How to Track Google Merchant Center Revenue

October 20th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Merchant Center makes it easy to follow your online sales. If you use Google Merchant Center to sell products online, monitoring your incoming revenue is paramount. Keeping an eye on your sales can quickly get complicated, but fortunately, Google Merchant Center has a very user-friendly interface for tracking all payments. Once you have your Google Merchant account connected to your bank account, you will be able to start receiving payments. As soon as that happens, you’ll be able to access your revenue reports.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Sign into your Google Merchant Center dashboard.

2 3

Review the information within the Payouts page. This page will display all financial information relating to your merchant account. Available financial information includes recent sales, sales still awaiting payment, funds paid to your bank account, refunds and chargebacks.

4

Click “Payout Details” or “Transaction Details” within the “Download Data to Spreadsheet” section. This will create a printable report that you can save to your hard drive. The report can be opened by any spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc.

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Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Center, Google, Merchant, Revenue, Track

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Does Google Index WordPress Drafts

October 11th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google uses spiders or robots to “crawl” the Internet for new pages to add to its index. Google’s indexes allow the servers to more quickly find relevant search results, such as your blog posts, without having to pour through every Web page at the time of the search.

According to Google, its spiders find new pages to add to the index by searching for links on pages that already exist in the indexes. If you have save your WordPress post as a draft, it is not yet published on your blog there are no links to your draft for Google’s spiders to discover. Thus, your WordPress drafts will not become part of Google’s indexes until after you publish the post and the spiders have a chance to crawl your site once more.

WordPress does provide temporary viewing addresses for drafts so that you can preview them before publishing. However, even if you created a link to this temporary URL from a page on your blog that already exists in Google’s indexes, WordPress only allows the blog author and administrators to view drafts. WordPress will not grant access to the content of the post to Google’s spiders and your draft will not become part of Google’s indexes.

When you maintain a blog or website with WordPress, you want visitors to be able to find your site by searching for relevant terms. For example, if your blog is about graphics and you create a post about the best editing programs, you will benefit if your blog post appears in Google’s results for “graphic editing software.” Thus, you should ensure that there is a link to every blog post, page or other content on your site so that Google can add this content to its index and you can increase exposure to your blog. WordPress drafts do not contribute to this exposure. If you are creating a time-sensitive or surprise blog post, you will not want Google to index your drafts before you publish the post to the public.

WordPress does allow you to change the status of a post back to “Draft” after the post has been published. You may do this if you have accidentally publish an incomplete post or published a draft too early. It is possible that Google could crawl your site and add the post to its indexes during this time. It is impossible to pinpoint how much time Google requires to index your site. According to the company, spiders “regularly crawl the web to” add new pages to the index. However, Google gives no concrete time-frame and states that factors such as PageRank, links to a page and other factors affect crawl frequency. In the event that you accidentally publish a WordPress draft, Google may not see it to add it to the index if there are fewer links to the post.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Drafts, Google, Index, WordPress

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How to Make a User Enter a Captcha Before Redirecting

A captcha is an effective way to cut down on spam email and message postings. The increasing amount of personal and financial information on the World Wide Web has made it an attractive target for unscrupulous marketers and criminals. A large number of groups operate “spiders” or “bots,” which are programs that travel through the web; they can be used to harvest personal information such as email addresses, post unwanted advertising messages in blogs, or create accounts for various purposes.

One way to stop these programs is by using a “captcha”, which is a simple word or pattern recognition test that the user must pass to continue. Captchas are designed to be easy for humans to solve but difficult for computers, thus making automated use of these sites difficult. By far the most popular captcha program is Google’s free reCAPTCHA. For others, see the links in the Resources section.

Difficulty:ModerateAdministrative access to your sitePHP language supportAn HTML editor1

Visit recaptcha.net and create an account (or sign in with a Google account if you have one). Click “Add Site”, enter your site’s domain name, and click “Create Key” to obtain public and private keys. Make a note of these keys, or leave the page up in your browser; you will be using them to communicate with Google’s reCAPTCHA server.

2

Download the PHP reCAPTCHA library from the Google Code site listed in the References section below.

3

Unzip the PHP reCAPTCHA library and place the file “recaptchalib.php” into the folder on your site that includes the page with your form.

4

Open your HTML editor and create a file called “verify.php”.

5

Put the following code at the top of “verify.php”:

In the third line above, replace “your_private_key” with the private key you obtained in Step 1. Leave the quote marks in place. Toward the bottom, in the “else” section, place the code that you will use to redirect the user after the test. Save the file.

