DMS Resource Hub

Learn how to launch and grow a successful online store with clear steps for choosing products, attracting customers, increasing sales, and standing out in today’s competitive e-commerce landscape (Square).

Are you looking to get your business online but don’t know where to start?

CIRA provides a Step-by-step guide to help you go from a simple idea to a full-fledged online business. 

This Step-by-step guide to starting an online store for your small business (Canada Post) will help you prepare for the key steps to transition your business online.

Landing pages are important as they should be designed in a way that helps convert potential customers checking out your website to sales. 

Check out this guide to improve your landing page: The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages (HubSpot)

Nano Banana – Doodle your dreams into reality. As AI continues to grow in the digital space, make sure you are utilizing the platforms out there to ease your time for your small business. Platforms, like Google Gemini’s Nano Banana, can create images which you can edit quickly for your content.

Nano Banana can help you accomplish things like:
– Product photos shoots – placing your item in a real like setting
– Logo mockups – see your business on a coffee cup, tote bag, storefront, and more
– Consistent social media branding -ask Nano Banana to create a specific style or colour palette across multiple images. 

Looking for a way to easily create unique and tailored product imagery and get more value from the images you already have? – Check out Google’s resources on Using generative AI to make creative product images, or lean more about Google’s Product Studio for Merchant Center. 

Want to expand your audience worldwide but don’t know where to get started with shipping? 

Learn more here: 

• International Shipping Tools for Businesses (Canada Post)

• International Shipping: Canadian Guide to International Customs (Canada Post)

• Considerations for Setting Up Your Return Policy (Canada Post) 

• Rethinking Returns Strategies to Turn Ecommerce Returns Challenges into Opportunities (Canada Post) 

Learn more about available Solutions For Small Businesses with Canada Post, where you can save big on shipping costs and access exclusive shipping tools. 

Stay up-to-date on U.S. duty changes. Learn more with Canada Post’s guide to shipping to the U.S.  

Want to learn tips and tricks on how to improve your website to increase your customer’s likeliness to purchase?  

Learn more on how to reduce cart abandonment here:  Selling north of the border: How to prevent Canadians from abandoning their online carts (Canada Post) 

PageSpeed Insights from Google, reports on the user experience of a page on both mobile and desktop devices and provides suggestions on how that page may be improved. Cliquez ici to access PageSpeed Insights to review the speed of your web pages.

Lighthouse is an open-source, automated tool to help you improve the quality of web pages. You can run it on any web page, public or requiring authentication. It has audits for performance, accessibility, SEO, and more.  Learn more in Google’s Introduction to Lighthouse. 

A CRM system stores all interactions with potential and existing customers to help improve customer relationships, collaboration and provides greater insights. 

Learn more about Customer Relationship Management, and managing your E-Commerce Data here:  Intro to customer relationship management. (Square) 

Looking to optimize your business’s CRM strategy? Learn more here:  CRM vs CMS: Which System is Right for Your Business Needs?  (Mailchimp) 

Looking to future-proof your business and become cyber resilient?

This comprehensive course, presented by Digital Main Street, TABIA, and Mastercard, is designed to empower small businesses with the tools and knowledge they need to fortify their operations against the growing threat of cybercrime.

Cliquez ici to start the course!

Mastercard’s Small Business Navigator is your new centralized digital suite of resources, designed to help you succeed at all stages of your business journey.

Small Business Navigator brings together:

• Cost-saving offers for accepting payments and simplifying operations and simplifying operations
• Cybersecurity resources to learn how to protect your business
• Economic insights that can help you understand market trends and anticipate shifts
  It serves as your one-stop hub for a wide range of resources to meet real-world needs and further support your business growth.

Explore Mastercard’s Small Business Navigator and unlock your full business potential today.

Use these resources below to learn about how to protect your business: 

Cybersecurity Webinar Series

• Cybersecurity 101: How to protect your business in 2022 and beyond
  • Presentation deck available sur ce site.
• Selling Online: How to improve online experience and security
  • Presentation deck available sur ce site. 

Other resources from Mastercard

• • Small Businesses, Big Targets: How to Protect your Business from Cyber Threats
  • How Hackers Exploit our Weaknesses

Want to learn more about why Cybersecurity is important? – Watch this video (Mastercard)

Want to keep learning?- To continue learning more about Cybersecurity listen to the Mastering Cyber Podcast.

Visit the Mastercard Trust Center to learn how to protect your business from cyber-attacks.

Whether you want to learn the basics, expand your knowledge or master your security you can access great resources sur ce site. 

