Help Desk Hangouts: Google+ Profile and Page Update

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we chatted with +Navin Kadaba, who works on Google+. We walked through the updates to Google+ profiles and pages that rolled out last week, learning about the new, larger cover photo, the refreshed look and functionality of the About tab, and the new customizable tabs for profiles.

Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.


Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:
What size photo should I upload as my new cover photo?
We recommend that you upload an image that is 960 x 540 px (16x9 aspect ratio). At a minimum, please select a photo that is 480 x 270 px. For HD displays, we’ll take a maximum resolution of 2120 x 1192 px.

What does the update look like on mobile?
This is a desktop-only update for now.

Any tips and tricks to making my page look good?
We’d recommend keeping the essential aspects of your cover photo toward middle, vertically. The bottom fifth of the cover photo will sometimes be covered by a dark gray bar, and when people visit the page, the top portion of the cover photo may not be visible. We also recommend uploading a large, zoomed out profile photo, so you can crop the photo to appear as you’d like.

Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local Community Manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Google Engage for Agencies

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we chatted with the Google Engage for Agencies team, who walked us through the resources available through their program. We learned how agencies can benefit from free online and in-person trainings about various Google products, including AdWords, through the Google Engage program. Take a look at the Google for Agencies website (http://www.google.com/intl/en/ads/engage/) to learn more about the resources available and how to join the program.

Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.



Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

How do I know if I’m eligible for Google Engage? 
All agencies that apply to Google Engage are subject to a final review, but basic requirements include:

• Your agency must have an active My Client Center (MCC) account.
• Your agency must have a website.
• Your agency must specialize in helping small and medium sized businesses advertise online.
• Your business must also comply with the Google Third-party policy and Google Engage Terms and Conditions

What kinds of resources are available through Google Engage?
Online training courses, webinars and events: Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned pro, our online and in-person trainings will keep you ahead of the curve with AdWords and other Google products.
Adwords introductory offers for your new clients: Give your new clients a boost with introductory offers for AdWords. With your help, their investment in finding customers will go even further.
Sales tools and marketing collateral: As an Engage member, you'll get access to AdWords case studies, sales pitch techniques, and other resources to help build relationships with your clients.
Dedicated phone support: We're here to help you with everything from setting up your account to sharing best practices.

Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local community manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Going Google

Editor’s note: On the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we chatted with the Going Google team, who showed us a guide to help businesses transition to Google Apps. We walked through the Going Google guide, learning about change management and how it can make the transition to Google Apps for any business much smoother. The guide’s got training resources, checklists, and tips to help businesses manage the transition timeline.

Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.


Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

Who is the guide intended for? Is it free? 
The guide is a free resource available on our Google Apps Documentation and Support site. It is intended for anyone who is helping an organization evaluate Google Apps or make the switch to Google Apps. The guide is targeted to organizations with 250 users or more, but parts of the guide are relevant to smaller organizations too. We also have a guide focused on smaller businesses here.

How does the guide recommend you approach Going google? 
At Google, we have a user focus in everything we do. We recommend you have a focused approach to your users' transition to Google Apps. We've created a simple and flexible, three-step model you can use to plan your change management approach when you switch to Google Apps: (1) Get ready, (2) communicate, and (3) train.

Will the guide be updated as Google Apps is updated? 
Yes, the guide will be updated on a regular basis. Throughout the year, we will add new stories from customers and partners about their change management approach for switching to Google Apps. The guide will also be updated as our Google Apps services are updated.

Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local Community Manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Chrome for Business

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we chatted with the Chrome team, who gave us 11 reasons to use Chrome at work. We learned about productivity on the web and the power of web apps, and we chatted about how Chrome reaches the lightning speeds it does. We got a tour of how businesses can tweak and customize Chrome to fit their needs, and we also answered your questions, live, during the Hangout.

Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:
Can I configure Chrome to fit my needs as a business? How would I do so?
Sure. We’ve built an MSI installer for Chrome for business to make the transition easier. You can manage group policies easily using our pre-built templates, too. We don’t recommend it, but you can turn off auto-updates, too. Aside from these special business tools, Chrome comes with all of its standard customization features, too.

Can I still have the benefits of using Chrome (like speed, security) on an older computer?
Definitely. We think Chrome’s speed and security are particularly noticeable on older computers, in fact. Give it a try!

