Help Desk Hangouts: Google Apps

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we talked about Google Apps for businesses with Meera, Garrett, and Harry. They showed off some of the collaborative features in Google Apps, and we chatted about how businesses might take advantage of the suite of tools. They also answered your questions in real time. Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

How can a business owner or administrator tailor Google Apps to fit his/her needs?
With Google Apps, administrators can turn services on/off for their account, as well as customize service settings. For example, administrators can choose whether Docs can be shared outside the domain or not. Or, whether Offline Gmail is allowed for users.

What support channels are available to Google Apps users?
All users and admins can get answers to common issues and how to articles at the Google Apps Help Center. Free Google Apps accounts can ask questions on our help forum. Our Power Posters and Google Apps Advisors are constantly answering user questions. Google Apps for Business, Education, or Government accounts get 24/7 phone and email support.

Do I need a website or domain to use Google Apps?
You need your own domain name in order to use Google Apps. Don’t have one? You can sign up for a domain name during the sign up process for Google Apps at google.com/a. 


Help Desk Hangouts are hosted on the Google+ Your Business page every other Wednesday. Don’t miss our next Hangout at 11a.m. PDT on Wednesday, August 8. Look for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Jade Wang, Google+ Local Community Manager

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Serving mobile customers

Consumers are always on-the-go, which means they frequently search for products and services from their mobile phones. After searching on a smartphone, more than half of users visit a store in person and many of those people make a purchase, either in-store, online, or by phone.

Obviously, if consumers are searching for you or something you offer, it’s important that your business show up! The tips below will help you to evaluate your current website on a mobile device, make improvements, and measure your changes.




Posted by Abby Fromm, Google and Your Business Blog Team

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Help Desk Hangouts: SEO Webmaster Academy

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we talked about SEO with the masterminds of Google’s Webmaster Academy. Our experts, Alexi, Michael, and Matt, walk you through how Google Search works, how you can set your site up for success, and more. They also answered your questions in real time. Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:
My site used to rank really well, but now it doesn’t. What happened?
There could be several reasons that your site is not be ranking in search the same way that it did in the past. Three common reasons why this may happen are that your site has a technical problem which is preventing Googlebot from accessing it, your site violates our quality guidelines, or your site is simply ranking differently due to changes to our algorithm, which is updated hundreds of times per year. The first thing we’d recommend to diagnose your issue is to check your site in Google Webmaster Tools, a free service that gives you information about how your site is performing in Google. If we’ve detected a problem with your site, we may have sent you a message there. For a more detailed checklist to help you diagnose a change in ranking, visit our Help Center.

I'd love to learn more about the Knowledge Graph and what, if anything we should be doing as SEOs & Webmasters.

The Knowledge Graph is a way for users to see additional relevant information on searches for certain people, places and things on the right hand side of the results page. This information helps users get to answers quickly; in many cases, they may find answers to questions they hadn’t even thought to ask. It also helps people discover more about the topic they’re interested in by showing people, places or things that are closely related to their searches. For example, if you search for an artist like Leonardo da Vinci, you’ll see a short biography, some of his most famous works, and other frequently searched-for artists. Currently, there isn’t any functionality in Webmaster Tools to be included in the Knowledge Graph. Right now this is not about individual businesses but rather about generally known facts about the world.

How do you rank item detail pages where there may be many websites which have the same item for sale (with a standard "technical description")? Who rises to the top when the content is basically static?

Great question! Many merchant and affiliate sites use product descriptions taken straight from the manufacturer or from the end merchant site. While sometimes this can be appropriate, we typically recommend looking for ways you can add your own value to that page - can you provide some original reviews or recommendations about the item? If you are adding value of your own you’ll be providing a better experience for users. If you are concerned about this, check out our material on duplicate content and watch this video about our Webmaster Guidelines.

Where can I go for more information, help, or to prove my own knowledge?

Our experts mentioned a bunch of incredible resources available to you. Here are a few links to get you started:

• Webmaster Academy
• SEO Starter Guide
• Webmaster Help Center
• Webmaster Help Forum
• Webmaster Help YouTube Channel
• Webmaster Central Blog
• Webmaster Guidelines
• Some great videos to check out

As mentioned in the recording, our Help Desk Hangouts will be occurring every other week moving forward. Be sure to join us for our next Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, July 25th. Look out for the topic announcement on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Toby Stein, Google+ Community Manager

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