GOOGLE Alerts: Best Tips & Practices

Google services have a great impact in online world around the globe. Many users are getting remunerations from all the services provided by Google. Each service which is running by Google have its own great influence which helps the users in the way they want to. That’s why Google is considered as the No.1 online company in the world. In our previous tutorials we have discussed about several services of Google and today here we are going to talk over about the features, tips & practices of another useful service of Google i.e. GOOGLE ALERTS.

What Are GOOGLE ALERTS?

Google Alerts are the emails sent to you, whenever Google finds new content related to your queries such as BLOGS, WEB PAGES, and ARTICLES are published on the web. Google Alerts can be used to monitor anything online and is one of the best tool used to perform this act. You can use Google Alerts to:

• Check out what are the reviews about your company or product.
• Monitor an emerging news.
• Keep yourself updated about an opponent or industry.
• Get the latest news about your favorite area of interest.
• Find out what are the reviews of other people about you.

How It Works?

In Google Alerts, you enter a query or topics according to your area of interest. Google Alerts check consistently for the updates matching your query and if any updates available Google will sent it to your email. For general queries and topics like “CRICKET” you will receive an email updates every day but for the specific topics like “iPhone”,you may not receive updates every day, however if anything new and related to “iPhone” is available you can check out accordingly.

• Check out here, more examples on How GOOGLE ALERTS works?

Best Tips & Practices on Get Yourself Updated With GOOGLE Alerts:

Try to precise and accurate in your search. Google Alerts depend upon the more precise search terms you used. To get yourself best updated with Google Alerts, you must apply the following tips and practices. 

No.	Tips	Examples
1.	Use quotes around a group of words if you are looking for them together.	"white house" "Mike Smith"
2.	Put quotes around a single word to match that word precisely as you typed it, excluding synonyms and spelling variations.	"foard" (to stop Google including results for Ford) Michael "Jacson" (to stop Google including results for Michael Jackson)
3.	Use a minus sign (-) in front of words that you want to exclude.	paris -texas apple -fruit
4.	Use the site: operator to limit your search to specific sites.	physics site:.edu congress site:nytimes.com
5.	Use the site: operator with a dash to exclude specific sites.	"joe bloggs" -site:twitter.com

Note:- The above mentioned tips are the basic search techniques, if you want to learn about ADVANCED SEARCHING TECHNIQUES, click here.

How To Create Google Alerts?

After the introduction of Google Alerts, how it works and learning some basic techniques, now it time to create your Alerts. Let’s see how you can create your Google Alerts:

1. Go to Google Alerts homepage.

2. Here you will see 5 different options:

• Search Query: Here you have to enter your query and topics of interest.
• Result Type: In result type you can select that what kind of updates should be send related to the specific query, i.e. news, discussions etc. or everything.
• How Often: In this section you have to select that when the alerts will be send to you, you can select one of the 3 options here such as: As it happens, once a day or once a week.
• How Many: Select that how many alerts will be send to you, either only the best results or all results.
• Delivered To: Specify your email here, that where the alerts will be delivered to.

3. Set all the above options according to your own requirements and click “CREATE ALERT” button.

That’s all set, your alert is now active and you will start getting updates directly into your email.

Note:-

1. When you enter the keywords, queries or topics of your interest in SEARCH QUERY as we have entered the query “Blogging, SEO”, you can see the “GOOGLE ALERT FOR TODAY” window appearing at the right side that how Google Alerts will shown, check the screenshot below:

2. If you aren’t signed in Google Account, you will receive an email from Google to confirm your alert, however if you are signed into your Google Account, then you will not receive a confirmation email about the alert.

How To Manage Your Google Alerts?

Users with Google Accounts can easily manage their alerts by editing, viewing or delete them in “Manage Your Alerts” page. You can only avail this manage option after you have created the alerts. After you have created the ALERTS, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Google Alerts homepage.

2. Click “Manage Your Alerts”option.

3. A new “ALERTS” window will open containing different options like Edit, Delete, Export etc.

Note:-

You can export the list of your alerts in CSV format, by visiting EXPORT Google Alerts.

That’s All.

Got Questions?