How is Chrome a more secure browser?
Sandboxing on Chrome adds an extra layer of protection between your computers and malicious websites that try to install unwanted programs or take your personal information. Chrome also protects you against what may be malicious websites by displaying clear warnings. Keeping up with auto-updates helps keep your browser prepared to keep your computer safe, too.

Help Desk Hangouts are hosted on the Google+ Your Business page every other Wednesday. Don’t miss our next Hangout at 11a.m. PDT on Wednesday, October 17. Look for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local community manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Administrative Assistant Community

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features. 

 In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we chatted with the folks who created the Administrative Assistant Community on Google. Administrative Assistants and other extreme users of Google Apps can trade tips and tricks about productivity, getting organized, and anything else. They’ve also got educational Hangouts (sounds familiar!) that highlight different Google products.

Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown. 

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

What was the inspiration behind creating the Administrative Assistant Community? 
After having worked with a number of Google Apps customers over the years, we realized that Admin Assistants are the real super users of Apps. They use Apps, and in particular Gmail and Calendar, in novel and exciting ways. This also means that they often come across problems or things that don’t work the way they need them to, and this will usually happen when they are under extreme pressure to get things done for their boss. So they are also a group that needs special attention and focus. There is already an internal Google Admin Assistant community sharing tips and tricks, and we thought it would be great to extend this into a more public facing community. Plus we aim to make the site itself a one stop shop for Admin Assistant related resources and materials.

Who can join the discussion? Is it limited to paying Google Apps customers, or “official” administrative assistants? 
Anyone can join. It is a free public website and community. Although it is particularly aimed at Administrative Assistants who use Google Apps, all are welcome to share tips and tricks!

 Help Desk Hangouts are hosted on the Google+ Your Business page every other Wednesday. Don’t miss our next Hangout at 11a.m. PDT on Wednesday, October 3. Look for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Dori Storbeck, Hangouts and Chat CM and Jade Wang, Google+ Local CM

Help Desk Hangouts: Visual Storytelling with Google for Nonprofits

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we chatted with the +Google for Nonprofits team about using visual storytelling to create great social content. We talked about using different types of visual content on Google+, from photos to videos to maps. The Google for Nonprofits team shared some of their tips, tricks, and wisdom about managing a successful and engaging Google+ page, and we talked about some of our own strategies for the Google+ Your Business page, too.

Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:
Where can I find some resources business or nonprofits can use to create compelling visuals, like maps?
We’ve posted resources on our page last month and continue to do so. Our video tutorials can be found here.

What strategies and kinds of posts do you find to be successful on the Google for Nonprofits page?
Posts where we ask our community about themselves and their organizations tend to get a lot of engagement. We try to incorporate questions and opportunities for discussion in our posts every week. We also try to build momentum around a certain theme in our posts for example about a certain product or holidays or season.

Help Desk Hangouts are hosted on the Google+ Your Business page every other Wednesday. Don’t miss our next Hangout at 11a.m. PDT on Wednesday, September 19. Look for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

 Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local Community Manager

Help Desk Hangouts: GoMo

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we chatted with Nabil Haschemie, who showed off Google’s GoMo initiative at howtogomo.com. We learned how important and useful a mobile-friendly website is for businesses both large and small. Nabil walked us through an eye-opening demo during which we created a mobile friendly site from a desktop site in minutes. We answered your questions throughout, covering pricing, some details about supporting different types of phones, and reasons to Go Mo.

Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.



Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

How can I be sure my new mobile-friendly website works on Android, iPhone, and Blackberry?
Sites created on DudaMobile are optimized for most platforms including Android, iOS and BB. Once you’ve created your site in the editor you check how the sites will appear on different devices by checking the ‘Preview’ mode. You can find the ‘Preview’ link on the top right of the editor page.

How does the pricing work?
Within the scope of our Go Mobile campaign our partner DudaMobile offers its service completely free for a year. There are no obligations at all. After the free year you can either upgrade and pay $9/month or the your mobile site will show ad banner in the footer area.

How can I edit my mobile-friendly website after creating it?
Once signed up you can always login to DudaMobile and view your dashboard. From there you can easily select your mobile site and make any edits and save again. You will receive an email with your site URL and additional information on how to access the dashboard.

Help Desk Hangouts are hosted on the Google+ Your Business page every other Wednesday. Don’t miss our next Hangout at 11a.m. PDT on Wednesday, September 7. Look for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local Community Manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Google Consumer Surveys

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we talked about Google Consumer Surveys with Product Manager Paul McDonald. We learned about how businesses of all size can have access to market research using Consumer Surveys. Paul answered questions throughout, and we went through a sample survey to demonstrate the data acrobatics available.

Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

How long until I start seeing responses, and how much do Consumer Surveys cost?
You can expect to begin seeing responses immediately, with full completion within 24-48 hours. It costs $0.10 per response for a representative sample of the U.S. population and $0.50 per response for demographic targeting.

How does the demographic targeting work?
Like many ads on the web, Google Consumer Surveys reports on the inferred age and gender of anonymous respondents based on the websites users visit and location based on IP addresses. Income, and urban density are then approximated using census data for particular geographic regions. To see what inferences are associated with your browser, visit google.com/ads/preferences.

All responses are anonymous and collected in aggregate. Read more information about Google’s privacy policy here.


Help Desk Hangouts are hosted on the Google+ Your Business page every other Wednesday. Don’t miss our next Hangout at 11a.m. PDT on Wednesday, August 22. Look for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Dori Storbeck, Hangouts Community Manager, and Jade Wang, Google+ Local Community Manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Google Apps

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we talked about Google Apps for businesses with Meera, Garrett, and Harry. They showed off some of the collaborative features in Google Apps, and we chatted about how businesses might take advantage of the suite of tools. They also answered your questions in real time. Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

How can a business owner or administrator tailor Google Apps to fit his/her needs?
With Google Apps, administrators can turn services on/off for their account, as well as customize service settings. For example, administrators can choose whether Docs can be shared outside the domain or not. Or, whether Offline Gmail is allowed for users.

What support channels are available to Google Apps users?
All users and admins can get answers to common issues and how to articles at the Google Apps Help Center. Free Google Apps accounts can ask questions on our help forum. Our Power Posters and Google Apps Advisors are constantly answering user questions. Google Apps for Business, Education, or Government accounts get 24/7 phone and email support.

Do I need a website or domain to use Google Apps?
You need your own domain name in order to use Google Apps. Don’t have one? You can sign up for a domain name during the sign up process for Google Apps at google.com/a. 


Help Desk Hangouts are hosted on the Google+ Your Business page every other Wednesday. Don’t miss our next Hangout at 11a.m. PDT on Wednesday, August 8. Look for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local Community Manager

Help Desk Hangouts: SEO Webmaster Academy

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we talked about SEO with the masterminds of Google’s Webmaster Academy. Our experts, Alexi, Michael, and Matt, walk you through how Google Search works, how you can set your site up for success, and more. They also answered your questions in real time. Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:
My site used to rank really well, but now it doesn’t. What happened?
There could be several reasons that your site is not be ranking in search the same way that it did in the past. Three common reasons why this may happen are that your site has a technical problem which is preventing Googlebot from accessing it, your site violates our quality guidelines, or your site is simply ranking differently due to changes to our algorithm, which is updated hundreds of times per year. The first thing we’d recommend to diagnose your issue is to check your site in Google Webmaster Tools, a free service that gives you information about how your site is performing in Google. If we’ve detected a problem with your site, we may have sent you a message there. For a more detailed checklist to help you diagnose a change in ranking, visit our Help Center.

I'd love to learn more about the Knowledge Graph and what, if anything we should be doing as SEOs & Webmasters.

The Knowledge Graph is a way for users to see additional relevant information on searches for certain people, places and things on the right hand side of the results page. This information helps users get to answers quickly; in many cases, they may find answers to questions they hadn’t even thought to ask. It also helps people discover more about the topic they’re interested in by showing people, places or things that are closely related to their searches. For example, if you search for an artist like Leonardo da Vinci, you’ll see a short biography, some of his most famous works, and other frequently searched-for artists. Currently, there isn’t any functionality in Webmaster Tools to be included in the Knowledge Graph. Right now this is not about individual businesses but rather about generally known facts about the world.

How do you rank item detail pages where there may be many websites which have the same item for sale (with a standard "technical description")? Who rises to the top when the content is basically static?

Great question! Many merchant and affiliate sites use product descriptions taken straight from the manufacturer or from the end merchant site. While sometimes this can be appropriate, we typically recommend looking for ways you can add your own value to that page - can you provide some original reviews or recommendations about the item? If you are adding value of your own you’ll be providing a better experience for users. If you are concerned about this, check out our material on duplicate content and watch this video about our Webmaster Guidelines.

Where can I go for more information, help, or to prove my own knowledge?

