Posting to Google Base
Learn the Google Base guidelines
Manage your posts
Searching Google Base
Understand the Google Base results
Want the world to know about your chicken soup recipe? Do you have information you want posted and have no idea where to put it? Google Base is the place. Google has created a place where you can post just about any kind of information. Point your Web browser to http://base.google.com (see Figure 17.1). Google didn’t just create a bulletin board like everyone else’s. When you post things on the Google Base, you add attributes used to describe your post. This makes it easier for others searching in one of several Google search services to find your post.
Of course, like many other Google services, Google Base is free. Search Google Base or post your own items of interest.
Google Base allows you to add individual posts or upload bulk postings of all types of information, commercial or otherwise. The posting guidelines in this section guide you through creating your post and list some of the limitations you should be aware of when creating your post.
Click the Post an item link from any Google Base Web page. On the main page, it is located in the center of the page, as shown in Figure 17.1. A new page appears where you can choose an item type or create one of your own (see Figure 17.2).
Events and Activities
Recipes
Housing
Reference Articles
Jobs
Reviews
News and Articles
Services
People Profiles
Travel Packages
Personals
Vehicles
Podcasts
Wanted Ads
Products
Once you select a type, a form appears that enables you to describe your posting. The first thing Google Base gives you to describe your posting are attributes, which found in the Details section. These are name-value pairs that describe your product. A name-value pair is a descriptive attribute name, such as color, and then a value, like blue. You can use the attributes already created for you in a particular category, create new ones, or skip these altogether (not recommended). Attributes help people find you through Google by providing terms on which to search.
Caution
Creating Google Base posts without including descriptive attributes will make it very difficult for anyone to find your posting.
To add an attribute, put the descriptive attribute (name) in the box on the left and the value in the box to the right of the attribute, like this.
Color | Blue |
Size Extra-large | |
When you want to add additional attributes, click the Add another attribute... link.
Labels, as shown in Figure 17.3, are different than attributes. In addition to helping people find your post, they also appear as links next to your posting. Someone searching through Google Base can click one of these labels and see all other postings with the same label. As Google Base grows, these labels will become increasingly important in narrowing a search. Therefore, you might want to do some searches through posts similar to your own to see what labels others use. That way, if someone lands on another post and clicks the label, he or she also sees your label.
Tip
Posts last a limited amount of time. Use your Google Calendar account to remind you when to update your post.
You can add up to ten labels, separated by commas in the Labels box.
Create a description using the rich text editor provided by Google Base. To format your description text, you can use the following formatting features:
Add a hyperlink
Format text in bold
Format text in italics
Add a bullet list
Change the text color
Modify the text justification: left, center and right
Change the font
Set the font size between small, normal, large, and huge
Add headings
Carefully construct your description. Remember that posts formatted so that they appear professional and appealing are going to attract more attention. If you are an HTML expert, you can switch editing to the HTML view and apply your HTML skills in creating your description.
You can attach files to your posts. You can attach files found on your computer by clicking the “Get a file from this computer” radio button. Click Browse to locate the file on your hard drive or type a filename with its full path. Google Base only allows certain file types to be uploaded. For graphic files you can upload JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIF, and BMP. For publishing files, you can upload PDF, DOC, PPT, XLS, TXT, HTML, RTF, ASCII, UNICODE, and XML files.
Before publishing your post, you may want to preview it. Google Base checks for any errors, missed fields, or items that don’t meet the posting guidelines (see the next section). Simply click Preview. You can save a draft of the post by clicking Save draft, a button found at the bottom of the page. This is a great way to save your work so that you can continue working on it later. Clicking Publish submits your post; soon after, it is viewable by the world. Of course, you can always choose to cancel by clicking Cancel.
You can upload information, data, text, programs, software, music, sound files, photographs, graphics, video, messages, and just about anything else that can be rendered in digital format. When posting to Google Base, there are some things you should keep in mind:
Don’t scream, which in the Internet world means don’t use all capital letters.
When you punctuate, use normal punctuation. Adding characters such as //////////==== to highlight ====\\\\\ won’t help you and is frowned upon by Google.
When you create your posts, try to avoid unnecessary repetition. Don’t repeat things and say them over and over. The posts should be specific to a topic or product. You can’t just post generic phrases like “Click Here.”
Items must be posted in the English language. While the Google Base interface is available in English and German, the Google guidelines state that posts must be in English.
When you intend to post adult items, they must be marked as unsuitable for minors. Keep the language clean.
When posting URLs, there are a number of guidelines you must follow:
URLs must point to operational Web sites. When the Web site is down you must pause your post. To pause your post, select it and click Deactivate in the bar above the posted items. To resume publishing the post, select it and click Activate.
Links cannot redirect. They must point to pages containing information about the item you post.
Links should only be to Web pages, not to files that require external programs to view them.
The page you land on cannot be password protected.
When your site uses a robots.txt file to direct Web crawlers, it must allow access to the page you post a link to.