Need a starting point?

Cliquez ici to download the National Cybersecurity Alliance’s Small Wins checklist through the Mastercard Trust Center as a starting point for your business’ cybersecurity awareness training.

Implementing Cybersecurity into your business?

The Mastercard Trust Center showcases The GCA Cybersecurity Toolkit for Small Business, which offers free and effective tools you can use today to take immediate action to reduce your cyber risk. 

Learn About Phishing and How to Prevent Falling Victim to a Phishing Scam – For more information on Phishing Prevention watch this video (Mastercard)

Cybersecurity attacks can happen on many platforms! – Learn more about Social Media Platform Attacks and what to do about Malicious Emails (Mastercard).

Test your knowledge with the complimentary Cybersecurity Assessment Tool from Mastercard for small businesses.- Learn more at mastercard.ca/SmallBusiness

Want to learn the basics of digital marketing?

Review the Post Launch Considerations On-Demand Training, designed to help small businesses start marketing after launching their e-commerce stores.

• Access Post-Launch Considerations 101 ici  
• Access Post-Launch Considerations 201 ici. 

What is digital marketing?– In its earliest days, digital marketing was as simple as placing image ads on websites. Today, it’s evolved into a vibrant field that blends technology, creativity, and strategy. Modern digital marketers design innovative campaigns and use real-time data to build meaningful connections with consumers. Learn more (Google). 

What you need to know about online marketing – Online marketing is an investment in your business. In this short, interactive guide, we’ll ask you a few simple questions to make sure you’re equipped to invest your advertising dollars wisely and reach your marketing goals. (Google)

What’s included in this guide:

• What’s online marketing?
• Is your website ready to deliver results?
• Using Google Ads for online marketing

Marketing in Practice: What You Need to Know- Marketing essentially means creating brand awareness. This can be at a high level or in relation to specific products or services. Even the most famous brands in the world take marketing very seriously. In fact, some brands are renowned for their skill at it.Effective marketing is often crucial to the success of small businesses. So here is a quick and simple guide from Square to help you implement it.

Top digital marketing trends and predictions for 2026 – Amidst technological progress, one thing remains the same: people are constantly looking for answers, solutions, products, and connections. And, today, they do this by searching, streaming, scrolling, and shopping. This is happening at an immense scale on Google platforms. With that in mind, explore the top digital marketing trends and predictions for 2026 from Google visionaries who can help you show up in the moments that matter.

What to expect in digital advertising and commerce in 2026- Consumers are continuing to search, scroll, stream, and shop, and now, AI is proving that speed and certainty can go hand in hand.  In 2026, we’re reimagining commercial experiences to be fluid, assistive, and personal, so businesses can build confidence from the start. In her third annual letter, Vidhya Srinivasan, VP and GM of Ads and Commerce at Google, shares how her teams are reimagining commercial experiences to be fluid, assistive, and personal in this new expansionary moment for the industry.

Social media can be an important marketing strategy for any business – View this in-depth guide to Create a Marketing Plan for Social Media in 8 Steps (Mailchimp).

Need help planning your content?  -Check out Meta Blueprint’s lesson on Tips & Tools for Creating Social Media Content et The Importance of a Content Calendar. 

Need content ideas? Cliquez ici to access Google Trends to keep up with the latest trending searches. 

A strong retail marketing strategy helps your business stand out, attract more customers, and drive sales. This guide from Square covers the essentials to help retailers grow smarter and faster.

Have you ever wondered what Search Engine Optimization is or how you can use it to grow your businesses? 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide- SEO—short for search engine optimization—is about helping search engines understand your content, and helping users find your site and make a decision about whether they should visit your site through a search engine. Following the best practices will hopefully make it easier for search engines (not just Google) to crawl, index, and understand your content.

Need help getting started with SEO keywords? – Cliquez ici to access Google’s Free AdWords: Keyword Planner and cliquer ici for more information on how to use this tool. 

What the breakout Search trends of 2025 mean for your marketing strategy in 2026– What do “bunnies on a trampoline,” “labubu clothing,” and “jorts” have in common? They’re among the breakout Google searches of 2025 — terms that saw a whopping +5,000% increase in search interest compared to the previous year. But the crucial question is: What do people’s search habits in 2025 mean for your marketing strategy in 2026? Here are the biggest takeaways for marketers.

Email marketing can be a free and easy tool to attract and retain customers.  Check out Email Marketing 101: A Beginner’s Guide for Small Businesses (Mailchimp) to get started!

