into Google Merchant Center, we’ll start refining our search engine optimization (SEO) efforts using Google Analytics to track user behavior and Google Business Profile to enhance our local search presence.
Final Thoughts
At Links London, we’re committed to providing our customers with the best possible shopping experience. By leveraging Google Workspace and other tools, we’re not only streamlining our processes but also setting up a strong foundation for future growth.
As we approach our official launch, we’ll continue to use these tools to enhance our website’s functionality, improve search rankings, and ensure that our customers can find exactly what they’re looking for.
Stay tuned for more updates, and we look forward to welcoming you to the new Links London website soon!
