The Google Apps Referral Programme is designed to reward businesses who successfully get new users into its online office suite. The company says those who sign up will "receive £10 for every user who signs up based on your recommendation".
After joining, it works like this:
- Users receive a unique referral link after registration
- They fill in their details and send off some emails
- They're rewarded with £10 when customers sign up using the users' referral link
Google announced the programme in the US and Canada in March last year. There, users can earn $15 a per customer. At the time, Google said around 5 million businesses were registered with Apps - using the likes of Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive for their businesses.
Now the Silicon Valley company is trying to get more involved in the UK and Spain. There is a huge race on in "enterprise" technology - the software that companies use to run their businesses. Traditionally, companies like Microsoft have dominated that industry. But relative newcomers like Google and Amazon are now providing all sorts of lucrative back-end support for businesses.
Google's enterprise apps work a lot like its consumer apps, except on a mass scale. Google explains that no IT experience is required and there are no systems to manage, either. It's all done magically, the cloud. The referrals work through email links and money is paid directly into bank accounts.
A spokeswoman for Google tells Business Insider that it's expanding the scheme internationally because it's been "so successful in the US and Canada". She says Google Apps allows more small businesses to be exposed to a better way of working in their respective communities. "We are seeing great growth for Google for Work. It's simply another way to reward our users."
More than 10,000 people have signed up for the Google Apps Referral Programme since it launched in the US and Canada.
On its business blog, Google adds:
For those of us who use Google Apps, the ability to access all of our documents from anywhere on any device and being able to seamlessly collaborate with colleagues or customers across the world, are impressive moments. To help continue the momentum, we're launching the Google Apps Referral Programme in the UK and Spain. It allows users to recommend Google Apps to people and companies they know and receive £10 for every user from a company that signs up. As an added incentive, we will also provide coupons that save 20% on the price of Google Apps.