Our experts mentioned a bunch of incredible resources available to you. Here are a few links to get you started:

• Webmaster Academy
• SEO Starter Guide
• Webmaster Help Center
• Webmaster Help Forum
• Webmaster Help YouTube Channel
• Webmaster Central Blog
• Webmaster Guidelines
• Some great videos to check out

As mentioned in the recording, our Help Desk Hangouts will be occurring every other week moving forward. Be sure to join us for our next Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, July 25th. Look out for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Toby Stein, Google+ Community Manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Adwords for video

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we discussed video advertising using Adwords for video with Googlers Dori Storbeck, Courtney Pannell, Rob Warner, and Valentine Matrat. They taught us how AdWords for video can benefit business owners, how to set up and target campaigns, and how to collect metrics when evaluating your campaign’s performance. Missed the Hangout? Watch it on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel

Check out the video description for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Here are a few of the questions you asked us to answer during the Hangout:

Is video advertising helpful for local businesses? Is there a way to choose people from a certain town or area?
Video advertising can be a huge help. Video helps increase awareness and create a relationship between the business and potential clients, ultimately reducing barriers to first-time visits and increasing chances for repeat visits to the store. Video advertising allows you to build a personality for your business and provide compelling arguments to your local audience as to why they should choose your business.

If you have a video you know you want to promote, is there a strategy for selecting which type of video ad format to choose or should you try all formats and evaluate performance?
We recommend that you always start with all four video ad formats. You want your ads to achieve a balance between engagement and traffic to your videos. In general, the best format for driving traffic to your site and brand awareness is the in-stream format (it also tends to be the cheapest). That being said, starting out with all four ad formats will allow you to make better informed decisions for your needs.

Is there a time limit or minimum time that a video must be in order to be a TrueView ad?

Your video ad can be any length, but you don’t want it to be too short or too long. We’ve found that the optimal time for a video ad is between 30 seconds to a minute and a half, which allows you enough time to market your business and help you stand out from the competition, but not too long that users lose interest and skip your ad. Here’s a tip: Try to get the main point of your messaging at the beginning of the video so that you capture the audience’s attention.

Can you use annotations offered by YouTube videos in your AdWords video ads?
The annotations that you set up on your video from your YouTube account will show on your video when it plays as a TrueView in-search or TrueView in-display format. However, it does not currently show when your ad plays as a TrueView in-stream ad.

Is analytics data provided for video ads?
You will get detailed performance reporting and video analytics data from the AdWords for video interface in your AdWords account. You should also check out the YouTube Analytics tool, found within your YouTube account. YouTube Analytics is a great resource for businesses on YouTube because you can access a rich set of data about who is watching your videos.

YouTube Analytics can capture the following data and more:

• Chronological and geographic distribution of your views.
• Demographic data about your viewers, which provides age and gender distributions.
• Traffic sources data that allows you to determine what external sites and YouTube features are generating traffic for your videos. This will help you determine how many views are generated by your TrueView ads vs other sources of traffic.

You can find more information on YouTube Analytics in the Help Center.

To learn more about how to get started with the Display Network, visit our Help Center or check out the AdWords Community forum. And remember to tune in to the live stream of our next Hangout at 11 a.m. PT Wednesday June 6 — topic to be announced on the Google+ Your Business page early next week!

Posted by Dori Storbeck and Courtney Pannell, Global Online Advertising Associates

Help Desk Hangouts: Getting to know Chromebooks, Part II

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we continued our conversation about Chromebooks for your business (if you missed the first one, check out our recap). Chrome product manager Glenn Wilson and Will Paulus walked us through the management console, which allows you to oversee your fleet of Chromebooks in a low-touch, scalable way. Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel. And, if you’re interested in learning more about Chromebooks, fill out this form (http://goo.gl/pP0mg) to stay up to date on all the latest news and product announcements.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

What can I do with the Chromebooks management console?

Quite a bit! The typical actions include:

• Setting configuration settings for your managed (enrolled) devices, like turning off Guest mode.
• Setting configuration settings for users on your domain, like force-installing certain extensions.
• Tracking device state, like when a device was last used, or what version of the OS it is running.

What about user login tracking? I want to know who the last person to use a Chromebook was.

We’ve heard this request a lot recently — it’s on our to-do list.

Will there be remote wipe available if the Chromebook is lost or stolen? Similar to the mobile policy in the management console.

First, it’s important to note that every Chromebook encrypts all user data, so even if it is stolen, there’s no way for anyone to get to your data without your password. Remote Wipe is on our list.

