Google.com	RETURN TO TOP

We are focused on building products and services that benefit our users and enable them to find relevant information quickly and easily. We offer, free of charge, all of the following services at Google.com and many of them at our international sites.

Google WebSearch

In addition to providing easy access to more than 8 billion web pages, we have integrated special features into Google WebSearch to help people find exactly what they are looking for on the web. The Google.com search experience also includes:

• Advanced Search Functionality – enables users to construct more complex queries, for example by using Boolean logic or restricting results to languages, countries or web sites.
  
  
• Spell Checker – suggests alternate search terms when a search appears to contain misspellings or typing errors.
  
  
• Web Page Translation – automatically translates web pages published in French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish into English, or vice versa.
  
  
• Stock Quotes – provides links to stock and mutual fund information.
  
  
• Street Maps – provides links to street maps and directions.
  
  
• Calculator – solves math problems involving basic arithmetic, complicated math or physical constants and converts between units of measure.
  
  
• Definitions – provides definitions for words or phrases based on content we have indexed.
  
  
• PhoneBook – provides U.S. street addresses and phone numbers for U.S. businesses and residences.
  
  
• Search by Number – enables people to conduct quick searches by entering FedEx, UPS and USPS package tracking numbers, vehicle ID numbers, product codes, telephone area codes, patent numbers, FAA airplane registration numbers and FCC equipment ID numbers.
  
  
• Travel Information – enables people to check the status of U.S. airline flights and see delays and weather conditions at U.S. airports.
  
  
• Cached Links – provides snapshots of web pages taken when the pages were indexed, enabling web users to view web pages that are no longer available.
  

Google Image Search

Google Image Search is our searchable index of more than one billion images found across the web. To extend the usefulness of Google Image Search, we offer advanced features, such as searching by image size, format and coloration and restricting searches to specific web sites or domains.

Google News

Google News gathers information from nearly 10,000 news sources worldwide and presents news stories in a searchable format within minutes of their publication on the web. The leading stories are presented as headlines on the Google News home page. These headlines are selected for display entirely by a computer algorithm, without regard to political viewpoint or ideology. Google News uses an automated process to pull together related headlines, which enables people to see many different viewpoints on the same story. Because topics are updated continuously throughout the day, people generally see new stories each time they check Google News. We currently provide our Google News service tailored to 15 international audiences.

Google Toolbar

The Google Toolbar makes our search technology constantly and easily available as people browse the web. The Google Toolbar is available as a free, fast download and can improve people’s web experience through several innovative features, including:

• Pop-up Blocker – blocks pop-up advertising while people use the web.
  
  
• PageRank Indicator – displays Google’s ranking of any page on the web.
  
  
• AutoFill – completes web forms with information saved securely on a user’s own computer.
  
  
• Highlight – highlights search terms where they appear on a web page, with each term marked in a different color.
  
  
• Word Find – finds search terms wherever they appear on a web page.
  
  
• Browse by Name – type names instead of URLs into the browser’s address bar.

Froogle

Froogle enables people to easily find products for sale online. By focusing entirely on product search, Froogle applies the power of our search technology to a very specific task – locating stores that sell the items users seek and pointing them directly to the web sites where they can shop. Froogle users can sort results by price, specify a desired price range and view product photos. Froogle accepts data feeds directly from merchants to ensure that product information is up-to-date and accurate. Most online merchants are also automatically included in Froogle’s index of shopping sites. Because we do not charge merchants for inclusion in Froogle, our users can browse product categories or conduct product searches with confidence that the results we provide are relevant and unbiased. As with many of our products, Froogle displays relevant advertising separately from search results.

