Using Google Search for Everyday Essentials

Google offers so many things to users that it’s really hard to keep up. As an SEO I am constantly thinking about Google search but with a focus on getting good rankings for our clients. If you are like me (you poor thing) you put just about anything you might be looking for in the google search box and hope you will find the answer.

Here are a number of things I should have realized many moons ago and would have saved lots of time if I had. I’m wondering what the weather is like in New York City today for the opening day of SMX East. So I go to one of my most visited sites: http://www.nytimes.com/. I am rarely looking for the weather when I go to this site. Even though the area I visit the most: OPINION is right underneath the weather I have never noticed it until just now. It would have been much easier to just put: weather New York City in the Google search box. Voila! Its 62 degrees Fahrenheit and mostly cloudy in New York. I bet they don’t have Bar Harbor, Maine weather. Yep, they do, its 44 degrees and cloudy. I will definitely remember this feature and use it.

How about what time is it in Bangkok? It’s 1:54 am Tuesday and it’s now 2:54 p.m EST Monday. I will definitely use this as I can never remember what time it is in the central or rocky Mountain Time zones. It’s fast – a no brainer. And who knows we could get a client in Bangkok.

Do you need to make some quick calculations? Just enter your numbers with the proper +,-,*,/, = symbols and you get your answer. Don’t know the metric system – just enter what you want, say 2 liter in gallons, the answer is 0.528344105 US gallons. Having trouble remembering how to spell receive? Or even more trouble remembering the rule i before e except after c. Just type receive into Google and it will ask you “Did you mean receive”.

If you need a quick definition for a word just put define before the word. I got to thinking about someone I recently met, unfortunately, and the word pompous came to mind. Define pompous – grandiloquent (huh) - puffed up with vanity and a boastful manner (yep that’s him).

Local search is pretty cool too. You can find stores, restaurants and other local businesses by putting in the category of the business and the location. There are lots of other things you can find quickly too. It’s truly amazing particularly if you can get online with your cell phone. If you are wondering why I am writing about this because most of you probably already know this it’s for other people like me who can really benefit from knowing these little time savers that make everyday life easier.

Lynn Jebbia is a Senior Project Manager at ArteWorks SEO, a search engine marketing company. Her focus is SEO Strategy, Keyword Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Web Site Audits, Pay Per Click Management and Client Account Management.