To attract more customers for its Google Apps for Business, Google announced a $15 reward for every new customer you refer.
Google announced the referral program on Tuesday through a blog post. With the new program, Google expects to take on Microsoft's Office 365 suite, reported UPI.
"The referral program makes it easy to share Google Apps with your network and show them how they too can use these tools at work," said Google's Marketing Lead, Prajesh Parek, according to UPI.
He added, "To show our appreciation, we're offering a $15 referral bonus for each new Google Apps user you refer."
Detailing the referral program, Headlines & Global News said that existing users can refer an unlimited number of people but will be rewarded only for the first hundred users of referral customers. To receive the apps' services, users will have to pay a fee of $5 a month or $50 a year. Users also be rewarded only if their referrals stay put for four or more months.
Google also announced that the program is restricted to users living in the U.S. and Canada, for now.
News Ledge heralded the program as highly beneficial for both Google and the users. "The referrals have to stay on the books for 120 days, so Google gets into the black, money wise. If major affiliates jump on the deal and focus on local, then Google sits back and collects customers with little to no effort," it reported. The fee and the requirement for referral users to stay on for at least 120 days are expected prevent abuse of the affiliate program.
The announcement on Google's Official Enterprise Blog drew several reactions--mainly positive--with many asking when other countries would be included.
