YouTube Notifications in the Navigation Bar

YouTube has recently started to experiment with replacing Google+ notifications in the navigation bar with YouTube notifications. You get notifications for recently uploaded videos from your subscribed channels, but only if you've enabled notifications for those channels. For example, you can go to the subscription manager and click the bell icon next to a channel to enable or disable notifications.

The settings button sends you to the Notifications section from YouTube's Settings page and the 3-dot icon next to each notification lets you turn off notifications from the corresponding channel.

If you don't like this experiment, you can always clear cookies for youtube.com in your browser's settings and opt out.

Read More

Google's New Mobile UI for Recipe Search

Just in time for New Year's dinner, Google has a new mobile interface for recipe search. I searched for [avocado mayo] and noticed a long list of keywords below the search box and ads: salad, chicken, shrimp, vegan, bacon and more. You can select more than one keyword and this helps you refine the results.

When selecting a related search, you get a completely different interface that only shows recipes: bigger expandable cards, bigger thumbnails, infinite scrolling.

Read More

Google Translate's 5000 Character Limit

For some reason, Google Translate now has a limit of 5000 characters per translation. There's even a character counter at the bottom of the input box. If you happen to paste a long text that has more than 5000 characters, you'll get an error message ("maximum characters exceeded: X characters over 5000 maximum") and a "translate more" option that lets you translate the rest of the text.

I don't understand the purpose of this restriction, considering that Google doesn't impose any limitation when translating web pages. It's worth pointing out that Google Translate's API has a similar limitation: "the maximum size of each text to be translated is 5000 characters, not including any HTML tags". Google's translation card from Google Search has a different limit: about 2800 characters.

Read More

How to Create a Blogger Account?

Are you wondering how to create a Blogger account? Many of us do, because Blogger is one of the most popular blogging platforms out there and it can provide us with an extraordinary, fun way to express ourselves in the online world. Not only is it Blogger a very large blogging website, but it's also full of categories that you can blog on. You have complete control over what you want to blog, and that does make Blogger an amazing platform to begin with. Yet you do have to wonder how to create a blog on Blogger! We are here to help you understand all of that and so much more as fast as possible, thanks to a detailed guide that will showcase all the necessary instructions in a very easy to read manner.

Creating a Google account

What you need to know here is that Google owns Blogger, and because of that you will need to use a Google account to sign in to this platform. You can create a Google account now and then you will be able to continue to the platform without a problem. By creating a Google Account you will be able to access a wide range of Google apps and services like Drive or Mail for example. Visit the page above and share all the necessary information in order to create the necessary Google Account. Thankfully, the process is very easy and it will take only a few minutes of your time. In case you already have a Google Account, you will need to sign on the Blogger page.

Creating your blog

Once you are located on the Blogger page, you will need to press the New Blog button in order to start a blog. You will receive a new window where you will learn how to create a Blogger account. This will enable you to share all the necessary information.

• Make sure that you add a title for your blog in the Title area. This is very important because it will allow you to entice the visitor to read more about you and your content. So, try to make the title relevant and appealing
• In order for users to find your blog, you will need to create an Address for it. Your blog will have a blogspot.com address, but you will need to choose what goes before blogspot.com. Basically, you can opt for something like abcdef.blogspot.com or anything like that. Remember that this can be modified in the long run. The great thing here is that you will immediately be able to see if that address is available or not. This means you will have the ability to check the address availability really fast.
• The next step will require you to choose from any of the presets that are available at this point. Starting with a Template is a good idea, but do remember that this can be modified afterwards as well. So it's a good idea to just pick a template and move onward.

Once you have the blog title, address and template ready to go, you will have to press the Create blog! button. This process will take a little bit until it's completed properly, so just wait for a few seconds as the new blog will soon be added to the blog list. So, if you were wondering how to create a blog on Blogger, this is the simplest way to do it.

Maybe the best thing about how to create a Blogger account is that the entire process is very easy to do. Even beginners will have no problem creating and setting up an account. The customization options are plentiful here, so you shouldn't have any problem setting your account really fast!

Starting to post

Although the blog address will be available, you can't call that a blog unless you start writing content in there. Obviously, you will need to learn how to write a post on Blogger, and we are here to help you with that right now.

In order to start writing, you will need to click the Create a new post link or you can press the New Post button. Once you do that, you will gain immediate access to the post editor and here you can write the blog as well as make any necessary changes to content that you already wrote.