To upload large numbers of postings—for example, your entire retail store inventory—you will not want to sit and add posts individually. Instead, you can upload posts in bulk form using files in one of many formats. You can include as many as 100,000 items per bulk upload. Each of these items will appear as an individual post as though you had entered them manually. Your bulk upload has a maximum of 10MB. You can contact Google if you need to upload a larger file.
Upload files in the following formats:
PDF: Adobe (.pdf)
Excel: Microsoft Excel (.xls)
Text: Plain text (.txt)
HTML: Web (.html)
Rich Text: Rich Text Format (.rtf)
Word Perfect: Corel Word Perfect (.wpd)
ASCII: Plain text
Unicode: Unicode formatted text files
XML: Extended Markup Language (.xml)
Here’s how to begin the bulk upload process:
Click either Post multiple items with a bulk upload file or the My Items link at the top of the page next to your Google user name.
In the My Items tab, click the Bulk upload files link (see Figure 17.4). The My Items tab changes to a list of links. The first link is Specify a bulk upload file. Clicking this link allows you to tell Google Base where to find the file containing your bulk upload information.
Note
Your bulk upload must include items of all the same type. In other words, you can’t include products and services in the same bulk upload. Your bulk upload file must be in the format for each specific type. Google Base provides templates for each category. Visit http://base.google.com/base/types.html to download templates. Find the category, and click the link for the template.
Type the filename into the File name box.
Select a predefined type or submit a custom type.
Click the Specify bulk upload file button. This file is then listed as a bulk upload file. The next step involves creating the file. Follow the instructions provided by Google Base for creating a bulk upload file. Find them here: http://www.google.com/base/business_feed_instructions.html
It may seem like Google Base is the last frontier and that anything goes, but that isn’t exactly true. There are quite a number of limitations both legal and editorial. The editorial limits are enforced largely by the Web forms, but the legal limits are up to you to follow:
You must be at least 18 years of age, or capable of forming a binding contract before you can upload to Google Base. Google may ask for ID.
You can upload a total of 15 digital files of bulk upload information. The total size of all the files considered together cannot exceed 20MB.
As far as what you post on Google Base, the only restriction is that it must be legal. Google even warns that by using this service you might be exposed to material you find offensive or objectionable. Some of the things you really can’t do are
Defame other people, impersonate them, or send violent or hateful messages to them.
Things that infringe on copyrights, patents, or trade secrets.
No pyramid schemes or affiliate marketing programs.
Sorry, you can’t sell your body parts here, either.
You can’t transmit malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, and other destructive programs).
Other things you can’t post are ads for cable descramblers, counterfeit goods, drugs and drug paraphernalia, gambling, hacking aids, miracle cures (unless your miracle cure is FDA approved), fireworks, explosives, and bulk currency (whatever that is).
International users must abide by the laws of their own country. Also, unlike many of the other Google services in many languages, Google Base is only available at this time in English and German.
Use the Google Base management page to manage your posts using the Google Base Dashboard, or manage your personal settings using the Base Settings page. Next to your login name, click the My items link. This launches a Web page with two tabs. The first tab contains information about your posts and the second tab is used for customizing your personal settings.
Selecting the My Items tab (which loads by default when clicking the My items link) launches the Google Base Dashboard, displaying your links and important information about each of them.
Each item is listed with an Item title, as a link. Next to each title is an edit link. By clicking the item URL link, you can view your post as others see it. In the next column, you can easily see what type of post was created. The post status appears in the third column. Once you post, your post may not be available immediately. In Figure 17.5 you can find the status displayed in the third column of the line displaying your posted item. You may see a status listed as “Published...searchable soon.” Your active posts will have a status of “Published and searchable”. After a period of time set by Google Base your post expires. Your status may show that your post has expired. You can see the time your post was modified and the date it is set to expire.
Most important, you can view statistics about how many people are viewing your post. The last three columns in the Dashboard display allow you to keep track of how successful your post has been. This enables you to make modifications to your post to increase the number of people who view it. Here are the statistics and what they mean:
Impr.: Impressions, which represents the number of times your post has appeared in search results.
Clicks: The number of times that someone has clicked on your post when it has appeared in the search results
Page Views: The total number of times that someone has viewed your post
The statistics are not real time, so don’t get frustrated if your friends click on the post and the statistics don’t change. Impressions and clicks are updated daily, and page view statistics are updated several times a day.
Deactivate your posting or delete it forever by clicking the buttons above the list of posts. Select the checkbox next to the post and click either Deactivate or Delete forever. If you create a draft that has not been published you can select the draft and click Publish Drafts.
You can configure your Google Base account to make creating Google Base posts simpler. Once you sign in to your Google account point your Web browser to http://base.google.com/base/settings. You can also click the Settings tab in the Google Base dashboard. This launches the Base settings page as shown in Figure 17.6.
To configure your Google Base store follow these steps:
Enter a display name for your online store. This can be a nickname, store name or name of an organization.
Enter an optional description of your store.
Enter an optional link to your store’s home page.
For sites that contain graphics or text not suitable for viewing by minors, select: This site contains content that may be unsuitable for minors.
Optionally configure or create an AdWords account to create keyword advertising for your product or service.
Configure your Contact information. By default your Gmail email address is used.