Can you block based on content type? Like block gaming and adult sites?

We don’t have content type filter in the management console; however, most administrators use a third-party filtering service to do this. You would simply set your devices and users to use the proxy setting the third-party service gives you. If you are interested in finding which filtering services work well with Chromebooks, please contact sales.

Be sure to join us for next week’s Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday May 2, when we discuss Google Earth Pro. We’ll be collecting your Earth questions early next week on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Toby Stein, Google+ community manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Connect with customers using Hangouts On Air

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, the lovely Amanda Rosenberg showed us how to use a Hangout On Air - the ability to broadcast a Hangout to the world - and heard some tips and tricks from two power users, pio dal cin and Dan McDermott. Missed it? You can watch the full hour-long Hangout on the Google Business YouTube channel (check out the video description for a minute-by-minute breakdown):

Here are a few of the questions you asked us to answer during the Hangout:

What kind of technical setup should I have for something like this?
You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy equipment, but many users have found having a dedicated microphone and webcam, plus an ethernet connection, make for a much smoother experience. Dan and Pio make some specific hardware recommendations during the Hangout.

What should I talk about in my Hangout?
Get creative! Make an announcement to your customers, or demo a new product. Invite a panel of experts in your field on to discuss topics, and take questions from users via your Google+ page. Own a bakery? Show viewers how to make a certain recipe. Book store? Host a live author reading. There’s really no end to the possibilities. We see users come up with new uses every day — kick around your ideas with other Google+ users to hone in on something you’d like to try.

Who can join the Hangout, and who can watch it? Can I broadcast to a select group?
When you hit broadcast, Hangouts On Air are public for the world to watch live. A member of that “public,” however, can not join the Hangout; they can only watch it. To get people in the Hangout, you as the Hangout owner need to invite them.

Where does the recording of the Hangout live?
The recording will be uploaded to your YouTube account (if you’re hosting the Hangout from a Google+ page, the video will live in the account of whoever’s admin’ing the page at the time of the Hangout). After the Hangout, visit your YouTube Video Manager to see your video and make edits if you need to. Note: This video will upload to your account as a Public video; you can change the video at any time to “private” or “unlisted” via the Video Manager.

Why do I need to verify my YouTube account?
In order to record YouTube videos longer than 15 minutes, you’ll need to verify your account.

Anything else I should keep in mind?
Posting a recording of a particularly long Hangout? List a minute-by-minute breakdown (timestamps like 1:36, 5:47) in the video’s description so that users can jump to different parts of the video (like this). Also, practice makes perfect: None of us gets it 100% right the first time, but in no time at all, you’ll soon be a Hangouts pro.

Who has access to Hangouts On Air?
We’re rolling this functionality out gradually over the next several weeks. Keep your eyes peeled!

To learn more about how to get started with Hangouts On Air, check out this detailed technical guide, and if you still have questions, drop in to the Google+ discussion forum. And remember to tune in to the live stream of our next Hangout at 11 a.m. PT Wednesday May 16 when we dive deeper into the world of Chromebooks (read up on our first Chromebooks Hangout).

Posted by Toby Stein, Google+ Community Manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Display Network Advertising with Google AdWords

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we discussed advertising on the Google Display Network with Googlers Dori Storbeck, Courtney Pannell, Joanna Kim, Neil Mendelowitz, and two Top Contributors from the AdWords Community — Kim Clinkunbroomer and Theresa Zook. The group shared tips and tricks for the Display Network, and the TCs shared some of their personal experiences. If you missed it, you can watch the full hour-long Hangout on the Google Business YouTube channel (check out the video description for a minute-by-minute breakdown):

Here are a few of the questions you asked us to answer during the Hangout:

Can independent consultants take advantage of the Display Network? 
Yes, anyone can utilize the Display Network for advertising their products and services; however, whether it is right for you may depend on your specific business and your advertising goals.

Where is the Display Network available?
The Display Network is available in all countries that AdWords serves.

Which clicks are more likely to become conversions search or display?
Search and display perform very differently, depending on your overall campaign goals.

What’s more effective: automatic placements or manual?
If you’re trying to reach a specific audience or target users who demonstrate a particular interest and you have an idea of some Display Network websites where you want your ads to appear, managed placements are probably the best bet for you. If you’re just starting out with Display, we would suggest opting into automatic placements at first and then reviewing the domains you show on to further refine and optimize.

