Google Search & Rescue for Dummies

410 Pages·2005·18.005 MB·English

by  Brad Hill

TEAM LinG
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Google™
Search & Rescue
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
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Google™
Search & Rescue
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Brad Hill
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GoogleTMSearch & Rescue For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
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dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United
States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Google is a trademark of
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associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2005924613
ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-9930-9
ISBN-10: 0-7645-9930-5
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Author
Brad Hillhas worked in the online field since 1992 and is regarded as a pre-
eminent advocate of the online experience. As a best-selling author of books
and in his columns, Hill reaches a global audience of consumers who rely on
his writings to help determine their online service choices.
Brad’s books include a Publishers Weeklybestseller and a Book-of-the-Month
catalog selection. Brad’s titles in the For Dummiesseries include Internet
Searching For Dummies,Building Your Business with Google For Dummies,
and Yahoo! For Dummies. He operates the Search Report Web site
(www.TheSearchReport.com) and is a staff blogger at WeblogsInc
(www.weblogsinc.com).
Brad is often consulted in the media’s coverage of the Internet. He appears
on television and radio Webcasts and is quoted in publications such as
Business Week,the New York Times,and PC World.
Brad doesn’t get outdoors much. Sunshine baffles him. As compensation, he
is listed in Who’s Whoand is a member of The Author’s Guild.
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Author’s Acknowledgments
Every book is a partnership of author and editor. Susan Pink is the editor of
this book and a collaborator in other projects as well. Her keenness, careful
reading, and incisive comments shine through every paragraph . . . except for
the extra chapter I slipped in at the last second. You’ll know it when you see
it. Besides being an unusually fine editor who makes me look a lot better than
I would without her, Susan has a gift for remaining calm during the most
intense deadline crises. She also laughs at all the right times.
Colin Banfield had the challenging job of technical editor. His insights were
invaluable.
Many thanks to Tom Stocky at Google for his unflinching willingness to
answer my seemingly endless, detailed questions.
Melody Layne at Wiley Publishing nursed this project from the start, getting
it off the ground quickly and helping shape its focus. I’m very thankful.
Mary Corder pulled me into the For Dummiesfamily several years ago, and is,
by now, sick of seeing her name pop up in my acknowledgments. But I am for-
ever grateful, so she’ll have to deal with it.
Many thanks to all the copy editors and production experts who pored over
every page of the manuscript.
Finally, I’d like to thank the Pulitzer Committee for this fine honor. Oops . . .
that speech is from an alternate reality.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form
located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services
Media Development
Project Coordinator: Adrienne Martinez
Project Editor:Susan Pink
Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers,
Acquisitions Editor:Melody Layne Barry Offringa, Julie Trippetti
Technical Editor:Colin Banfield Proofreaders: Leeann Harney, Jessica Kramer,
Joe Niesen, TECHBOOKS Production
Editorial Manager:Carol Sheehan
Services
Media Development Supervisor:
Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services
Richard Graves
Special Help
Editorial Assistant:Amanda Foxworth
Tom Stocky
Cartoons:Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies
Richard Swadley,Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher
Mary Bednarek,Executive Acquisitions Director
Mary C. Corder,Editorial Director
Publishing for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele,Vice President and Publisher
Joyce Pepple,Acquisitions Director
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................1
Part I: Jumping Into Google ..........................................9
Chapter 1: Google Saves the Day, Every Day ...............................................................11
Chapter 2: Reclaiming Your Time from Wasteful Searching .......................................21
Part II: Taming Google ...............................................49
Chapter 3: Recovering the Facts: Using Google as an Answer Engine .....................51
Chapter 4: Froogle and Google Catalogs Rescue Your Gift List .................................65
Chapter 5: Saving Yourself from TV News with Google News ...................................85
Chapter 6: Preserving Online Conversations with Google Groups ...........................97
Chapter 7: Mapping the Web’s Terrain .......................................................................125
Part III: Specialty Searching ....................................133
Chapter 8: Searching the Neighborhood ....................................................................135
Chapter 9: Shining the Search Spotlight on Specialty Categories ...........................167
Chapter 10: The Professional Rescue Team at Google Answers .............................175
Chapter 11: Experimenting in Google Labs ................................................................193
Part IV: Putting Google to Work ................................211
Chapter 12: Lifelines: Googling from Anywhere ........................................................213
Chapter 13: Reclaiming Your Lost Stuff: Google Desktop to the Rescue ................225
Chapter 14: Saved by a Thread: Reinventing E-mail with Gmail .............................233
Chapter 15: Giving Your Visitors a Leg Up: Google on Your Site .............................245
Part V: The Business of Google ..................................253
Chapter 16: Bringing Google and Its Users to Your Site ...........................................255
Chapter 17: Stimulating Your Business with AdWords .............................................269
Chapter 18: Rescuing Your Revenue with Google AdSense .....................................285
Part VI: The Part of Tens ..........................................301
Chapter 19: Ten Alternative Googles ..........................................................................303
Chapter 20: Ten More Alternative Googles ................................................................331
Chapter 21: Ten Google Games ....................................................................................345
Chapter 22: Ten Sites and Blogs about Google ..........................................................363
Index ......................................................................369