Optionally configure Location and deliver information.
Enter Payment information.
Set the default number of days after which an item expires. The maximum number you can enter is 31.
Choose to receive important notifications about your Google Base account by email.
Click Save Changes to complete your account modifications.
Searching Google Base is not a lot different than any other Google search: Type keywords or phrases in the Search box and then click Search Base or press the Enter key (see Figure 17.1). You may notice that there is no advanced search link for Google Base. You will learn about other ways of performing advanced searches later in this section.
An easy way to view items in Google Base is to browse the categories. This type of browsing is similar to Google Directory where items are categorized, and you can view postings by category. Click one of the 20 categories listed on the Google Base page. You can even choose to view what others are searching on by clicking the links listed below Recent Searches.
Clicking each category presents all the results in that category but also displays search options based on the type of information you are viewing. Table 17.1 shows you the categories and the various search options for each category. You can also sort your results based on the type of information. Using these search options, you can focus your search through a wide variety of products, services, and information. The search options listed in Table 17.1 are likely to grow as the information stored in Google Base grows.
Table 17.1. Google Base Category Search and Sorting Options
Category | Search Options | Sort By |
|---|---|---|
Blogs | Author, Blog type, Location, Subject, Content, Tags | Relevance Post Date |
Coupons | Address, Phone, Coupon code, Expiration, Location, Diet, Ephedra Diet | Relevance Post Date |
Clinical Trials | Condition, Phase, Source, Overall status | Relevance Post Date |
Events and Activities | Price, Event date range, Location, Event type | Relevance Post Date Event Date Range Price |
Housing | Listing type, Property type, Location, Price, Bedrooms, Bathrooms | Relevance Post Date Price Bedrooms Bathrooms |
Jobs | Job function, Job type, Location | Relevance Post Date |
Mobile Content | Supported devices, Phone brands, Devices, Language | Relevance Post Date |
News and articles | Publish date, Author, News source, Nobel prize field, Nobel rights, Year, pages | Relevance Post Date Publish Date |
Nursing home | Location, Owner has multiple homes, Service type, Councils available, Type of ownership, Number of residents, Certified number of beds | Relevance Post Date |
People profiles | Gender, Age, Location, Marital Status, Sexual orientation, Interested in, Occupation | Relevance Post Date Age |
Podcasts | Author, Subject, Price, Genre, Economist, Interview topic, Podcast, University | Relevance Post Date |
Protein | Species, Length, Mass, Publish Date, Author, Mnemonic, Reviewed | Relevance Post Date Length Mass |
Products | Price, Brand, Condition, Product Type, Author, Format, Actor | Relevance Post Date Price |
Recipes | Cuisine, Main Ingredient, Course, Main Category | Relevance Post Date |
Reference Articles | Patentee address, Author, Patent title, Publication name, News source, Product type, Name of item reviewed, First named inventor, Patentee contact | Relevance Post Date |
Reviews | Review type, Rating, Name of item reviewed, Reviewer type, Categories of item reviewed, Review date, Country of item reviewed, Review author | Relevance Post Date |
Services | Service type, price, Location, Skill, Services offered, California coverage area, Grades, County, In business since | Relevance Post Date Price |
Vehicles | Make, Model, Location, Condition, Price, Color, Year, Vehicle type, Mileage | Relevance Post Date Price |
Wanted ads | Price, Agent, Bedrooms, Listing Type, City, Preferred area, Location | Relevance Post Date |
Wine and food | Location, Payments, Special needs, Meals, Atmosphere, Dining, Bar info | Relevance Post Date |
Entering a search term such as diamond rings results in a display like the one shown in Figure 17.7. In addition to the search results, you can view each of the categories that diamond rings may fall into. For example, as also shown in Figure 17.6 along the top of the results page are a number of different categories in which this search result is found. This is a quick way to go from reading product advertisements to reading reviews.
There are no advanced search pages for search terms because of your ability to focus your search by type of category. In the example of the diamond ring, typing the search term shows you all occurrences of the term diamond ring in all categories. After performing the search you can choose one of the categories that appears at the top of the page. At that time you see a new list of results that fall in that category and also give you access to the search options listed in Table 17.1. Use these to further focus your search.
Each search result appears with links to the item information. Below this link are links to information in subcategories. For example, in the case of diamond rings you might find links to Irish Wedding Rings. Clicking the link shows you all Irish wedding rings listed in Google Base. In many cases, the price is listed as a link. Clicking the link shows you all diamond rings with that price.
Each type of category presents different types of information to you. People profiles in your area, in addition to showing you the people, also shows you a map with each of the people marked on the map.
Post almost anything you can think of to Google Base and have it searchable in many of the Google search utilities. It’s a great way to post your resume, sell your car, sell many cars, post a review of the car you just bought, or learn about proteins. If your head just did that little thing it does when you read something strange, that’s okay. The amount and types of information you can post to Google Base is nearly limitless. It’s the ultimate catalog system and more. If you enjoy using the wonderful user interface used to create posts, you’ll love using Google’s Writely and Google Spreadsheet, which are covered in the next chapter.