6

Open the page on which your form appears in your HTML editor.

7

Create a new

In the fourth line above, replace “your_public_key” with the public key you obtained in Step 1. Leave the quote marks in place.

8

Save the file. reCAPTCHA should now be working.

The Google Code site in the References section includes a complete guide to the reCAPTCHA plugin.

The public and private keys must be entered accurately (cutting and pasting is best). Do not confuse them, or the test will not work.

Your form needs to be set up to get its variables with $_POST rather than $_REQUEST.

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What Is a FeedBurner ID?

November 5th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google FeedBurner is a free service that lets generate and manage RSS feeds for your website or blog. Each generated RSS feed has its own unique identification, which is quite simple to locate, as long as you know where to look. FeedBurner users and developers who take advantage of the service’s Application Programming Interface (API) should know where to find the ID, as it may be needed in blog plugins and applications.

A Google FeedBurner ID serves the purpose of identifying a particular feed. As there are millions of feeds “burned” or served up by FeedBurner, each one must be easily identifiable by their system, otherwise it would start serving the wrong content for each feed. Since Google’s acquisition of FeedBurner in 2007, ID numbers became identification names, which are generally chosen by the user when setting up the feed.

To find your FeedBurner ID for a feed you manage on the service, you’ll need to first log into the site. After you are logged in, click the feed title link. On the next page, click the “Edit Feed Details” link near the top. The text in the “Feed Address” field is your FeedBurner ID for that particular feed. It is unique for each feed and cannot be the same as any other feed.

Your FeedBurner ID may be required by plugins on different blogging platforms, like WordPress or Movable Type. It is useful to know where you can find this information, so you can easily input the information in the plugin’s settings page. However, sometimes a plugin asks for the full feed address, which includes the ID too.

If you are a software or application developer, you might need to access a FeedBurner ID with the FeedBurner API. If you have designed an application that requires user input of the ID, then you want to know where to find, that way you can give clear instructions to the user.

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Why Does My Google Earth Have Low Resolution?

Many Google Earth images are at a low resolution for reasons ranging from unavailability of high-quality images for a geographic area to cloud cover. For security reasons in some areas of the world, Google Earth will provide only low-quality, pixelated images that obscure details of buildings or important installations.

Since Google Earth’s introduction in 2005, Google has constantly updated its database of images to provide up-to-date, high-quality aerial images. Some are available in three-dimensional views. Google obtains the imagery from a number of sources, including satellites, airplanes, hot-air balloons and even model airplanes. Google uses the best imagery it has available, but some aerial images may be as much as 3 years old. Google Earth users can use program options to control resolution. The lowest resolution is 256-by-256 pixels; the highest available is 1,024-by-1,024 pixels.

Resolution available for a particular geographical area largely depends on Google Earth user interest. Large cities, major points of interest and historical landmarks generally can be viewed at higher resolutions, and sometimes in 3-D. An October 2008 PC World article reported some images available in resolutions as high as two feet per screen pixel. Remote areas of the world, including oceans and deserts, generally are less detailed.

Google Earth’s aerial images of certain areas are intentionally obscured for security purposes. For example, the roof of the White House is digitally altered to conceal security installations, according to a June 2009 article by Focus. Images of some military bases where buildings and other objects could be potential targets are pixelated. Among them are Reims Air Force Base in France, the NATO C3 Agency in Brussels, Belgium, and the NATO Air Base in Geilenkirchen, Germany.

Images of the nation of Israel are heavily pixelated, according to a June 2011 article by PC World. Israel is subject to what’s known as the “one-meter threshold,” which means that U.S. companies, including Google, can show images of Israel at no higher resolution than one pixel per square meter. The 1997 National Defense Authorization Act included a provision limiting the resolution of commercially distributed satellite imagery of Israel.

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How to Delete Your Favorites History From YouTube

October 11th, 2011 | Add a Comment

YouTube gives the user the ability to create a favorites list in which she can save her favorite videos, then quickly find them again. After you’ve used YouTube for a long period of time, your favorites list may contain videos that you no longer enjoy or want to watch. To reduce the list and keep it up to date, you can delete selected videos from the list, or delete the entire list and start fresh.

Difficulty:Easy1

Log in to YouTube, then click on your name at the top of the page and select “Favorites.” A list of all the videos you have added as favorites displays.

2

Check the box next to each video you want to delete from your favorites list. If you want to delete all the videos, check the box on the menu bar above the first video. A check mark appears next to each video you select.