If in your industry search approximate cpc is = to display approximate cpc why would you do display?(Besides the obvious increase in potential traffic.)
The Display Network is a great way to find customers that may not be actively searching for your product. Other than potentially increasing traffic to your website, you can potentially grow your customer base and get more conversions.

Tips on how to get JPEG ads approved quickly?
Our ad review turn around time is usually 1-3 business days. If your ads are under review for more than 3 business days, please get in touch with us or submit your ads directly to our review team.

For remarketing, how do I set the ad up to show people the products they viewed but not purchased?
You can create different audience lists so that you create an audience for users who visited your product pages and users who completed a purchase. You can then create a “custom combination” list to subtract those who purchased from those who visited your pages and did not purchase.

What is the difference between topics and interest categories? How are these compiled?
Topic targeting allows you to place ads on pages directly related to the topic you've selected, whereas interest categories allow you to reach users across the Display Network who have shown specific interests, regardless of the page they're currently on.

For remarketing, would you suggest using just one method per ad group, i.e., contextual, topic, interest, managed placements, or is it OK to mix them?
Remarketing operates by showing your ads to users on your audience list, so within your ad group, the audience list should be the only targeting you have set up.

If you could only choose between search and display and the approximate cpc was the same. Which would you chose and why?
This question really depends on your business and your advertising goals. In general, we tend to see advertisers looking for more direct response focus on the Search Network, while those who are interested in branding and remarketing might want to focus on the Display Network.

Of course, if you’re interested in both, we’d recommend creating a specific campaign to target each network individually.

Any suggestions on frequency capping numbers?
When you turn on frequency capping for a campaign, you can set a limit for the number of impressions you allow an individual user to have per day, per week, or per month, and you can choose whether this is applicable to each ad, ad group, or campaign. So ultimately, the frequency capping number you select depends on your goals and the size of your advertising endeavor. Kim and Theresa suggested numbers around 5-15 impressions per day for an individual user.

I know there is a placement tool in AdWords - however it doesn’t seem to show "all" of the websites available in the network. I have found sites displaying relevant ads, but I did not find it in tool. Is there another way to identify these potential sites?
Yes! In addition to our Placement Tool, you can check the DoubleClick Ad Planner for other sites that are in the Display Network.

To learn more about how to get started with the Display Network, visit our Help Center or check out the AdWords Community forum. And remember to tune in to the live stream of our next Hangout at 11 a.m. PT Wednesday May 9 — topic to be announced on the Google+ Your Business page early next week!

Posted by Dori Storbeck and Courtney Pannell, Global Online Advertising Associates

Help Desk Hangouts: Getting to know Chromebooks

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.


In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we introduced you to Chromebooks — a fast, secure, netbook (did we mention fast?). During the hour-long Hangout, Google product specialists Adam Naor and Will Paulus walk us through the basics, and Chromebook user Eric Hunter shares his firsthand experience using it at his business. Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google Business YouTube channel. And, if you’re interested in learning more about Chromebooks, fill out this form to stay up to date on all the latest news and product announcements.




Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.


Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:


I'm a big Word/Office suite user. How do I make the switch to a Chromebook? Can a Chromebook work with these files? 
They can be viewed in Google Docs, or even converted to the Docs native format. Or, if you’d like to run Office on a Chromebook, you can do so through our Citrix Receiver App (and a Citrix server), or try on of the Chrome webstore Apps like InstallFree Nexus.


What's does Google’s support for Chromebooks look like? 
If you are a business user, you have access to 24/7 email and phone support. If you’re a consumer user, you can contact a Chromebook ninja M - F between 5:30am - 7pm PST. Here’s some additional information.


What happens with a Chromebook when internet access is limited, slow, or spotty?
The moments when you’re offline are increasingly rare. But with Chromebooks, we wanted to ensure that you're constantly connected with WiFi or 3G. Chrome also supports HTML5 offline functionality that allows applications or websites that support these features to run offline. Hundreds of apps in the Chrome Web Store today work offline like Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, NY Times, Kindle, NPR, Angry Birds and more.


Where can I get a Chromebook?
If you represent a Business, School, or Non-profit organization, please fill out the form here, and a member of our team will get in contact shortly. If you are a consumer, you can obtain one here.


How does a Chromebook work with Google Drive?
Google Drive is going to be a core part of the Chromebook experience. We're building it to work seamlessly with your file manager and it will be coming very soon.


Would you recommend ChromeBooks as a software development platform?
Definitely as they have a terminal shell built in.


