Google Tips and Tricks

Sarah Burgess

We’ve all been there – desperately searching for (whatever) on the Internet and unable to find it. Even though most of us browse the web daily, there’s still plenty of room for us to learn something new about the capabilities and quirks of Google.  While browsing the Internet looking for a solution to a search problem, I came across tons of ways to beef up your searches with many tricks you might not realize Google could do!

Here’s just a taste of some of the most useful (and fun) tips and tricks that I’ve come across for Googling:

Photo Courtesy to Flickr User Stefan

• Find exact phrases – Using quotation marks around a phrase will bring up results with the same words in the same exact order as your phrase.
• Eliminate results containing certain words – Trying to search for one thing but your results keep populating with the wrong thing? Try using the minus sign! Ex: jaguar - car
• Search photos – Yep, Google has thought of everything. Now you can even search using a photo. Simply drag and drop or copy and paste the photo into the search bar, and Google will pull up results of related images, articles and more!
• Search for keywords on websites – Using the “site:” function, you can search for a term only on a particular website. For instance, searching “presidents site:wsj.com” will pull up all mentions of presidents on the Wall Street Journal’s website.
• Define words – Unsure of what a word means? Google can define and translate words using “define:” Ex: define:platypus will tell you the definition of this egg-laying mammal.
• Search for file types – Looking for a specific PDF but don’t want to search through pages and pages to find it? Type what you’re looking for followed by  “filetype:” and the version you’re looking for (PDF, PPT, XLS, etc.)
• Related pages – Type “related:” and the link to a website, and Google will provide you with pages that have similar content.
• Numbers in a range – Stay within your budget by searching only for items priced within a specified number range by putting … between amounts. Ex: Subaru Outback $20,000…$30,000
• Track packages – Type in your UPS, FedEx or USPS package tracking number directly into the search box to learn the status of your shipment quickly.
• Similar terms – Place the ~ sign immediately in front of your search term to get results that include synonyms. Ex: searching for “Christmas ~ dessert recipes” will give you results for desserts, candy, cookies and other sweet treats.
• Math – I wish I had known about this when I was in school. Type in a math equation into the search bar and presto! Google can also be used to convert units and currencies. Ex: 5 miles to km
• The fun stuff – Type in “Atari breakout” into Google images and enjoy!

Got any other Google search tips? Tell us in the comments below!

What’s Google’s stance on links in news releases?

Ali Glemser

I was reading the June PRSA Tactics newsletter when I came across an interesting and useful article about Google’s take on hyperlinks in news releases by Carrie Morgan, a public relations consultant. One of the million-dollar questions surrounding Google’s secretive search algorithms is: How does it judge the quality of content? The search engine works hard to make sure it is always pushing quality and relevant information to the top of its results. In an effort to always improve, its algorithms are constantly changing, so below are some high points worth knowing about using hyperlinks in your releases.

The long and short of it is YES, Google does recognize links in press releases, but it’s to your benefit to keep them relevant. In other words, they should help elaborate on the story as opposed to being a plug for extraneous subjects. Google can calculate this relevancy and therefore discount the quality of releases with spam or other suspicious links. Examples of ways to incorporate links are: linking a quoted figure’s bio from your company’s website to their name in the release or linking the public stock symbol for your company’s name to further information, if available.

It’s also worth noting that using a wire service to distribute press releases does not have a direct correlation to your website’s ranking. Rest assured, the guys at Google have done their homework. They can recognize syndicated release sites and discount their value.

Some other tips to remember about Google and publishing news releases include focusing on the length of the release and the content of your lead sentence. Google will only be able to accommodate the first 65 to 80 characters of your headline in its search results, so look to work your company name and any important keywords as close to the front as possible. Likewise, look to include as many keywords – that make sense – in your first sentence for SEO purposes.

In conclusion, links can definitely add to the quality of your release, but use them wisely. Morgan recommends specifically using no more than three in a release. Most importantly, think about the person reading the release for the first time. Do you want them to focus on the great content within it or direct them to five other pages before they reach the end?