Write a title for your post

Your post needs to have a title. Towards the top of the Blogger editor you will see that there is a Post title box. Add in the desired post title there. This shouldn't eat up a lot of your time, just try to come up with a post title that is enticing, very easy to use and a delight to read for your audience. A catchy title can be great. Don't opt for the clickbait title that you can see nowadays, make your title feel informative and fun to read as that's what you want. If you want to write a first post, you need to make it introductory. Write about the goals you have, the type of content you want to add and so on. It will not be easy to write down the first words, but if you create a good title it will be easier for you to translate thoughts into words!

Start the writing process

You can create a Blogger post in 2 ways. You can either write the post in HTML or you can use the word processor included here. You have a button located in the top left corner which helps you switch between any of these two writing models. The HTML editor helps you create better web content and you can also use it to insert some special web functions. On the other hand, the word processor is more than qualified to offer you all the extra help you might need here.

Customizing text

If you want, you will be able to customize the text you want without a problem. You will have the ability to use the toolbar located on top of the editor to modify the text as you see fit. This includes formatting, color, size, alignment and so on. You have a Normal drop-down that helps you change the type of content you want to add, so you should consider changing between the desired heading type as you see fit. This also changes the way search engines process your content, so keep that in mind.  If possible, try to break the content into easy to read pieces. Use the Headings in a strategic manner.

Add an image to your post

If you want to make your blog post enticing, you should try to add at least an image. These images make posts a lot easier to read and it's a good idea to make the most out of images if you want to share a great experience for your audience. You will have an "Insert Image" button right above your text editor, on the toolbar. There are multiple options, you can either upload them from your PC/Mac, you can share a link or you can use your webcam to take a picture if you want. However, if you link to other websites, make sure that you showcase their copyright or just refrain from doing that to begin with. There are many sites who do not agree with the idea of having their content stolen, so try to stay away from that!

Modify the post settings

If you look on the right side of your Post Editor, you will be able to access some Post settings. Remember that these make it easy for you to customize your post right before you choose to publish it!

• Labels are useful if you want to group multiple posts which are very similar to one another.
• Schedule allows you to publish your content at a later date. It can come in handy if you don't want to share multiple articles at the same time.
• Permalink is an option that allows you to select the way your post will be linked to in the future. Usually it will maintain the title structure, but there are other link types you can choose from as well.
• Location enables you to add a location tag for your post. It's a very good tool for those that move/travel often
• Options allows you to modify some features like the user ability to comment on a post for example. You can also choose the way your HTML code is interpreted here as well.

Previewing

A great thing about previewing your post is that you will be able to see how it looks when a reader will access it. This is the right time when you need to check your post for any errors, be it grammar or structural ones.

Save the post for later

This is not the same as scheduling. When you save the post for later, it means that the post just isn't finished at this time and you will continue to work on it at a later time. You can see this as a draft for your future post.

Publishing the post

If you double or triple checked the post and there are no errors, then you are good to go. Still, it's a good idea to go through it at least one more time to ensure that all the content you want is there and you don't have to make any more changes. Add all the necessary labels and tags, make sure that you inserted any links, images and other information that you might need.

Once everything is ready, you will just have to press the Publish button located at the top of the panel. This is when Blogger will automatically redirect you to the Posts page. Here you will see the post right on top.

Don't believe that your work is done at this point. In fact, it's far from that. You still have a long way to go before you properly optimize and improve your blog. After all, people won't be drawn in to your blog if you have just a single one to begin with. Work hard to write great posts as they will be able to make your blog stand out in the long haul.

Of course, you do need patience. Writing a good blog does require time and you shouldn't rush the content creation. Prioritize quality over quantity all the time. If you don't do that, the experience will be very well worth it in the end.

How can you expand your blog?

As we mentioned earlier, writing a single post is great but it won't draw in a lot of traffic. If you want to write a good post, one that will bring in lots of readers and views, you want to post as often as possible.

Quality content will always bring in traffic. Update the blog as often as you can. If you can share at least a post per week, you should do that. A good stream of posts will always come in handy, so make sure that you always write some good, enticing content that will help populate your blog.

If possible, we recommend you to create a post Schedule as this will help you better optimize the way you post. This way you will be able to prepare your content beforehand, so you can have it ready when you want to create a new post. The best approach is to write more than 1 post at a time. One can be posted and the others can be kept for a later date if you so desire.

Write for a niche

Generalized content works but it won't really deliver good results for your audience. If you want to get the best results, we recommend you to find a niche as fast as possible. Not only does a niche help you target specific users, but it will also help you become an authority on that topic. We recommend you to research a niche and become an expert on it. This is the best way to create a large audience for a niche and from here to reaching success in blogging will be just a small step.

