Google for Non-Profits Newsletter - January, 2009
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Galen Panger
Jan 30, 2009, 3:00:18 PM1/30/09
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Google for Non-Profits Newsletter - January, 2009
A new year, a new U.S. president, and lots of new tips and tools to help you do more with less. We hope you enjoy this update from the Google for Non-Profits team.
--
Goodies from the Obama inauguration
Checkout for Non-Profits fee changes
AdWords Seminars for Success in 2009
Accessing Gmail offline and other new features
Google Reader guide for beginners
Website Optimizer and results from the Website Workout contest
--
Goodies from the Obama inauguration
Google Trends and its more advanced cousin, Insights for Search, can give you a surprising view of the kinds of things people care about in aggregate just by looking at the trends in what they search for. The U.S. presidential election was, in fact, a rollercoaster ride of search trends as people asked, "Who is Sarah Palin?" and "Where do I vote"?
The inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama was no different, with people around the world searching in their own languages for information about the historic moment. During the ceremony, Internet searches spiked for the people appearing in the ceremony, such as Dr. Rick Warren, who gave the invocation.
Perhaps the most interesting data point came from taking a look at total search volume in the U.S. for the time around and including the ceremony. Searches dropped dramatically from the time the Presidential oath began to when Obama's speech ended, as people stopped searching and just listened. A somewhat similar activity graph was seen over at Twitter, too.
Finally, if you haven't yet seen the satellite imagery of the crowds at the inauguration, make sure to check it out on Google Earth. Download Google Earth if you don't already have it, and then download and open this file to view the imagery.
--
Checkout for Non-Profits fee change
This month, the Google Checkout team announced a change in how non-profits would be charged for donation processing through Checkout. Throughout 2008, U.S.-based non-profits with 501(c)(3) status were able to process donations completely free. Starting this year, non-profits will only be able to receive free donation processing if they are Google Grants recipients, while everyone else will transition to Checkout's standard fee structure on March 1st.
Fortunately, if you apply for a Google Grant by March 1st and you're accepted, Google will retroactively credit you for any Checkout fees you incur while your application is pending (and if you're eligible but haven't already applied for Google Grants yet, what are you waiting for?).
If you already have a Google Grants account and an active Checkout for Non-Profits account, please make sure to link your two accounts by February 15th.
For more information on the fee change, visit Google Checkout for Non-Profits.
--
AdWords Seminars for Success in 2009
For those of you not naturally inclined to read help documentation about Google Grants and AdWords or sit in front of your computer for a webinar, the AdWords team has released a new schedule of full-day in-person training seminars for the first part of this year. So if you or your non-profit is willing to invest some money to attend one in your city, we think you'll find these seminars to be extremely helpful in advancing your understanding of online advertising through AdWords and your Google Grant.
If you're inclined to read tips and tricks online to gain a better understanding of our tools (which you must be if you're reading this), the Google Grants blog has recently posted a case study about how to boost your AdWords click-through rates (CTR). As always, it's worth a read.
--
Accessing Gmail offline and other new features
Several months ago, Google announced Gmail Labs, a new section in Gmail where you can go to try out all kinds of new experimental features our engineers have come up with. You can find Labs by clicking on the green beaker at the top of your Gmail window, or by going to "Settings" and then clicking on "Labs." Some of the new features are silly (like Mail Goggles), but others are hugely useful.
The new offline Gmail feature, for example, will be hugely useful for just about everyone who uses Gmail. If you need to get work done on the plane, or you've just found yourself without an Internet connection, offline Gmail will allow you to access most Gmail features and then sync up with Google's servers once you re-establish a connection. To get offline functionality, just go to Labs and click the "enable" button in the offline section.
Other cool labs features include SMS messaging from within chat, a Task list, and a forgotten attachment detector. Outside of Labs, the Gmail team has been busy developing new features like voice and video chat.
Finally, Gmail has always supported email encryption to protect your privacy and security when using public WiFi, for example, but you have to enable it in Settings. We also recently implemented features that let you see other locations where you may be logged in and allow you to log out remotely. Read more about how to protect your Gmail account.
--
Google Reader guide for beginners
Reader is Google's free tool that allows you to keep track of and read your favorite blogs and websites all in one place, something that can help you keep track of a larger number of sources more efficiently.
Google Reader uses a standard called RSS to gather all of the most recent articles from your favorite sources. One of Reader's best-kept secrets is the ability to share articles with others, and even create your own list of articles, or RSS feed, that others can subscribe to (this is also useful for creating daily news briefs). You can even embed your shared articles on your site, giving your blog or webpage a sense of freshness and relevance, especially when it comes to your organization's area of interest.
Fortunately, for those who haven't yet set up a Google Reader account or started sharing articles, the Reader team has compiled a set of resources called Google Reader for Beginners, complete with videos that explain Reader's most important features.
--
Website Optimizer and the Website Workout contest
We've been on record in newsletters past praising the advanced website design tool, Google Website Optimizer, for helping organizations make data-driven decisions about how to design and arrange their sites. After all, how do you know the red "Donate" button is better than the blue one for your site? You test it, that's how. Website Optimizer is for performing these kinds of design tests and analyzing the results.
To help non-profits learn more about how to use Website Optimizer, the Google Grants blog has recently featured a set of tutorials, now on its fifth entry of six in the series. Read them all: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
Finally, to help show just how useful the tool is for organizations, including non-profits, the Website Optimizer team recently hosted a contest to select four organizations that wanted to pump up their sites and increase their conversion rates. See all the winners here.
One of the winners was Team In Training, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's sport training program which helps volunteers raise money to fund leukemia and lymphoma research. Watch a video about their results.
--
That's it for this month's newsletter. As always, please send any suggestions for the newsletter or Google for Non-Profits site our way.