Google Groups

Google Groups enables easy participation in Internet discussion groups by providing users with tools to search, read and browse these groups and to post messages of their own. Google Groups contains the entire archive of Usenet Internet discussion groups dating back to 1981 – more than 845 million posted messages. The discussions in these groups cover a broad range of discourse and provide a comprehensive look at evolving viewpoints, debate and advice on many subjects. The next version of Google Groups (currently on Google Labs), now lets users create their own announcement lists, mailing lists and public discussions in just minutes. Every group has its own Google-fast search, making it easy to find discussions locked away deep in a group's archive.

Google Groups Reviewer's Guide (PDF)

Google Wireless

Google Wireless offers people the ability to search and view both the "mobile web," consisting of 5 million pages created specifically for wireless devices, and the entire Google index of more than 8 billion web pages. Google Wireless works on devices that support WAP, WAP 2.0, i-mode or j-sky mobile Internet protocols. Google Wireless is available through many wireless and mobile phone services worldwide.

Google Web Directory

Google Web Directory enables people to browse and search through web sites that have been organized into categories. Our directory combines Google’s search technology with the categorization developed by the Open Directory Project and is available in 73 languages.

Google Local

Google Local enables users to find relevant local information based on zip codes, cities or specific addresses. Google Local results include neighborhood business listings, addresses, phone numbers, relevant web sites, maps and directions.

Google Answers

Google Answers provides people with help finding information and answering questions. Users set a fee they are willing to pay and submit questions to the Google Answers service. One of more than 500 carefully screened freelance researchers responds, usually within 24 hours. Google Answers researchers are experienced web searchers with strong communication skills who often have expertise in various fields. An extensive collection of past responses is available to our users free of charge.

Google Catalogs

With Google Catalogs, we provide access to the full content of more than 6,600 mail-order catalogs, many of which were previously unavailable online.

Google Print

Google Print brings information online that had previously not been available to web searchers. Under this program, we have been experimenting with a number of publishers to host their content and rank their publications in our search results using the same technology we use to evaluate web sites. On Google Print pages, we provide links to book sellers that may offer the full versions of these publications for sale, and we show content-targeted ads that are served through the Google AdSense program.

Google Labs

Google Labs is our playground for our engineers and for adventurous Google users. On Google Labs, we post product prototypes and solicit feedback on how the technology could be used or improved. Current Google Labs examples include:

• Google Personalized Web Search – provides customized search results based on an individual user’s interests.
  
  
• Google Deskbar – enables people to search with Google from the taskbar of their computer without launching a web browser.
  
  
• Voice Search – enables people to dial a phone number, tell our system what they are looking for and hear Google search results read to them by a computer.
  
  
• Froogle Wireless – gives people the ability to search for product information from their mobile phones and other wireless devices.

Blogger

Blogger is a leading web-based publishing tool that gives people the ability to publish to the web instantly using weblogs, or "blogs." Blogs are web pages usually made up of short, informal, frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically. Blogs can facilitate communications among small groups or to a worldwide audience in a way that is simpler and easier to follow than traditional email or discussion forums.

Blogger Reviewer's Guide (PDF)

Picasa

Picasa is free downloadable software from Google that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Each time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you know. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organized. Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips. And Picasa makes it a snap to share your pictures – you can email, print at home, make gift CDs, instantly share via Hello™, and even put pictures on your own blog.

Picasa Reviewer's Guide (Low resolution: 1MB PDF, High resolution: zipped 4.5MB PDF)

Gmail is Google’s free search-based webmail service that includes 1,000 megabytes (1 gigabyte) of storage. The backbone of Gmail is a powerful Google search engine that quickly finds any message an account owner has ever sent or received from Gmail, so there's no need to file messages in order to find them again.

When Gmail displays an email message, it automatically shows all the replies to that message as well, so users can view them in the context of a conversation. There are no pop-ups or untargeted banner ads in Gmail, which places relevant text ads and links to related web pages adjacent to email messages. While Gmail is only available in English during its initial test period, it can be used to send and read emails in most languages. Gmail also provides free automatic forwarding and POP3 access. Gmail is available by invitation only.

