5 Quick Ways to Get More from Google Search

You know how it goes ….. you’re on the computer looking for some information, or a service or just browsing around. If you are like the majority of the population you will bring up Google to help with your search (aside : Google is another word that has gone from being a proper noun to a verb).

For a tool that so many people use on such a regular basis there are a number of things that you can do that can improve your results.  Here are just 5 …..

Quotation Marks

This maybe obvious to any regular Google user, but every week or so I am surprised by someone who doesn’t know this one. If you type a number of words into your search engine then you will get results where those words are anywhere on the page, in any order. If you want to search for the specific phrase then you need to use quotation marks ” “.

For example – there is a big difference in results if you search for get more shoppers (as 3 separate words) versus the phrase “get more shoppers”

Exclusions

The English language being what it is there are times when words have more than one meaning. If you happen to be searching for one of those words then you might want to exclude the options you are not looking for.

For example – I’m searching for my friend Chris Owen’s website and know her business name is Pink Apple, but I didn’t want to get results for growers of fruit then I might enter -

“pink apple” -fruit

Calculations and Conversions

Need to know what the sum of a certain group of numbers is or need to convert centimetres into feet. Seeing that Google is just one click away for me then it is the quickest way I have found to do the numbers, especially when it comes to conversions.

All you need to do is enter what you need into the search box

213 centimetres in feet (the answer is 6.98818898 feet)

Restrict the Sites You Search

As we all know there is a lot of information on the web that is not worth reading, but buried in there is also good information from trustworthy sources (like educational institutions and government bodies). You can restrict your search to those types of sites by using the domain identifier that goes with the particular institution (.gov for government and .edu for educational institutions).

“small business” site:.gov

You might also want to restrict your searches to a particular geographic area.

skiing site:.co.nz

You can also restrict searches to a particular site.

design site:workingsolo.com.au

Definitions

I know that you are clever, worldly and wise but sometimes we all need a little help with what something means. And with the explosion of TLAs and FLAs (three letter acronyms and four letter acronyms, but you could have looked that up couldn’t you) it can come in very handy.

For example – define TLA

So there you have it 5 quick ways that you can use Google to speed up your search for information and answers.

What are you favourite Google shortcuts?

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes

Note: this may be a little off topic but I think it is something you will find inspirational.

You probably knew that entrepreneurs come in many different guises and the questions about what makes an entrepreneur never seem to get the “right answer”.

I believe that entrepreneurship can also mean taking your skill, talent or wares and finding and opportunity to create a market for that.

With that definition I believe that Paul Potts, a mobile phone salesman from Wales, is entrepreneurial. But it’s not what you think – definitely not about technology or mobile phones.

Today’s Courier Mail newspaper (Brisbane, Australia) has an article about Paul that inspired me. And then I visited the YouTube videos that showed Paul in action. It’s been a while since I started a Saturday morning with tears in my eyes.

Have a look for yourself.

Heats

[youtube]1k08yxu57NA[/youtube]

Semis

[youtube]rDB9zwlXrB8[/youtube]

Who said dreams can’t comes true?

The Times gives you 50 more blogs to read

If you are new to blog reading and don’t know where to look for high quality blogs, or are an experienced blog reader that just doesn’t have nearly enough blogs in your list of feeds to read<g>, The Times Online (UK) has come out with a list of the 50 Best Business Blogs.

One of the best things about this list is that you find more than the usual bunch of technology & marketing blogs on the list.  Who would have guessed that there are blogs in industries such as aerospace, global food industry, and a sheet metal fabrication shop.

Happy browsing!

Seth Tries Defining Coachable

For the many clients and friends of mine that are or have been professional coaches (or been trained but have decided to follow another path), you will take great interest in Seth Godin’s very recent post looking at the characteristics of what makes someone coachable, or more precisely un-coachable.

In particular I found the following comment from one of the world’s most respect commentators on marketing and trends very interesting.

Coaching happens all the time. Most often, it’s not from a boss or a professional coach. In fact, the best insights and advice usually come from informal or unexpected sources.

The ICF brigade wouldn’t be happy with this.  But then many coaches would tell you that the truth can hurt.

Questions and Thoughts in Creating a Small Business Website

Designing, or redesigning, a web presence for a small business can be an exercise in overwhelm for some business owners. There always seem to be more things to think about and more questions to ask.

Unfortunately there are few definitive lists of much dos for all businesses. The approach that you take can dependent on you, your business, your clients and their expectations. So what I have tried to do here is offer you a snap-shot of some of the things you need to address and 3 questions that most visitors to your site will ask themselves, either explicitly or implicitly.

Basic Structures of a Functional and Useful Small Business Website

Download a PDF version of this mindmap

• Establish Credibility and Expertise
  • Valuable Content
  • Professional Look and Feel
    • Fast, Simple and Classy
  • Who You Are
• Showcase Products and Services
  • Clearing Identify the Business
  • Demonstrate a clear solution to a perceived need
  • Services Outline
  • Products listing or e-Store
  • Reports or e-products
• Findability
  • Fresh Content
  • Keywords in Context
  • Structure of the Site
    • Content Before Navigation
    • No Frames
    • Fast Simple Images
    • CSS Based
    • Robot.txt and sitemap
  • Incoming Connections
• Repeat Visitors
  • Fresh Content
  • Valuable Content
  • Subscription
  • Conversations
  • Community
• Contact
  • Contact Details
  • CRM (customer relationship management) tools/database

These are just some of the things that need to be addressed in a functional website and there will always be more. I invite you to share, via the comments, the elements that you feel are important to a functional website.

Once the site is in place, or it is in the draft stage, I suggest you step into the visitors shoes and ask these 3 questions.

• Does this company understand me?
• Do I like them?
• Do they have something that I need/want?

Do you know any sites that answer these 3 questions well?

The ball is back in your court. Do what you can to make your site as functional and useful as possible without throwing bucket loads of money or time at it. If you can find some colleagues, friends or a trusted advisor who understands this stuff then buy them coffee, a meal or whatever it takes to pick there brain. It will mean that you end up with a website that is more than just a glorified brochure.

[tags]creating a website, findability, questions [/tags]