Running an email marketing campaign? Check out this article on How to Create High-Performing Email Marketing Campaigns (Mailchimp).

Looking for important do’s and don’ts for creating a successful email marketing strategy? Get email marketing tips to help improve your emails for successful campaigns in this guide (Mailchimp).

To start getting Google reviews, you need to set up a Google Business profile sur ce site. 

Reviews can help a customer decide to purchase your product, but how do you encourage other customers to leave reviews? 

Learn more here:

• Tips to get more reviews (Google) 
• How to Ask for & Actually Get Customer Feedback (HubSpot)

Need a way for customers to leave reviews?  Learn more about Google Reviews here. 

Tracking the analytics of how your customers are engaging with your e-commerce presence can help you develop new marketing goals and determine if you are achieving these goals. 

Need help translating your analytics into goals? Learn analytics with free online courses from Google: 

• Analytics for Beginners  
• Google Analytics Certification 

Need a way to track your analytics?  

• Check out Google Analytics, a free tool that can be used to understand your customer’s experience across different platforms and devices.  
• Check out Meta Pixel, which allows you to add a piece of code to your website to measure, optimize and build audiences for your ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram. 

Google Ads can be a great resource to grow and market your business. 

• Start converting new customers with Google Ads. With Google Ads, you can maximize your ROI with ads that adapt to your marketing goals. En savoir plus. 
• Put Google AI to work to drive better results. Google’s AI-powered campaigns are easier to set up, manage, and optimize for success, so you can reach your goals more efficiently and get your next campaign off to the best start. En savoir plus. 
• How to grow your business with Local Services Ads – Trying to connect with local customers but not sure how? Google Local Services Ads can put your business directly in front of prospects near you. This guide will cover how to grow your business, build trust with local customers, and simplify your advertising with Local Services Ads for lead generation. Learn more. 

Interested in learning more about Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools but you’re not sure where to get started? Get AI training made for small businessDiscover how AI can save you time on daily tasks, uncover insights from your data, and find new customers. From quick lessons to hands-on coaching, find relevant AI training and tools to help you grow and manage your business. En savoir plus (Google). 

We are thrilled to share Grow with Google’s free AI resource for small businesses: AI for SMBs! With this course, small business owners can get hands-on experience prompting Gemini to brainstorm ideas and speed up their daily work tasks. Crafted with Google experts, this course will cut through the AI jargon and reveal how Google’s AI-powered tools can help you:

• Save Time: Automate tasks and streamline operations.
• Wow Customers: Deliver personalized and engaging experiences.
• Boost Your Bottom Line: Drive more sales and grow your revenue.
• Ready to unlock the potential of AI for your business? Access AI for SMBs for free:

Do your best work, faster – From AI assistance in your inbox to a taskforce of AI agents at your command, bring the best of Google Gemini to work. 

Nano Banana – Doodle your dreams into reality. As AI continues to grow in the digital space, make sure you are utilizing the platforms out there to ease your time for your small business. Platforms, like Google Gemini’s Nano Banana, can create images which you can edit quickly for your content.

Nano Banana can help you accomplish things like:
– Product photos shoots – placing your item in a real like setting
– Logo mockups – see your business on a coffee cup, tote bag, storefront, and more
– Consistent social media branding -ask Nano Banana to create a specific style or colour palette across multiple images. 

Looking for a way to easily create unique and tailored product imagery and get more value from the images you already have? – Check out Google’s resources on Using generative AI to make creative product images, or lean more about Google’s Product Studio for Merchant Center. 

Understanding AI’s possibilities (and pitfalls) for your ecommerce business– Ecommerce requires continuous innovation to thrive. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that businesses are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) as a powerful way to transform their operations and elevate customer experiences. How does AI become a bigger part of your business? In this article, Canada Post explores the possibilities to consider and the pitfalls to avoid when incorporating this rapidly evolving technology.

Square AI allows you to ask for help or ask questions about your Square business data. Simply ask your question in Square Dashboard or on the Square Dashboard app and AI does the rest. Square AI supports asking about sales, transactions, staff, customers and general help topics. You can also ask Square AI to search the Web for real-time information that might affect your business, like asking for the weather, events in your area or reviews for your own or other local businesses. En savoir plus. 

Massively powers real-time conversations on your website, Instagram, and more — capturing leads, answering FAQs, and seamlessly handing off to a real person when needed. 

From booking appointments to answering product questions, your chatbot is trained on your website in minutes — no coding required. 

En savoir plus sur ce site, and access the exclusive discount for DMS businesses!