Did you know? Google has some really cool tools...

I am always learning new information that I think everyone else already knows. But then I start talking to people and realize they don’t. I recently mentioned in my networking group how Google indexes Craigslist and Facebook entries. (If you are looking for a used couch in your town, and put that into Google, you will almost certainly find a Craigslist entry on the first page of search results!) But the conversation turned to other Google stuff. Most of the people in the room had no idea …


If you put “define: anyword” in Google, a definition will be returned. If you type: “area of a circle” the formula for finding the area of a circle will be returned. Almost any kind of information is available - if you know how to ask.
Customized Google Results. When you are on the Google home page and put in a search term you will see an icon near the top of the page -- a plus sign + with a link to "more options." When you click that icon, a new column will open on the page. You can filter your results in many different ways, including the Latest results (which is something I normally do to make sure I’m getting current information). You can also filter by "Nearby" which might serve you well if you are looking for something locally. You can also ask for results by category, such as blog posts, conversations, videos, news feeds and even books. This is a great way to assess how where the information is coming from and (maybe) how credible it is. There are other options, and you might want to check those out too.

If you have a Google account, you can do even more.

Google Alerts. This is a Google service where you get email alerts (at intervals you choose) for any keyword you want. You can set up as many Google Alerts for as many keywords as you want and will receive an email for each. The results are clickable, so you can check out who is saying what about the keyword. You can also use quotes to get alerts for key phrases.

iGoogle Home page. If you make Google your home page, you can customize it with an almost endless array of “gadgets.” For example, I have the local temperature and forecast for my city displayed. This is clickable to the Weather service, if I want to see more. I also have newsfeeds for some of my favorite news outlets. I also subscribe to a couple of blogs, and new titles are delivered to my home page. When I click on them, I am taken to that blog post. Just for fun, I have the current phase of the moon on my site, and even a joke of the day. There are so many gadgets; the problem is deciding which ones to include.
I haven’t even touched on all of the business tools available on Google. A lot of them are free. Google Analytics can help you see how your website is faring. Their Web Optimizer “automatically tests different site content in order to maximize visitor conversion rates.” Google maps allow you to “claim” your location so when people are looking for you they can find you. (Maps are usually listed first by Google when a location is mentioned for a business.) And the list goes on. If you want to see more, just click on the “Business Solutions” link at the bottom of Google’s home page.

While I have this niggling fear that Google will soon control the world (at least the world of information), they really do offer some of the best tools available for getting the most out of our Web experience.