3

Click “Remove” to delete the videos from your favorites history.

Bookmark any YouTube videos in your favorites list that you want to save, as you cannot recover your YouTube favorites list after you delete it.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Delete, Favorites, History, YouTube

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How to Use Google Earth on Your iPod Touch Without WiFi

November 9th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Earth, a program from Google that allows you to search for and zoom in on any location in the world, is available from Apple’s App Store and can be installed directly onto your iPod Touch. Google Earth requires an Internet connection to download information and images, which it caches on your device until you delete them or overwrite them. You can run Google Earth when you’re away from your Wi-Fi network but should pull up the data you need on-the-go beforehand so that it is cached and available sans-wireless Internet access.

Difficulty:Easy1

Tap the “Google Earth” icon to open the app while you have access to a wireless network.

2

Tap the “i” icon to open the options menu. Tap “Clear Cache.” This will purge your previous searches and free up space.

3

Zoom into the areas you want to cache for use when you’re away from your wireless network. For example, if you’re going to hike on a specific trail and want to use your iPod Touch to keep your bearings, zoom in on that trail to cache its images.

4

Start Google Earth like normal when you’re without Wi-Fi. You will be able to zoom into the areas and pull up the information you accessed last, which is cached on your iPod.

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How to Animate Words & Do Slide Delays in a Google Docs Slideshow

October 14th, 2011 | Add a Comment

HomeInternetGoogle InformationGoogle DocsHow to Animate Words & Do Slide Delays in a Google Docs Slideshow

The Web-based Google Docs productivity suite includes a minimalist slide show application called Google Docs Presentation. While the software lacks some of the more advanced features available from Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Keynote or LibreOffice Impress, the slimmed down interface enables you to create dynamic slide shows that can be easily displayed on your website. Google Docs Presentation does support basic fade animations on text and images and you can configure a timer delay on embedded presentations that are set to automatically play when your website is loaded.

Difficulty:Easy1

Navigate to docs.google.com and select the slide show you want to edit or click “Create New” and select “Presentation.”

2

Insert the slide text using the Presentation toolbar to format the size, color, font and alignment of the text box.

3

Click the box surrounding the text you would like to animate.

4

Right-click the text box border and select “Incremental Reveal.” The text will fade into display when the slide show is playing.

1

Navigate to docs.google.com and the slide show you want to edit or click “Create New” and select “Presentation.”

2

Click the drop-down menu beside the “Share” button and select “Publish / Embed.”

3 4

Click the “Automatically advance presentation to the next slide” drop-down menu and select the increment at which you would like to delay automatically advancing the slide when the slide show is embedded on your website.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Animate, Delays, Google, Slide, Slideshow, Words

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How to Use Google Maps in a Print Ad

October 9th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google’s brand has expanded to include a wide variety of services. Google has trademarked its logo as well as the imagery associated with its brand, such as Google Maps. If you want to use an image from Google Maps in a advertisement, either print or online, you must properly attribute the material to Google. To facilitate this process, Google has created the Google Permissions tool, which allows you to quickly ascertain the required attribution for using Google’s trademarked materials. Print advertisements don’t require specific permission to use a Google Maps image, just proper attribution.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Browse to Maps.google.com and search for the map that you want to use in your advertisement. Adjust the map using the tools available; for example, you can zoom in and out with the slider on the left side of the map. You can switch to satellite view or add elements using the tools in the upper right section of the map.

2

Press “F11? on your keyboard to set your browser to full-screen mode. Press the “Print Screen” button on your keyboard. The location of this key varies from one keyboard to the next, but it’s typically on the right side of the keyboard, either along the top row of keys or near the “Scroll Lock” and “Pause/Break” keys. Press “F11? again to exit full-screen mode.

3

Open the editing program that you are using to create your advertisement. Click on the point where you want the Google Map to appear and press “Ctrl+V” on your keyboard. If you crop the image, you must keep the attribution at the bottom of the Google Map image. You cannot remove the attribution or make it to appear that the image is not from Google.

Google does not permit you to stitch together more than one Google Maps image to create a larger image. In addition, Google’s logo must be conspicuously visible. Do not resize the map so that the logo is too small to read.

Photo Credit Feng Li/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Google, Print

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What Is a Google App?