Be sure to join us for next week’s Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday May 2, when we discuss AdWords. We’ll be collecting your AdWords questions early next week on the Google+ Your Business page.


Posted by Toby Stein, Google+ community manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Engaging with your customers using social media

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we discussed how your business can benefit from engaging with customers via social media. A few of Google’s community management superstars — Jacky Hayward, Sarah Price and Brian Rose —  shared best practices for building great content, collecting feedback and communicating with frustrated customers. Miss it? No to worry: You can watch the full hour-long Hangout on the Google Business YouTube channel:

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

Why spend time using social media?

First, think about your goals. Sarah, who works on the Gmail team, says she doesn’t see social media as “an end in and of itself,” but rather as a tool to help her reach her goal of connecting with users: “I want to help users learn more about Gmail, [so] I use social media as a tool to share information. I have a goal that I want to have relationships with the users, that they have a relationship with the company and each other, so I use social media as a tool to facilitate those relationships.”

How do you attract new followers to your social media content?

There’s no trick or gimmick. Post interesting, useful content. Be real, honest, genuine, open — and the followers will come!

What kinds of content work?

Don’t underestimate fun. Eye-catching rich media (photos, videos) are always engaging. Be mindful of time zones and when you’re sharing (do you usually get more engagement in the morning, at night?). Also, people love having a connection with you and your brand, which you can do with something as simple as highlighting or resharing content by a customer.

Why is identifying influencers important?

Whatever your area of expertise, research who's producing great content and starting conversations among that field’s community. Find out what your customers are interested in and get involved in those conversations. Figure out who the people are that drive those conversations and build relationships with them. Connect your customers to other customers when you can — engaging them with each other will help them learn more and engage more with your product and brand.

Any time management tips?

The stream of social media content being produced every minute is infinite, so again, be sure to focus on your goals. Ask yourself what is most important for you to do first and start there, rather than trying to do everything at once.

Be sure to join us for next week’s Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday April 25, when we discuss how to get started with Chromebooks. We’ll be collecting your Chromebook questions early next week on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Vanessa Schneider, Google Places community manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Get found on Google with Places for business

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we introduced you to Google Places for business, a tool to help you manage your local business information on Google. Joel Headley, one of our in-house Places gurus, showed us how to get started, shared some best practices and answered your questions. If you missed it, you’re in luck: You can watch the full hour-long Hangout on the Google Business YouTube channel:

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

When a business simply relocates, what is the best way to set up the new address in Places?

You should report the listing with the old address as closed via the Report a problem link on the listing itself (under the “more” dropdown). Our team receives that report and puts a “This place is permanently closed” label on the listing, so that customers who know your business to be located at that old address will know not to go there. And then, create and verify a brand new listing for the business’s new location.

What are the gray labels on the map itself, and how do I get one for my business?

The little icons (fork and knife, etc.) on the map are called Place labels, and because those are generated algorithmically, there’s no way for you to manually add one for your business.

How do I get my Places listing to appear for certain keyword searches?

We don’t offer advice on how to do this, but here’s a great video about how we approach local search ranking.

What should I put in the description field of my page?

Think of the description as your elevator pitch. Keep it short and sweet, and valuable to customers looking to learn more about your business. Don’t stuff it with a bunch of keywords — it won’t help you and it definitely won’t help potential customers.

When are Google Places accounts going to be connected to Google+ pages?

A popular question! We’ve heard your feedback, and we’re continuing to evaluate how these tools might work together in the future.

I went through the owner verification process, but for some reason user-generated content still appears on my page. Why?

Think of a business listing as a search result, featuring information pulled together from sources around the web (third party data providers, end-users, and, of course, business owners). When you owner verify your listing, this just means you now have access to other features complementary to the listing — like analytics or offers — and editing abilities via the Places dashboard. We allow the most recently verified edit to display on a listing — whether it’s from a user via the “Report a problem” feature or a third-party provider — in an effort to maintain an accurate and up to date map.

What are “at a glance” terms, and why are they appearing on my owner-verified page?
These descriptive terms are meant to give users a quick snapshot of what a particular business is known for. We generate these terms algorithmically, from various sources around the Web. There’s no way to add or edit these terms in your Places dashboard. See our article on reporting inappropriate terms.

I don’t have a storefront and serve customers at their location. Can I list my business on Google Maps?