How to Get an ‘A’ from Your Editor

Kerri Guyton

With my recent job promotion, I took on many new duties at our firm. One of those is editing. I am responsible for editing every piece of news or marketing collateral that our team produces – and let me tell you, our team produces a lot. 

Through this new job function, I’ve learned a lot about how our team members write, the different nuances they use and how they each communicate differently. I have also learned that there are certain mistakes that everyone makes. This is why we have the editing function in our production process – so there is always a second eye (and sometimes a third eye) checking to make sure we’re producing the best work we can for our clients. 

I understand that not everyone has access to an editor to review everything written before it’s turned in to a client (or a class, for that matter). However, I think that anyone could benefit from taking these steps to ensure any piece is client-ready, which will make any editor’s day.

Use Spell Check

This is such an easy step that so many people fail to take. Spell check is especially important for Excel documents that don’t always point out misspellings as you go. Also, spell check can be utilized for something as simple as email. Be sure you have an automatic spell check set to review your email after you hit send to catch any possible errors.

Don’t Rely Solely on Spell Check

Spell check isn’t going to catch everything, so be sure to read through your document carefully to make sure you aren’t using a word that, while spelled correctly, isn’t the word you meant to use.

Read Through a Document Three Times Before Sending

Read once for grammatical errors, a second time for message clarity and a final time to catch anything else you may have missed. As an editor, I follow all of these steps for editing team documents, but I can tell when the author did not. I may find that there aren’t any grammatical errors (so, step one was done), but there may be a sentence that is garbled or confusing, meaning they were probably reworking the sentence in different ways and didn’t delete portions of previous versions. Obviously, they didn’t review the document for message clarity before sending it for editing. Luckily, I did.

Keep an AP Stylebook On-Hand at all Times

AP Style is very important for us to follow at Obsidian because it is important to the end user – the media. We write client news and promotional materials in AP Style so that anything we distribute to the media can be used as is – without having to be re-edited. (We strive for ‘A’ ratings from newspaper editors, as well.) So, our team is well aware of most AP Style rules. However, there are always unique situations that require an expedition through the AP Stylebook or the website, to which we subscribe.  

Google It!

Research company and organization names to make sure that you are using the correct spelling of the entity’s formal business name. Google unfamiliar terms to make sure you are spelling them correctly and using them appropriately. Make sure you find a credible source, such as a national trade publication or Merriam-Webster online, to get this confirmation.

Don't forget us

Kelli Eason

If you ask a business owner to describe his or her most valuable asset, you would probably get a variety of answers. As someone who works for business owners, I would hope a lot of them would say their employees are their best assets! Lucky for me, I’ve worked for some pretty good companies that do a lot to keep their employees happy.

I read a Forbes article recently that discussed the merits of a new book: “Make More Money By Making Your Employees Happy.” The author, Dr. Noelle Nelson, says “When employees feel that the company takes their interest to heart, then the employees will take company interests to heart.” As one such employee, I agree.

But appreciating employees doesn’t always have to constitute more money. Yes, bonuses are good things, but there are a lot of ways to make an employee feel valued that don’t cost much at all. And with employees being a brand’s best ambassador, it may be worth a shot to help make your business even more successful.

1.    Food
Consistently listed in Fortune’s list of the Top 100 Best Places to Work, Google was No. 1 in 2012. It’s one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, and I personally know a few fanatics who would give anything to work there.

People hear about the unusual perks like “nap pods,” but another thing that Google is well-known for is their food. Employees are never far from a snack pantry, and they can eat meals in an employee cafeteria for free.

That seems a little much for most smaller businesses, but as a former college student who went to many an organizational meeting for the free pizza, I can attest to the joy of a meal on the company every once in a while. It doesn’t have to be much. Sometimes bringing in doughnuts or coffee or just taking care of lunch during a big meeting is a welcome perk for employees. It also keeps the stress of a working lunch from getting to everyone!