Gmail Reviewer's Guide (PDF)

Google Desktop Search is a free application that provides full text search over your email, computer files, chats, and the web pages you've viewed. By making your computer searchable, Google Desktop Search puts your information easily within your reach and frees you from having to manually organize your files, emails, and bookmarks.

After downloading Google Desktop Search, you can search your personal items as easily as you search the Internet using Google. Unlike traditional computer search software that updates once a day, Google Desktop Search updates continually for most file types, so that when you receive a new email in Outlook, for example, you can search for it within seconds. The index of searchable information created by Desktop Search is stored on your own computer.

In addition to basic search, Google Desktop Search introduces new ways to access relevant and timely information. When you view a web page in Internet Explorer, Google Desktop Search "caches" or stores its content so that you can later look at that same version of the page, even if its live content has changed or you're offline. Google Desktop Search organizes email search results into conversations, so that all email messages in the same thread are grouped into a single search result.

Google Desktop Search Reviewer's Guide (PDF)

Google AdWords	RETURN TO TOP

Google AdWords is our global advertising program, which enables advertisers to present ads to people at the precise moment those people are looking for information related to what the advertiser has to offer. Advertisers use our automated tools, often with little or no assistance from us, to create text-based ads, bid on the keywords that will trigger the display of their ads and set daily spending budgets. AdWords features an automated, low-cost online signup process that enables advertisers to implement ad campaigns that can become live in 15 minutes or less. The total sign-up cost for becoming an AdWords advertiser is only $5.00.

Ads are ranked for display in AdWords based on a combination of the maximum cost per click (CPC) set by the advertiser and click-through rates and other factors used to determine the relevance of the ads. This favors the ads that are most relevant to users, improving the experience for both the person looking for information and the advertiser looking for interested customers. AdWords has many features that make it easy to set up and manage ad campaigns for maximum efficiency and effectiveness:

• Campaign management. Advertisers can target multiple ads to a given keyword and easily track individual ad performance to see which ads are the most effective. The campaign management tools built into AdWords enable advertisers to quickly shift their budgets to ads that deliver the best results.
  
  
• Keyword targeting. Businesses can deliver targeted ads based on specific search terms (keywords) entered by users or found in the content on a web page. We also offer tools that suggest synonyms and useful phrases to use as keywords or ad text. These suggestions can improve ad click-through rates and the likelihood of a user becoming a customer of the advertiser.
  
  
• Traffic estimator. This tool estimates the number of searches and potential costs related to advertising on a particular keyword or set of keywords. These estimates can help advertisers optimize their campaigns.
  
  
• Budgeted delivery. Advertisers can set daily budgets for their campaigns and control the timing for delivery of their ads.
  
  
• Performance reports. We provide continuous, timely reporting of the effectiveness of each ad campaign.
  
  
• Multiple payment options. We accept credit and debit cards and, for selected advertisers, we offer several options for credit terms and monthly invoicing. We accept payments in 48 currencies.
  
  
• AdWords discounter. This feature gives advertisers the freedom to increase their maximum CPCs because it automatically adjusts pricing so that they never pay more than one cent over the next highest bid. The AdWords discounter is described in detail below under the heading "Technology – Advertising Technology – Google AdWords Action System."
  
  For larger advertisers, we offer additional services that help to maximize returns on their Internet marketing investments and improve their ability to run large, dynamic campaigns. These include:
  
  
• Creative maximization. Our AdWords specialists help advertisers select relevant keywords and create more effective ads. This can improve advertisers’ ability to target customers and to increase the click-through rates and conversion rates for their ads.
  
  
• Vertical market experts. Specialists with experience in particular industries offer guidance on how to most effectively target potential customers.
  
  
• Bulk posting. We assist businesses in launching and managing large ad campaigns with hundreds or even thousands of targeted keywords.
  
  
• Dedicated client service representatives. These staff members continuously look for ways to better structure their clients’ campaigns and to address the challenges large advertisers face.

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