Don’t forget to spread this knowledge with your friends and subscribe at our blog for more updates. If you need any questions, please feel free to ask by leaving your comments below and we will try our best to answer and will be great honor for us. Peace, blessings & cheers.! :)

Hosting Your Files Using Google Drive

Google Drive is the package powered by Google to host your files. Hosting files have always been a problem for many people, but Google has solved this problem with the help of their DRIVEservice. By using this GOOGLE DRIVE service, you can upload different types of files such as CSS, JavaScript, HTML or other etc. Google DRIVE service can store files easily with some great features. In this tutorial we are going to show you how you can store your files using Google DRIVE.

Why HOST Files At Google DRIVE?

This question has been asked several times by people that instead of using other hosting service why should we use Google DRIVE to host files. Well the answer lies in the following great features of Google Drive service. Take a look:

1. It’s Free

First of all, the main reason to use Google Drive to host your files is that it’s absolutely free and without cost. Google do not charge you anything to host files at Google Drivewhile some other files hosting service might charge you. 

2. Space

Google Drive provides 15 GB storage space to all the users which is according to documents is a lot of space because document size is very small i.e. In some KB’s. However this 15 GB space is only for basic accounts if you want more space you can upgrade your account to premium.

3. Create & Host

Google Drive offers you to see the real-time changes in your documents as you edit them. It also facilitates your to create and host several kinds of spreadsheets & presentations.

4. Reliable & Dependable

Google Drive is considered as the most reliable and dependable source to host files. It gives you the facility to host your files with 100% server uptime whereas the servers of other hosting services may get down sometimes.

5. Go Back & Revise

Google Drive has intended the great feature of TRACKING. When you make the changes to your document and save, it tracks the changes that you make to your document and save the both old and new versions so that you can take look and revise them consequently.

6. Privacy

Google Drive provides you the facility of PRIVACY. You can control all the privacy concerns directly from your Google Drive Dashboard. It’s up to you whether you can share your files with everyone or keep them private.

7. Security

When it comes to security, Google Drive is always on the top because it has employed HTTPS encryption to keep your documents absolutely secure & safe.

How To Host Files At Google Drive?

You can upload any type of file using Google Drive. Let’s see how you can implement this:

1. Log in to Google DRIVE.

2. From the left side dashboard menu, click “CREATE”.

Note:- Apply the above step-2 only if you want to create a FOLDER, Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation etc. within the Google Drive. Otherwise move to next step.

3. Click “Upload” button to upload the file or folder from your PC.

4. If you have uploaded a single file as I did .e.g. “Example.docx”, you will see a little window containing your file with the message “UPLOAD COMPLETE”.

5. After you have uploaded the file, SELECT THE FILE & click MORE menu at the top.

6. In the “MORE” drop down menu,move to “SHARE” and then click “SHARE”.

7. In the “Sharing Settings”window, click “CHANGE” in the “WHO HAS ACCESS” area.

8. Another small “SHARING SETTINGS”window will open. In “VISIBILTY OPTIONS” select “PUBLIC ON THE WEB” and click“SAVE”.

How To Host CSS OR JAVAScript Files In Blogger Using Google Drive?

Mostly people want to host CSS and JavaScript files because the drawback of uploading CSS or JavaScript codedirectly in to the Blogger Template Code, will increase the load time of your blog while uploading these STYLE CODING files on external hosting service like Google Drive, will decrease the load time of your blog and make your blog loads faster. So now learn how to host CSS or JavaScript files in Blogger using Google Drive. 

Hosting CSS Files:

1. Log-in to your Blogger Dashboard.

2. Go to Template > Backup. (Click Here To See, How?)

3. Now click “Edit HTML.”

4. Inside the “HTML EDITOR”, Press CTRL+F and search for <b:skin> tag. Click ► to expand the code.

5. Copy all the CSS code between <b:skin> &  ]]></b:skin> tag and after copying must remove all the CSS code.

6. Next open a new Notepad file & paste all the CSS code in it and save it as Style.css (where STYLE is my file name, you can give the name whatever you want).

