Google… one of the world’s largest tech companies. We use Google’s services every day. Even though everyone knows Google, there are so many more services and cool stuff that Google provides (for free) that not everyone knows.
Here is a review:
1. A login – a thousand possibilities
What many people do not know is that a Google Account gives you access to a range of services. By registering and obtaining an account, you get access to a ton of programs.
All your phone / email contacts can be saved and backed up via your Google account.
2. Gmail
Google’s own email service. Stable, user-friendly and in the newly developed inbox (also available as an app also for iPhone “Inbox by Gmail”), mail is grouped depending on whether it is e.g. are promotions / advertisements sent from companies, travel information and much more.
3. Calendar
With Google Calendar which you can access with your Google Account, it is easy to keep track of all activities, meetings and events. You can also use your google calendar in the mobile calendar on iPhone. It is easy to share calendars with others, e.g. your partner / association / group of friends to be able to add things to everyone’s calendar at once.
Because Google Calendar and Gmail work so well together, Gmail can also detect and enter your train journey and other things you bought tickets for directly in your calendar!
4. Google Drive
On Google Drive, you can save files “in the cloud” and create shared folders with people you want to collaborate with. It is also possible to create live documents, both text and excel sheets, etc., which you can write and update directly in the browser. Your friends can also participate and write and all updates are done live!
With Google Drive, it is also easy to create forms for, for example, RSVP for a party or a wedding.
5. Youtube
You know that Google owns Youtube? This means that you can log in with your Google account directly on Youtube to start subscribing to channels, comment, like clips and start your own channel.
6. The Chrome browser is a favorite of many
Google Chrome is Google’s own browser which is considered by many to be the best on the market right now. If you sign in to Chrome with your Google Account, you can save favorites, add your own style to your browser window with themes.
This means that you can log in with your account on a new computer in Chrome and voilá, you have all your favorites and other things on hand instantly.
You can also install lots of plugins in Chrome, like a Pin it button for Pinterest, a Save to Pocket button and a lot more. For developers and web designers, there are smart tools that are incredibly helpful when coding and programming.
Google search is so much cooler than you think.
Okay so everyone googles. It has become as basic in our lives as logging on to Facebook and eating food.
But did you know that you can:
7. Sort the results by the most recent
I always get so annoyed when I search for things in tech / services because they are updated so quickly, so a blog post from 2014 is usually completely irrelevant.
When you have googled something, press the Search tool button. There you can choose during which time span you want to apply and even if you only want results in Swedish for example.
8. You can search with pictures
Sometimes you may want to know where an image comes from. Great e.g. if someone posts a picture on Facebook and claims something historical or political about the picture. A quick search can some if it seems credible or if it is an image from some completely different context.
The same thing if a mysterious profile appears with a picture that you wonder if it really is the person in question. A quick image search may indicate that it may be an archive image from some free image site.
Just tap Images in the right corner of Google. Press the “?” Icon and select whether you want to paste a URL to an image published online or upload an image from your computer.
Wait – what does the “I’m lucky” button really do?
You’ve probably seen it a countless number of times – but do you really know what the other button next to Search actually does? Have you ever used it? I have not, ever.
What the button does is it takes you directly to the first search match instead of showing you the list of search results. Or that’s what it’s supposed to do. But for a lot of people, the results list comes up live as they start typing in the search box and therefore never get the chance to press the I’m lucky button anyway. And if you click on it before writing something in the box, you will come to the Google Doodle page.
9. The right question gives direct answers
If you write a place followed by weather, you will get the weather report immediately.
Do you write e.g. Italian to English, you will immediately get a Google Translate window.
There are lots of such direct answers that Google can give just by asking the right question! Experiment!
10. Hidden features in Google
Try entering one of the following into the Google search box and see what happens:
- do a barrel roll
- zerg rush
- askew
11. The Google Translate app translates everything on-the-go
Most people know that Google Translate exists. But have you tried the Google Translate app (iPhone / android)? In it you can photograph text when you are traveling and have it translated directly. You can even download translations offline before the trip if you will not have internet where you are.
Another very practical feature is that you can get the translations in writing AND a speech synthesis that reads them out for you. Perfect if you want to communicate with someone you do not have a common language with. Enter what you want to say and let the app play the sentence in the right language for you.
Of course, Google Translate is not always super good at translating – it can be a little crazy. But for the most part, it’s perfectly okay to understand anyway!
12. Google Keep keeps track of your notes
Google Keep is a note-taking app available for both Android phones and iPhones. Seems smooth I think and I like the design. Especially for android users, it feels like a really good idea!
13. Google Fonts fixes nice fonts for your website
Anyone who has ever built a website and needed to find unique yet web-safe fonts knows that it can be both expensive and cumbersome. Sure, there are lots of fonts out there but the really good ones are quite expensive and the ones that are free are usually very limited.
Google Fonts has therefore become a popular place to find stylish, professional and useful fonts for websites. You can easily search for a font that suits you and then link them quickly and easily to your website via Google’s API. So smooth!
14. Google Adwords and Keyword Planner help you reach out
Google has huge search data and a very good view of what people are searching for right now. Adwords is a very big part of Google’s business. It is when you choose different keywords that you want your ad, which is similar to a search match, to end up at the top. For example, if you have a lamp shop and want to end up as the top result when someone searches for “lamp bedroom”, you can pay for it with Google Adsense.
But when you work with SEO, search engine optimization, there are tools you can use within the framework of Adwords that do not cost a dime. With the Keyword Planner in Google Adwords (found under tools), you can search for keywords and then get lists of common searches people usually do that relate to that keyword.
There you can also see the competition for that particular keyword. If the competition is low, you have good opportunities to rank high on that keyword if you SEO-optimize a website or a blog post based on it.
15. Google Trends knows what’s popular in the world
Google Trends is an awesome tool where you can research how popular different search terms are and have been over time. Here we can, for example, see a chart of interest in Pokémon Go, which clearly peaked in mid-July and then declined with a slight increase again in early August.
You can also investigate how different keywords relate to each other, what the interest looks like in different areas and which keywords are currently trending, thus increasing in popularity! Google Trends is a great way to understand the interest in various trends, topics, and products.