Absolutely. These types of businesses are what we call service area businesses, and we have a whole Help guide on how to create a service area listing. Note that if you don't conduct face-to-face business at your location, you must hide your address per the Google Places quality guidelines. In your Places dashboard, while editing a listing, look for the “Do not show my business address” checkbox under the section “Service Areas and Location Settings.”

I’m having an issue with my listing, how do I contact support?

We have a support team that works with users to correct bad listing data and verification issues. Visit the “Contact Us” section on the Help Center homepage and you’ll see two options: Listing issues and Verification issues. Click the link that applies, answer the questions, fill out the short form, and hit Submit. Give a member of the support team a few days to investigate your issue and get back to you via e-mail.

To learn more about how to get started with Google Places for business, visit our Help Center or check out the Google and Your Business forum. And join us for next week’s Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday April 11, when we discuss how to get started blogging using on Blogger. We’ll be collecting your Blogger questions early next week on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Vanessa Schneider, Google Places community manager

Help Desk Hangouts: Reaching the right customers with Google AdWords

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we discussed Google AdWords — how to get started, picking keywords, tracking clickthrough rates, and more! Dori Storbeck, Courtney Pannell, Chad Baranik and Gina Bucciere shared some of their tips and tricks for managing a successful AdWords campaign. If you missed it — don’t worry! — you can watch the full hour-long Hangout on the Google Business YouTube channel:

Earlier in the week and during the Hangout, we collected your questions. Here are a few of the things we addressed:

Is there a limit to the amount of AdGroups in one Campaign?

Each campaign can have up to 20,000 Ad Groups.

What is a good CTR? Does my spend affect my CTR?

In general, we consider a good CTR (click-through-rate) to be 1 percent or above on the Search Network. On the Display Network, users are generally at a different point in the buying cycle and, therefore, we expect a much lower CTR. To evaluate the performance of your Display ads, you may want to look at the Relative CTR metric.

What are the top 10 things one can do to improve their Quality Score?

Really, the thing to focus on here is ensuring that you have good account structure and that your keyword lists are tightly themed and highly relevant to your ad text and your landing page. Focusing on CTR, which is a large part of Quality Score, can help too.

I noticed my quality score changes from day to day. Should I only be reviewing my score weekly or monthly before making changes?

Quality Score is a dynamic metric that is actually calculated each time your ad is eligible to enter the ad auction. The score that you can view next to your individual keywords is basically a snapshot estimate of how relevant your ads, keywords, and landing page are to a person seeing your ad. While Quality Score is an important metric, we’d suggest focusing on some of the other metrics we also covered in the Hangout, like CTR, average position, and conversion tracking.

Do you suggest eliminating all keywords/ads that don't produce conversions over a six month period?

It totally depends on your goals. If, for example, your main advertising goal is to drive conversions and you notice some keywords have been in your account for a while but aren’t helping you achieve your goal, you might consider pausing or deleting those keywords - particularly if you’re paying a lot for those clicks.

Will your keywords with different match types "fight" against each other if they both qualify for the impression?

Essentially, yes. In determining which keyword enters the auction, the AdWords system is going to try to match the keyword that most closely matches the user’s query, but it will also factor in which keyword will be cheapest and get the highest ad position.

It’s not necessary to have all the match types for every keyword in your account. When choosing a match type, think about how users might conduct a search for your business or services, then choose which match type (broad, broad match modifier, phrase, exact) would allow for the most number of users to be able to find you for relevant searches. You can read more about the main keyword matching options here, and about the broad match modifier option here.

If I had drawn a custom shape before that feature was removed is it possible that I am still targeting that area (the account still shows I am)?

Location targeting by custom shape is no longer supported. If you didn’t select specific targeting areas other than the custom shape before we sunset the feature, the AdWords system would have used your custom shape to match your campaign to the targeting areas (cities, metro areas, states, countries) that best match the area within your previously selected shape.

How do I target just five states? I see most of our sales coming from just these five. I would like to see if that increases my sales.

Within your AdWords account, you’ll want to navigate to the Campaigns tab at the top and then select the specific campaign. Then, on the gray Settings tab for that campaign, under the “Locations and Languages” subtitle, there is a “Locations” section.  By clicking the blue Edit link next to “Locations” you can then select specific states (or cities) to target.

To learn more about how to get started with AdWords, visit our Help Center or check out the AdWords Community forum. And remember to tune in to the live stream of our next Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday April 4, when we discuss how to get started on Google Places. We’ll be collecting your Places questions early next week on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Dori Storbeck and Courtney Pannell, Global Online Advertising Associates