Though it seems like we can function effectively with just one phone number, it isn’t that simple in reality.
Many people are shuffling multiple phones which is still not convenient. Almost everyone has a mobile phone number used for various things, but mainly for personal reasons.
Some people may have a second mobile phone number dedicated solely to work-related communication.
Others may have a landline in their office whose purpose is for business calls alone. And then there are a rare few that may also have a landline contact number at home for personal communications.
Juggling between all these different numbers and phones can be complicated and tasking
Wouldn’t it be nice to simplify your call-making process? Instead of having all these different numbers and devices, wouldn’t it make life and business so much easier to have just one number to give to people?
With Google Voice, you can simplify the complicated process.
Google Voice stems from VoIP technology, which is short for Voice Over Internet Protocol. This basically means that Google Voice converts your phone into a digital signal.
Where you get one phone number that all calls can be sent to from all your different phone numbers. This makes managing all of your communication so much simpler, as it can all be done from a single phone.
Are you rolling your eyeballs wondering why this is important to you and your business?
Then hear this, Google Voice is a favorite amongst small businesses and large brands as well because it simplifies phone calls for everyone and brings everything into a single place.
I know you have not gotten the point, not yet
So read on, this article is written with you in mind to uncover what Google voice is and all the benefits that come with using the Google Voice tool to promote your business.
What is Google Voice?
Google Voice is a voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) phone service that enables you to easily manage all of your communication using a single device. You can also use it to forward communications from one number to another.
So if you need a new way to make calls and send messages, Google Voice could be just what you are looking for.
How to Create a Google Voice Number?
Before we take a step in, it’s important to have in mind that you need a Google account to use Google Voice.
If you already have an account, then skip to the next phase of the process. If not, ensure to create one. It takes only a couple of minutes and requires you to fill out some basic boxes.
#1. Login to voice.google.com
This step is very straightforward. Once you are logged in to your Google account, proceed to voice.Google.com
#2. Browse Accessible area codes
On this page, Google will prompt you to input an area code. If your location services are activated on your device, Google will automatically display a few suggested area codes for you to select from.
Google allows you to select any area code, as far as there are numbers available. For instance, if you are based in Chicago, IL but do business mainly in Charlotte, NC, it might be a great idea to choose a Charlotte-based area code.
#3. Select a Google Voice number and click on “Select”
Once you find a phone number that is suitable for you, simply click “Select.”
#4. Confirm your existing phone number
The final step is to confirm your Google Voice account with your actual contact number. This is an online-based service, which means it can’t create a phone number for you in the same way a mobile provider does.
Click on “Verify” in green to proceed.
On the next screen, you will be prompted to input your existing phone number. This is the phone number that will be linked to your Google Voice Account and receive inbound calls to your Google Voice number, so ensure to choose one that you use most often (if you have many).
After entering your number, click on “Send code.” This will send you a code via SMS, which you will then input on the next screen.
Once you input the six-digit code you received and clicked “Verify”, you are done and good to go. The last screen will show you your new Google phone number.
To return to the dialer, click “Finish”.
5 Reasons to Use Google Voice?
#1. Routing power
Google Voice eliminates the challenges of having several numbers for multiple purposes. Once you sign up and receive a phone number, you enter all of your existing numbers–your cell phone, home phone, work phone, and anything else into the control panel.
Then, when you receive a call, all of your phones will ring (or a smaller subset, if you decide so), and you can answer whichever one is most preferred at the time.
The real power, though, comes with Google Voice’s advanced routing alternatives. You can set your preferences so that specific calls will ring only on certain phones.
If, for instance, you wanted your partner’s calls to go straight through to your mobile phone, or your father’s calls to ring only on your home phone, with Google voice, you have the power to define those specifications.
You could even set specific callers to be routed directly into your voicemail.
#2. Screening power
Once a call comes through, you have an entirely new set of options. When you pick up the call, and while the caller still hears ringing, you will be presented with the person’s name and four (4) options: To answer the call, forward it to voicemail, forward it to voicemail and listen live, or receive and record the call.
