Google Search Insights Tool

Google has done it again when it comes to free search analytics tools with Insights. You can perform keyword research tool by region, download reports by excel and best yet, it”s free and open. Your business can only grow if people can find you and Google is still the number one search engine, so make yourself found! After you've tried this service, please give us your review of Insights.

http://www.google.com/insights/search/

GoogleBase Boosts SEO?

Looking to boost your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Have you tried Googlebase.com? Google setup a system that allows users to upload products into their database. This way when consumers search products through Google your information can be easily found.

http://googlebase.com

Google Blog Search

If you are looking for an easy way to browse the latest news from the Blogosphere, then you should check out Google Blog Search. The sites homepage summarizes the hottest headlines and topics, while giving you the ability to search for specific topics. As always you can just do a simple search from the box at the top of the page, but I think this site gives a good breakdown of information at a single glance.

http://blogsearch.google.com/

Google Health

Control all your health information in one place completely free with Google Health. Google has pledged to keep your information secure and private; it””””s up to you how much you want to share.

What can you do at Google Health?

• Import your medical records
• Track your medical history
• Learn about your conditions
• Find out how medications interact
• Share your medical records
• Use online tools to make life easier
  • Refill prescriptions
  • Ask for second opinion

Do you feel safe sharing your medical information online? If you decide to participate, please be aware that your information could be compromised. Also you must realize that your information is already being shared digitally at your local doctor””s office; so what””s the difference? The difference is instead of your medical info just sitting there, you can make it work for you!

http://health.google.com

URL Shortener Bake-off

What’s the best URL (web link) Shortener? Here at Leading Hands we put the top URL Shortener’s to test with a little bake-off. We asked the question, “Are you ready for a throw-down?”, just like Bobby Flay.

If you are wondering, “Why should I use a URL Shortener? What are the advantages and disadvantages?” The advantage of shortening a long URL, like from Google Maps, is that it’s easier to send to a friend. Another advantage is that most shorteners let you track clicks. The biggest disadvantage is that many short URLS are tagged as SPAM, so be careful how you use them.

Bit.ly – This site was picked by Twitter as the URL shortener of choice a few months back. It’s solid and enables tracking on clicks. You do need to register for an account. There is a pro version available which I have never tried.
http://bit.ly/

BudURL – This free site is latest in shortening technology. I like this shortener because it tracks clicks. Sign-up required for full functionality. There is a pro version available which I have never tried.
http://budurl.com/

Facebook URL Shortener – Facebook created their own service. You have to be logged into Facebook to use it. It works well, but I didn’t see any tracking.
http://fb.me/

Google URL Shortener – Need a Google Account to use it. Stable and Secure are good qualities of this service. Tracking on clicks is available.
http://goo.gl/

TinyURL – This site is the original URL Shortener. It’s free to use and shortens URLS without sign-up.
http://tinyurl.com/

Youtu.be – This service is brought to you by YouTube. It works, but you have to be logged into an account to make it work.
Youtu.be

Do you have any URL (web link) Shorteners to add?

Google Weddings

Is your wedding coming up this year? Are you looking for a simple way to keep track of your big day? Consider using Google Docs to plan your wedding day. Peter Harbison, Product Marketing Manager of Google Docs recently posted a great article about using his product to plan your wedding. Here is an excerpt.

“For many couples, your wedding is most complicated party you’ll ever host. It’s no surprise that the process can become overwhelming and expensive. My fiancee and I decided to use Google Docs to manage every aspect of our wedding, starting with shared budget, guest list, to-do list and venue-tracking spreadsheets and keeping all our docs in our “Wedding” shared folder. Google Docs saved time and avoided headaches.”

There are now over 20 wedding templates available in the Google Docs template gallery. You never have to worry about versions and email attachments, because everything is always up to date.

http://www.google.com/google-d-s/wedding/

Google Buzz Wearing Off?

Over a week ago Google launched Buzz, their answer to Twitter. Buzz is fully integrated into Gmail. Google says, “it allows you to share updates, photos, videos and start conversations about the things you find interesting. You’re already following the people you email and chat with the most in Gmail. Follow your friends and get recommended buzz from others. Comments appear right in your inbox so it’s easy to keep the conversation going.” It’s another channel in your inbox in which conversations occur.

I immediately enjoyed the service and started chatting with my friends. However I didn’t realize all my conversations were going to be public. I also didn’t realize that all my contacts would be accessible by contacts of contacts. Since then Google has put into place a way to turn off your Buzz account and limit who can see your contracts. I still have turned the service off until further notice.

My first question on Buzz was, “Is Google spreading themselves thin with Buzz? or is this the evolution of Search? I think its the next stage.” Dan Runion said, “When you have more money than God you can’t be spread thin. Besides, it seems to be a simple extention/leveraging of Gmail. No brainer for them IMO.” Michael Kimmel said, “I kind of agree Marc. How many things can they possibly concentrate on at once. I thought they were pushing Wave, but the buzz around that (pun intended) has really died down.” The common thread seemed to exclaim that Google Wave had immediate excitement and then died down, now Buzz is generating the same excitement.

Will Buzz just be another flash in the pan like Wave or will it be a true competitor to Twitter?
http://www.google.com/buzz

Google Conflict of Interest?

Google seems to keep gobbling up services, but what does this mean to your search results? Are they constantly pointing you back to Google based products? Is Google just one big cycle pointing back at Google? Back in the day, Google’s mission was to scour websites and report back to you the most popular websites. However if they own all the most popular websites, is this a conflict of interest? It seems that in the end the information overload is mirage because it’s not pointing back to various sources of information just one. Is this good or bad? I am not sure.

Google It, You Big Dummy!

“Hey pop, what’s this old piece of junk?”, exclaims LaMont.

If Fred Sanford was alive during today’s Internet Revolution, he would have inevitably told LaMont to just “Google It, You Big Dummy!”. There are so many times throughout the week where I’m about to ask someone, “What was that?”, then I realize all I have to do is Google it. With the advent of the smart phones, the ability to look up trivial information is just seconds away.

However, the next question floating to the top is, “How valid is the source you are referencing online?” The fact is just because the information is online doesn’t mean it’s accurate. In Web 3.0, the information overload of the Internet will mean the increasing need of certified online content. Sites like Snopes and Wikipedia are monitored by users, but here tips to verify information on your own.

3 rules when verifying online facts:

1. Check the site references
2. Reference more than one site
3. Surf creditable sources like cnn

Take the Sanford and Son, Who you calling dummy? quiz

Sync MS Office & Google Docs

As your day begins to grind, you realize that you’re more than likely going to bring home that document you’ve been working on all day. Traditionally, if you are like me, you’ll email yourself the document or use an online collaboration tool like PBWiki to get the job done. Now you have another choice to just do it, and it comes in the form of Offisync. This free program is an add-on to your Microsoft Office applications so you can save, open, collaborate and email all your documents to a web-based Google Docs account.

Here are the specifications from the Offisync site:

• Save and access Microsoft docs online in Google Docs from any computer
• Access files from any computer with or without MS Office.
• Manage, create and delete Google docs folders in Office apps.
• Add collaborators as you save your file in Google Docs.
• Open any Google Docs file direc from MS Office apps.
• Move or copy files between Google Docs folders.
• Manage your Google Docs file library
• Add collaborators and manage their permissions.
• Changes applied instantly to each version of Google Docs
• Search any document based on its content
• Switch between multiple accounts

http://offisync.com/


Thanks to Mike Kimmel for the lead.