2.    Flexible time and work/life balance
Work/life balance has become something of a buzz word in the last few years. In the days of smart phones, laptops and Wi-Fi on every corner, it sometimes seems like work never stops.

However, this can be beneficial to the company that has the ability to offer flexible time when life happens. All employees have dentist appointments, everyone gets sick and some people have children who can’t go to day care when they have a fever. In the days of Wi-Fi at home and laptop-based work cultures, leniency on where the work happens is a great way to keep your employees from getting overly stressed or behind on their duties, which will likely hinder their productivity later.

At Cisco, ranked No. 90 on Fortune’s list, estimates show that 90 percent of employees have the ability to telecommute when they need to. If telecommuting isn’t an option, personal time is another big (and easy) win. In 2011, new Apple CEO Tim Cook gave employees paid vacation through Thanksgiving to celebrate a record-setting year for the company. Obsidian does the same, and that whole smart phone and laptop-based Wi-Fi culture really helps ensure our productivity even when we aren’t in the office! Even SAS Institute, No. 3 on the Fortune list, offers unlimited sick days so employees don’t have to use their vacation time when they aren’t feeling well. And of course, a good recovery time makes for a more productive return to the office.

3.    Take employee suggestions
If you’ve ever watched “Undercover Boss” on CBS, you may have noticed that as companies grow, top management seems to lose contact with day-to-day operations. Even small companies are not immune to this, especially if the people responsible for making decisions aren’t participating in the daily grind.

CHG Healthcare Services, which came in at No. 9 on Fortune’s list of best companies to work for, jumped 18 spots from No. 27 in 2011 due in part to their dedication to routinely taking and acting on employee suggestions. Companies represented on “Undercover Boss” often do the same, but have you ever wondered what they are missing from the thousands of other employees who don’t have the opportunity to speak up during filming?

Even if employee suggestions aren’t viable, taking them into consideration is a great way to boost morale. When employees feel like they have some control over what happens at their company or feel “in the know” about the company’s state of affairs, they are more likely to react positively to changes that don’t seem to come from a closed-off boardroom. And if you actually enact an employee suggestion, sit back and reap the benefits, because word will get out and everyone will feel better about the decision.

4.    Keep your employees healthy
Wegmans Food Markets, which landed at No. 4 on Fortune’s list, makes employee health a priority. They go beyond providing insurance and offer things like smoking cessation programs, for which 2,000 Wegmans employees have enrolled since 2009. This is not only a great perk for employees, but for Wegmans, as they reap the benefits of a healthy workplace.

As with many of these programs, it doesn’t have to be huge. At Obsidian, we recently enacted something we like to call the Obsidian 2.5. With most of us sitting at a desk for many hours each week, our owner decided to make it a little easier for us to stay active. We now have the freedom to use 2.5 hours of administrative time each week to work out, whether that means taking a run in the park, going to a gym or using a workout video at home. It’s made it a lot easier to manage fitting trips to the gym into my schedule, and really keeps me more alert and feeling better at the office every day, all for the low low price of…free.

5.    Create a great culture
I love Zappos.com for a lot of reasons, but this is just one more positive thing about the company that came in at No. 11 on the Fortune list this year. The company has a very distinct culture, one that includes things like “laughter yoga” classes on-site and Zfrog awards, which lets employees pitch new business ideas.

Some of these things may seem off-the-wall and not quite a fit for another type of company, but it’s important to embrace whatever culture exists at your place of business. Prior to working at Obsidian, I enjoyed a few years in the marketing department of Raising Cane’s, a restaurant chain based in South Louisiana. My first day in the office included an hour of “culture immersion,” which included tips on how to really get into their culture of working hard and having fun. Music in the restaurant’s kitchens and painting windows for the holidays were just a few of the quirky things we enjoyed.

Got any tips or suggestions for how to make employees feel valued? Leave them in the comments!