Don't rush the content creation process, especially if you write for a niche. Creating redundant content will just keep people away. As long as you take your time and focus on results for your audience, the experience will be an amazing one. Of course, use the proper content structure in order to cater to the needs of search engines, all while maintaining the content relevant for humans as well!

Reader interaction

Once you learn how to create a blog on Blogger you can create more than a blog in order to reach multiple audiences. But the idea here still remains, you will need to interact with the audience. The community will grow more and more as you put out content, so make sure that you always interact with the audience.

Read the comments and moderate them, make sure that you remove spam. Also, reply to people that are interested in what you write. This will help create and nurture a community around your content, which can be very interesting to do!

Advertising your blog

Your blog will need advertising if you want it to grow really fast. One of the best ways you can do that is by sharing it with people anywhere you can. From social networks to social media or any other location, all of these are great places where you can share your blog. We recommend you to try and do the following:

• Post a short headline and a link to your article on Twitter
• Single Blogger is a Google Product, make sure that you use the Google buttons in order to share on Google Plus and perform other similar actions.
• Encourage readers and friends to share your Blogger posts on Facebook and anywhere they can. This will help you reach a large audience really fast.
• Make sure that you comment on forums and other blogs. Link to your post there if it's meaningful for that particular topic. This type of practice is called backlinking and it's very good for SEO.

Place ads

Ads are very important if you want to monetize the blog. You won't be able to monetize your blog with AdSense unless you have a blog active for around 6 months, so keep that in mind. You also need to have at least 18 years of age and you also have to obey the TOS. AdSense allows you to receive payments based on the amount of impressions generated by your blog.

Blog customization

You can modify just about anything you want on Blogger, it all comes down to you to make the right changes! For example, you will be able to press Layout and then you can modify the block content for each section of your blog. You also have the ability to Add a Gadget if you want. Blogger has lots of add-ons to choose from, all of which can help you better define your blog!

If you want to customize your Template, keep in mind that there are multiple customization options to choose from. You can also keep the template you have now. Programmers can press the Edit HTML button so they can modify the CSS and HTML code.

Stat tracking

Blogger has a dedicated option named Stats where you have the ability to monitor the blog performance. Here you have the ability to see the amount of views you get. This way you can identify what posts are performing better than others. As a result, you know what content works great for your audience in the longer term!

Learning how to create a Blogger account is really easy and you can feel free to create multiple blogs if you want. Just make sure that you write content for all of them. Plus, you can also monetize each one of your blogs if you so desire. Take your time and make sure that you provide valid information for your readers. This should be the main reason to create a Blogger account in the first place!

Read More

Google Tests Movie Ratings

Google's knowledge graph card tests a feature that lets you like or dislike movies and TV shows. For example, when you search for "It's a Wonderful Life", you can click like or dislike and check the percentage of Google users who liked it.

The same buttons show up when you search for a TV show like "Saturday Night Live".

Search Engine Land reports that Google confirmed this experiment, which was first spotted last month.

Read More

Google's Holiday Decorations

When you search Google for [Christmas], [Hanukkah], [Kwanzaa], [Festivus] or other related queries, you'll see some special decorations related to each holiday. Festivus is "a holiday celebrated by those seeking an alternative to the commercialism and pressures of the Christmas holiday season."

Christmas trees, Santa Claus, the Christmas star adorn the Google search page and bring the hoiday spirit.

The Hanukkah menorah and Kwanzaa's Mishumaa Saba (The Seven Candles) are lighting up Google's search pages.

Here are the decorations from 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011.

Read More

New Interface for Google Search

Google's desktop search pages have a new interface for navigating between search results. The search box is bigger, there's a new search icon and Google now only shows 2 or 3 specialized search engines next to "all", down from 4. Apps and shopping seem to be missing from the list of search engines, so you can only pick from image search, video search, Google News, Google Maps, Google Flights and Google Books.

The settings dropdown is now placed below the search box and it includes the option that lets you hide private results. You can still change search settings, languages, turn on or turn off SafeSearch, use advanced search options, open Web History or go to the help center.

Search tools are now simply called tools and they include the same options: search by date and verbatim.

Image search lets you quickly go to the saved images page and change SafeSearch setting.

Google Shopping is broken. While the homepage still loads, when you click a product image or search for something, Google shows an empty page.

Here's the old Google Search interface, via Wikipedia:

Read More