Google Apps provide an online office solution. Google Apps is a suite of office and communication applications designed for businesses, schools and nonprofits. Most typically, “Google Apps” refers to an office-type suite comprising Google Docs, Gmail, Google Groups, Sites, GoogleTalk and Google Calendar. Like other office suites available commercially or for free, the applications in Google Apps work seamlessly with each other: Google Docs (which contains word processor, presentation software, spreadsheet and drawing software) works easily with Gmail, and its online storage capacity is useful for real-time collaboration.

Google Docs is an office suite made up of a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software. It’s considered by many to be a simpler version of Microsoft Office, the industry standard in office software. Running through a browser and a high-speed Internet connection, Google Docs provides stripped-down tools for each purpose.

Google Docs has no animated text or graphics in the presentation software. The word processor offers far fewer fonts, and the spreadsheet has a much simplified “Format Cell(s)” dialog. Compared to leading mail applications Outlook and Thunderbird, Gmail is a user-friendly and full-featured competitor, and the Google Calendar offers versatile functionality. As far as collaboration goes, the online suite facilitates work: Since the apps are browser-based, collaboration in real-time is just a click away.

Google’s communication apps offer multifeatured solutions. Gmail is one of the most popular email platforms worldwide, and Google Talk integrates voice and video chat as well as SMS texting and phone calls using Google Voice. Once you’ve created an account with Google Voice and chosen a VOIP phone number, you can text anyone and make a phone call right from your Gmail portal. With the Video and Voice plug-in, you can make and receive video calls.

The Google Apps Marketplace offers add-on applications that compete with almost any office software available. You can shop for CRM, or customer relationship management, apps, project management apps, social networking apps, email marketing apps, collaboration apps and graphic design apps — all running through your browser.

Some of the more popular apps include Aviary, a graphic design suite; WonderGraphs (wondergraphs.com/google), an app for creating high-quality graphs and charts for reports and visual analysis; BrightPearl (brightpearl.com), Insightly (insight.ly) and Zoho CRM (zoho.com/crm/) for business CRM and MailChimp (mailchimp.com) for email campaigns.

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Quick Reference Guide to Google Voice

October 18th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Google Voice allows you to make free long distance and local calls from your landline and mobile devices, including smartphones. Google lets you choose your own phone number and charges nothing for this service as of August, 2011, unless you make international calls; the rates for these calls are currently quite low. When choosing a Google number, use a number that’s in your area code so that your local friends and family can call you without incurring long distance charges.

On the left pane of the main Google voice window you’ll see buttons for making calls and sending text messages. This pane also displays buttons for retrieving recorded messages and viewing a record of your calls. Pressing the “Contacts” button opens a list of contacts, each with their own button. Click a button to call the contact without dialing. The right pane of Google Voice fills with the items from one of the commands just mentioned. For example, clicking the “Contacts” button fills the right pane with a list of your contacts.

To set up Google Voice, first get a free account with Google, either by setting up a Gmail account or going to the Google accounts home page and entering your existing email address. Get a Google Voice phone number by clicking the “Get a Number” button from the Google Voice home page at http://voice.google.com. Follow the prompts that Voice provides to search for an available number and then assign that number to your account. After choosing a Google number, choose an existing phone that Google will ring when someone dials your Google number and a pin number to access your voice mail.

To make calls with Google Voice, click the “Call” button on your Google voice home page. Google will display a dialog box prompting you to enter the number you want to call. After typing the number, Google will dial the number, then dial the forwarding number you specified when creating your Google account. When you answer this phone, Google will connect you to the person you called.

When someone calls you on your Google voice number, Google will ring the forwarding phone you specified when signing up for Voice. When you answer that phone, Google will tell you who’s calling you — if you choose this option through the gear-shaped “Settings” control on your Google Voice home page. Google then offers these options for responding to the call: you can accept it and begin speaking with the caller. Or, send the caller to voice mail and listen as he leaves a message. A third option is to accept the call and begin recording the conversation.

To check your Google Voice voice mail, call your Google number. When you hear the greeting, press the asterisk key on your phone to enter the voice mail system. Key in your pin number when prompted. Google will play your messages and prompt you with options for archiving or deleting each message. Note that Google will use its voice recognition system to transcribe voice mail messages to text, if you choose.

Filed under: Google Information · Tags: Google, Guide, Quick, Reference, Voice

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Is It Lawful to Use Pictures off Google?

Pictures are property belonging to the copyright owner. Federal copyright law protects pictures posted on the Internet, as long as the owner of the picture claims a copyright. Generally, this means you cannot use pictures from Google except for limited educational, civic, or religious purposes. However, copyrights do not protect all pictures on Google , so you may be able to use some pictures that have entered the public domain. Alternatively, you can always obtain permission from the creator of the picture — if you can track the owner down through Google or another method.