Google Voice leverages information from your contact book to tell you who’s calling. If the caller isn’t in your contacts book, Google Voice can request their name and play it for you when you pick up.
#3. Voicemail power
As mentioned above, Google Voice’s voicemail system enables you to listen in while someone is recording a message. If you choose to pick up the mid-message, you simply press the star key and start talking.
Google Voice’s voicemail is entirely accessible over the Web too: You can listen to voicemail on the web, send voice messages to other users, and even embed them on other Websites.
Google Voice also provides text transcriptions of your voice messages and the ability to receive them through e-mail or text messages.
#4. SMS Power
SMS is fully incorporated into Google Voice. If someone forwards a message to your Google number, the service will route it to any mobile phone you have Linked.
You can respond to text messages from any mobile phone as well, or through the Google Voice Web interface.
Google Voice can also save all of your text messages within its Web interface for long-lasting archiving.
That means every text you have ever forwarded or received can be filed, searched, and kept forever as if it were an e-mail.
Like Gmail, the Google Voice Web machine displays back-and-forth messages as conversations to make keeping tabs with dialogues easier.
#5. MidCall Power
Google Voice offers you added power while you are in the middle of a call, too. You can start and end recording calls with the touch of a single button, and then access those recordings on the internet.
You can also switch mobile phones without having to interrupt the call, all you need to do is simply press the star key while talking, and your other linked phones will begin to ring.
At that point, you can pick any of them up, hang up the original phone, and go about your conversation as if nothing had happened, after all, nothing really happened.
5 Reasons You May Avoid Using Google Google
#1. Privacy
As with many Google products, privacy is a hot topic within discussions centering on Google Voice.
By using Google Voice to control all of your phone communication, you are exposed to a vast amount of personal information collected by Google.
Everything, ranging from whom you call to what you discuss, yes, even in hazy late-night text messages you yourself may not recall is stored on Google’s systems.
Together with the other various data, Google may have on you, all of that could create quite a portfolio, a negative portfolio, maybe.
#2. Advertisements
At present, Google Voice is entirely cost-free and ad-free. There could be a sudden turnaround with the ad-free part, however.
Recently, one analyst told the New York Times that he hoped Google to use the system to “help accelerate mobile penetration by creating a larger mobile ecosystem against which Google can sell/target/monetize ads”.
#3. Reliability
We prefer to believe that Google will never fail us but the fact is, technology is error-prone, and things do go wrong.
The world has certainly seen plenty of Google-related service blackouts over the years,
It’s heart wrecking to be unable to access your email but for many people, the risk of not being able to receive any calls or text messages may be far more frustrating.
So what if Google Voice does blackout? Even if it’s a rare occasion, are you cool with it? The idea is not completely far-fetched
#4. Caller ID confusion
If you start using a Google Voice number as your main number, be prepared for the fact that regular calls from your cell phone will still show up as your old number.
This may breed confusion, as the number you give out won’t tally the number from which you actually call.
Notably, the service does provide a way to make calls that will display as coming from the Google Voice number
You can go through the Web site and enter a number, and then have Google dial you to begin the call, or you can dial your Google Voice number directly and then place the call via it. Nevertheless, it’s an additional step that could prove to be complicated.
#5. Number-changing Challenge
Aside from the caller ID soft puzzle, you will have to get people to start reaching you at a new phone number.
You might have to reprint business cards and you would have to take the time to update your information anywhere you have a registered account.
Google says it hopes to provide the option to port an existing number into Google Voice in the future, but that future is not here yet. That functionality, if and when it’s introduced, would cut down on some of the hassles.
Conclusion
Whether you are making personal or business communications, Google Voice can be an amazingly useful tool.
Now that you have your account set up, and know why you should use Google voice and also why you should not, you can take advantage of the tool`s features and functionalities, introduce yourself and your business to Google voice and watch it take you to pleasant places
