So I thought since I was taking the week off I would put the focus on google. We all know that google will eventually take over the free world but many people are not aware of some of the free services that they offer, because they have so many! So I will take some time this week to talk about some of the services that can help small business and that are kind of cool. For todays post I am going to talk about google text. This amazing SMS technology brings google search right to your phone. Not everyone out there can afford the internet on their phone but many of us have splurged for the unlimited texting (my self included). You can ask google the weather in your zip code. Try it right now text weather (your zip code) to 466453 (‘GOOGLE’ on most devices). It sends an instant reply with the local weather. You can search for local – Read the full article
Search giant Google and social media giant Twitter both recently released year-end reports that indicate how the world searched – and tweeted – in 2010. Google Zeitgeist 2010 The annual Zeitgeist report, which represents an aggregation of the search terms that people have typed into Google Search over the past year, offers insight on 2010’s fastest-rising global search trends, in categories that include news and events, people, entertainment, sports, consumer electronics, food and drink, health, maps searches, and even humanitarian aid. Here are some of the search terms that you will find in the Google Zeitgeist 2010. For the complete list, visit the Google Zeitgeist 2010 home page. 10 Fastest Rising 1. Chatroulette: A Russian-based chat website that pairs random strangers from around the world for webcam-based conversations. 2. iPad: Apple’s tablet computer, which was released in April 2010 and generated sales of 3 million units in 80 days. 3. Justin Bieber: The 16-year-old Canadian pop singer who released his – Read the full article
Did you know that 20 percent of all searches on the Internet are for specific locations or businesses? Search giant Google did, and that’s why they changed Google Local to Google Places and began to display – for every search query that may be locally or geographically influenced – the local information for businesses, maps, and directions in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Right now, Google displays seven Places results for every search, as well as a map on the right side of the SERP that shows exactly where these seven places are. Obviously, Google Places pages help customers search these maps for local information while finding businesses within their area that are relevant to their search. Meanwhile, for small businesses, mom-and-pops, stores, offices, and other organizations with a physical address, Google Places is a unique local search tool that can drive and direct those who are searching to those who have something to offer or sell. Leverage this – Read the full article
Earlier today, Google officially announced Google Instant- a real-time search experience that predicts search results as you type. As with most announcements, the long-term impacts are not yet known, but let’s look into the important parts.
Social media can be pretty confusing to individuals, businesses, and organizations who haven’t adopted – and who aren’t used to adopting early – to online trends and technologies. While some may have taken Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other social media sites as an indelible part of their lives, others are left to wonder how and where to start. There’s just too much clutter, too much noise, and without proper guidance, successful adoption may seem out of reach. And now Google Buzz has been added to the mix. While as a business owner you may have heard a thing or two about how critical social media is to one’s business strategy, you may still find it next to impossible to keep up – especially with all these new social media sites appearing and growing all at once, like mushrooms. “So how is Google Buzz different from Twitter?” “I need a Google profile to use Google Buzz?” “Oh, I already have a – Read the full article
Google is giving a new voice to small businesses – using their existing phone numbers. The company announced recently that Google Voice (formerly GrandCentral), the telecommunications service developed by the company, now comes equipped with a new feature, one that could entice more small business owners to use it. While previously, Google Voice can only be used by getting a new Google number (a criticism on Google Voice, since not everyone wants to start over with a new number), now it is possible for users to sign up for the service with their own existing phone numbers. This new capability gives small business owners plenty of reasons to use Google Voice as a sort of online PBX (private bank exchange), and a free one at that. The voicemail feature, for example, lets Google Voice users access voicemail not just from their phones but also through a computer; messages are transcribed automatically into text and can be read on a Gmail-like – Read the full article
As a small business we are always looking for ways to collaborate with our team, clients and other developers on open source project. Today Google unveiled its newest tool to its growing arsenal of web based tools. Some people are calling this the replacement of Gmail! We are looking forward to testing these new product once it is released to developers (which should be soon!) Here’s how it works: In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It’s concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content — it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use “playback” to – Read the full article
Quality backlinks play a very important role in the search engine optimization of any site. Backlinks refer to links on other websites pointing to yours. So how do you go about getting them? The Natural Way If your web content is good, people are likely to begin linking to it. The more backlinks your site has, the better. However, it does not always follow that if you have great content, people will always want to link to you. This means that you might not be able to promote your website successfully through the natural way of building backlinks. You will then have to figure out alternative ways of getting quality backlinks. And even if you get many backlinks through the natural way, you could always use additional backlinks. Some of the acceptable methods of building links are through posting in forums, article directories, and blogs. The unacceptable methods (at least to Google’s eyes) include linking to link farms, buying links – Read the full article