Federal copyright laws protects original creations of literary or artistic work, such as pictures. Copyright protection is automatic, if picture owner wants it. The owner of the picture does not have to register the copyright with the government, nor does the owner of the copyright even have to list any notice that the picture is copyrighted. Accordingly, you should always assume that a picture on Google is copyrighted.

You always have the right to track down the owner of a picture and ask for permission to use the picture. Google typically is not the owner of the pictures that appear on Google searches, so you don’t need Google’s permission. The owner of the picture can give you permission to use the copyrighted picture. Of course, as a practical matter, tracing the owner of the picture maybe too difficult or time-consuming to be worth the effort.

Pictures that end up in the public domain are not subject to copyright protection, which means you can use any pictures that are in the public domain. The Internet, or Google in particular, is not the public domain. Instead, the public domain is a legal term of art that means that the owner of the picture has released the picture for general use. In other words, the owner voluntarily disclaims the copyright. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to determine whether a picture found using Google has been released into the public domain. Again, you should always assume that pictures are copyrighted unless you know for certain that it was released to the public domain by the copyright owner.

Copyright law provides one import exception for use of copyrighted pictures. Specifically, the law allows the “fair use” of a picture without permission from the copyright owner. Fair use generally means an educational, scholarly, civic, religious, or charitable purpose. For example, you can use a picture in a school report or journal article, or in a fundraiser for your local church. Fair use, of course, does not allow you to use a picture as part of your profit-seeking business operations.

“Patent, Copyright & Trademark”; Richard Stim; 2010Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

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What Is a Google Mod?

October 15th, 2011 | Add a Comment

The term Mod most commonly refers to software that has been reprogrammed to offer new customized features. The term Google Mod has several usages related to the Google Chrome web browser, Google’s main search site and online services. Mod is a short notation for any of the following terms: module, modification, or moderator. Modules and modification deal with a range of activities that improve or change the functionality of a Google service, while moderator refers to a specific forum style web application offered to Google account users.

The term mod is frequently used in programming circles to refer to software that has been reprogrammed to allow for greater customization or uses unplanned by the original authors. This can range from simple changes in appearance, or the inclusion of new buttons, to more essential core changes.

Although somewhat of a misnomer, such sites are not true modifications of a Google service. One usage of the term Google Mod refers to websites that emulate or parody the main Google search site. An example is the online translation site Gizoogle which works as an online translator like Google’s own translation service, only converting the phrases given into Jive.

A Google module is a plugin that can be downloaded and applied to your Google chrome web browser to change its performance. An example is the Pagespeed module which optimizes interaction with web searches to double normal speed of result retrieval.

Google moderator is a feature offered to people with a Google account that allows them to hold online conversations in a forum style format. This application is free to any Google account user.

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What Happens if I Don’t Use My Google Voice Account?

Use either the Web-based or Android app to keep your account active. Voice over Internet Protocol technology makes it possible to place and receive phone calls through your Internet connection, without using a landline or wireless phone service. Google Voice is an example of a VoIP-based calling application. Google Voice is free to use as of the date of this publication, but has some requirements, including the amount of use required to keep an account active.

Google Voice is a Web-based program that allows you to make calls over the Internet. With Google Voice, you receive a standard phone number in your area code, which you can use to make and receive calls. The program also allows you to send and receive text messages. The program works with your Google account; when it’s linked to your Gmail account, you can place and receive calls through your Gmail inbox. Google Voice also has an Android application, which you can use to make calls or send texts through your handset’s Internet connection.

As of the date of publication, Google Voice operates as freeware. You must create a Google account, which will link your Gmail email and Google Voice number. You have the option of linking an existing phone number to your Google Voice account for forwarding. After signing up, you will need to log in and make at least one phone call every nine months to keep your account active, according to the Google help desk. If you do not meet the minimum requirements, Google may consider your account inactive and cancel your Google Voice number.

If do you not meet the minimum login requirements and Google deactivates your account, you can sign up for a new Google Voice account. You can use your existing Google account information to sign up with Google Voice again. However, if Google canceled your Google Voice account, you may lose the phone number you originally had. During signup, you may have to choose a different Google Voice number.

When you download the Google Voice app from the Android Market, the app will require that you enter in your Google Voice number and password. If your account goes inactive, you will have to change the app settings to include your new Google Voice number. This can cause login errors, and you may have to delete and reinstall the Google Voice app on your handset.

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