Have a great weekend!
Galen from the Google for Non-Profits Team
A new year, a new U.S. president, and lots of new tips and tools to help you do more with less. We hope you enjoy this update from the Google for Non-Profits team.
--
Goodies from the Obama inauguration
Checkout for Non-Profits fee changes
AdWords Seminars for Success in 2009
Accessing Gmail offline and other new features
Google Reader guide for beginners
Website Optimizer and results from the Website Workout contest
--
Goodies from the Obama inauguration
Google Trends and its more advanced cousin, Insights for Search, can give you a surprising view of the kinds of things people care about in aggregate just by looking at the trends in what they search for. The U.S. presidential election was, in fact, a rollercoaster ride of search trends as people asked, "Who is Sarah Palin?" and "Where do I vote"?
The inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama was no different, with people around the world searching in their own languages for information about the historic moment. During the ceremony, Internet searches spiked for the people appearing in the ceremony, such as Dr. Rick Warren, who gave the invocation.
Perhaps the most interesting data point came from taking a look at total search volume in the U.S. for the time around and including the ceremony. Searches dropped dramatically from the time the Presidential oath began to when Obama's speech ended, as people stopped searching and just listened. A somewhat similar activity graph was seen over at Twitter, too.
Finally, if you haven't yet seen the satellite imagery of the crowds at the inauguration, make sure to check it out on Google Earth. Download Google Earth if you don't already have it, and then download and open this file to view the imagery.
--
Checkout for Non-Profits fee change
This month, the Google Checkout team announced a change in how non-profits would be charged for donation processing through Checkout. Throughout 2008, U.S.-based non-profits with 501(c)(3) status were able to process donations completely free. Starting this year, non-profits will only be able to receive free donation processing if they are Google Grants recipients, while everyone else will transition to Checkout's standard fee structure on March 1st.
Fortunately, if you apply for a Google Grant by March 1st and you're accepted, Google will retroactively credit you for any Checkout fees you incur while your application is pending (and if you're eligible but haven't already applied for Google Grants yet, what are you waiting for?).
If you already have a Google Grants account and an active Checkout for Non-Profits account, please make sure to link your two accounts by February 15th.
For more information on the fee change, visit Google Checkout for Non-Profits.
--
AdWords Seminars for Success in 2009
For those of you not naturally inclined to read help documentation about Google Grants and AdWords or sit in front of your computer for a webinar, the AdWords team has released a new schedule of full-day in-person training seminars for the first part of this year. So if you or your non-profit is willing to invest some money to attend one in your city, we think you'll find these seminars to be extremely helpful in advancing your understanding of online advertising through AdWords and your Google Grant.
If you're inclined to read tips and tricks online to gain a better understanding of our tools (which you must be if you're reading this), the Google Grants blog has recently posted a case study about how to boost your AdWords click-through rates (CTR). As always, it's worth a read.
--
Accessing Gmail offline and other new features
Several months ago, Google announced Gmail Labs, a new section in Gmail where you can go to try out all kinds of new experimental features our engineers have come up with. You can find Labs by clicking on the green beaker at the top of your Gmail window, or by going to "Settings" and then clicking on "Labs." Some of the new features are silly (like Mail Goggles), but others are hugely useful.
The new offline Gmail feature, for example, will be hugely useful for just about everyone who uses Gmail. If you need to get work done on the plane, or you've just found yourself without an Internet connection, offline Gmail will allow you to access most Gmail features and then sync up with Google's servers once you re-establish a connection. To get offline functionality, just go to Labs and click the "enable" button in the offline section.
Other cool labs features include SMS messaging from within chat, a Task list, and a forgotten attachment detector. Outside of Labs, the Gmail team has been busy developing new features like voice and video chat.
Finally, Gmail has always supported email encryption to protect your privacy and security when using public WiFi, for example, but you have to enable it in Settings. We also recently implemented features that let you see other locations where you may be logged in and allow you to log out remotely. Read more about how to protect your Gmail account.
--
Google Reader guide for beginners
Reader is Google's free tool that allows you to keep track of and read your favorite blogs and websites all in one place, something that can help you keep track of a larger number of sources more efficiently.
Google Reader uses a standard called RSS to gather all of the most recent articles from your favorite sources. One of Reader's best-kept secrets is the ability to share articles with others, and even create your own list of articles, or RSS feed, that others can subscribe to (this is also useful for creating daily news briefs). You can even embed your shared articles on your site, giving your blog or webpage a sense of freshness and relevance, especially when it comes to your organization's area of interest.
Fortunately, for those who haven't yet set up a Google Reader account or started sharing articles, the Reader team has compiled a set of resources called Google Reader for Beginners, complete with videos that explain Reader's most important features.
--
Website Optimizer and the Website Workout contest
We've been on record in newsletters past praising the advanced website design tool, Google Website Optimizer, for helping organizations make data-driven decisions about how to design and arrange their sites. After all, how do you know the red "Donate" button is better than the blue one for your site? You test it, that's how. Website Optimizer is for performing these kinds of design tests and analyzing the results.
To help non-profits learn more about how to use Website Optimizer, the Google Grants blog has recently featured a set of tutorials, now on its fifth entry of six in the series. Read them all: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
Finally, to help show just how useful the tool is for organizations, including non-profits, the Website Optimizer team recently hosted a contest to select four organizations that wanted to pump up their sites and increase their conversion rates. See all the winners here.
One of the winners was Team In Training, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's sport training program which helps volunteers raise money to fund leukemia and lymphoma research. Watch a video about their results.
--
That's it for this month's newsletter. As always, please send any suggestions for the newsletter or Google for Non-Profits site our way.
Have a great weekend!
Galen from the Google for Non-Profits Team
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