7. Follow the steps from 1-8 mentioned as above in How To Host Files At Google Drive” Section and then move forward.

8. In the “Sharing Settings” window, copy the link located in “LINK TO SHARE” text box and click DONE. 

The link will look similar to the following link:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1e7eeKnhqERWkx5U2VpNlRmAWs/

Now be careful here, only replace the YELLOW highlighted part in the link as shown above with the following piece of URL:

https://googledrive.com/host/


So the complete URL will look like:

https://googledrive.com/host/0B1e7eeKnhqERWkx5U2VpNlRmAWs (copy the link and save it for later use).


Note:- 0B1e7eeKnhqERWkx5U2VpNlRmAWs is my file code,your file code may be different. Don’t touch (change or edit) your file code.

10. Come back again to your Blogger Dashboard.

11. Click “Edit HTML.”

12. Inside the “HTML EDITOR”, Press CTRL+F and search for <head> tag.

13. Just above <head> tag paste that Google Drive hosted file URL (saved in notepad file) with the following structure. i.e.

<link href="https://googledrive.com/host/0B1e7eeKnhqERWkx5U2VpNlRmAWs rel="stylesheet"></link>

14. Click “SAVE Template” and you are all done.

Hosting JAVAScript Files: 

For hosting of JavaScript Files, simply follow all the above steps as shown in “Hosting CSS Files” section (Exclude Step-3 & 4). JAVAScript code may be in some other external source file which you can copy and make your own JavaScript Code File. You have to make only 2 changes:

1. First change is in step-6 when you save the file save with .jsextension e.g. Style.js 

2. When you reach to step-13 and paste that Google Drive hosted file URL with the following structure: 

<script src="https://googledrive.com/host/0B1e7eeKnhqERWkx5U2VpNlRmAWs" type="text/javascript"></script>

• Also Read This: Hosting Images At Blogger

That’s All.

Happy Blogging.

Got Questions?

Don’t forget to spread this knowledge with your friends and subscribe at our blog for more updates. If you need any questions, please feel free to ask by leaving your comments below and we will try our best to answer and will be great honor for us. Peace, blessings & cheers.! :)

Embed Picasa Slideshow In Blogger

Picasa the web album brand by Google is now the most widely and popularly used PHOTO SHARING SERVICE around the globe. It has some great exciting features like lot of storage capacity, photo editing etc. You can store different kinds of images (photos) at this Google Photo Sharing Service by utilizing its maximum storage capacity. Many people are in search of how to make the slideshow of their Picasa Web albums and show it in their blog or website. The purpose of coming up with this tutorial is to show how you can embed the Picasa Web Albums Slideshow in you blogger blog. So let’s get to work:

1. Go to your Picasa Web Albums.

2. Your albums appear, here you have different options:

(A) To Show the Slideshow Of All Albums: 

If you want to show the slideshow of all the albums in blogger blog, then: 

(i) Directly click “Embed Slideshow” button in the right-sidebar.

(ii) Copy the code in "Yellow Highlighted Section", set the Settings and click Done.

(B) To Show the Slideshow Of Specific Albums:

If you want to show the slideshow of the specific albums in blogger blog, then: 

(i) First open the album, click Link To This Album > “Embed Slideshow” button in the right-sidebar.

(ii) Copy the code in "Yellow Highlighted Section" and set the Settings of the album.

(C) To Show the Slideshow Of Specific Images:

If you want to show the slideshow of the specific images in blogger blog, then: 

(i) First open the image and then click “Link to this Photo” button in the right-sidebar.

(ii) Copy the code in “Embed Image” text box and set the Settings of the image.

Embed Picasa Web Album Slideshow In Blogger:

1. Log-in to your Blogger Dashboard.

2. Go to Layout > Add A Gadget.

3. From the list select HTML/JAVASCRIPT.

4. After copy any of the codes above, paste in HTML/JAVASCRIPT window.

5. Click “SAVE”.

You are all done. Refresh your blog to see your albums/images slideshow working just perfectly. 

That’s All.

Need Help?

Don’t forget to spread this knowledge with your friends and subscribe at our blog for more updates. If you need any help, please feel free to ask by leaving your comments below and we will try our best to answer and will be great honor for us. Peace, blessings & cheers.! :)