Promoting with Google Base
Do you have a product, programme or service that you would like to promote on the internet but don’t have a web site?
And if you do have a web site, are you interested in finding alternative no-cost strategies to promote your services?
Then check out Google Base, which is currently in Beta fomat at the time this articles is written (October 2006).
1. What is Google Base?
If you have information you want to share with others but aren’t sure how to reach them, Google Base is for you. You can easily submit all types of online and offline content to Base, and if your content isn’t online yet, Google will put it there.
You can describe any item you post with attributes, which will help people find it when they do related searches. The main benefits of Google Base include:
Free content hosting
Google Base represents a new opportunity to put any kind of content online, even if it isn’t a web page.
Distribution
By bringing offline content online, Google Base is more accessible and useful. Even online content becomes more ‘discoverable’ when users are able to refine their search results based on attributes. You can also link users to your own website, therefore making your content far more accessible to the world.
Ease of Use
Now you can go to one place to upload content to Google Base. You can post individual items by completing a simple web form or submit a bulk upload file with ten or more items.
Google Base is entirely free
You can edit or archive your items whenever you want.
2. Do I need a Google Account to use Google Base?
Yes, to publish your own items, you must create a Google Base Account which you can do here.
3. What kind of information can I submit?
Google’s goal is to organise the world’s information, and that includes almost anything you might want to contribute, whether it’s your career opportunities in your business, services you offer or events you are planning.
When you submit information via the web form, you can attach up to 15 digital files in the following formats: PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Text (.txt), HTML (.html), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Word Perfect (.wpd), ASCII, Unicode and XML.
The files you upload may not exceed 20 megabytes total in size, and Google reserves the right to review all items in order to ensure they comply with the Google Base Terms and Conditions.
4. How can I submit my information?
To submit an item using Google Base, go to the Google Base main page and click on ‘Post your own item’.
On the Post an Item page, choose an item type from the drop-down menu or create your own item type in the text box below.
Then click “Next” to add details, edit, review and publish your item.
In about 15 minutes, your item will have a unique web address and be visible to the world.
5. Do I need a website if I want my item to appear on Google?
No. If you don’t have a website, Google Base will host your content (at no cost) on a unique web address.
6. Where will my information appear?
Google Base will host your information online if you don’t already have a website, and show it to anyone who searches for its unique URL or finds it while searching for related topics.
7. How can I increase traffic to my items?
You can increase the likelihood that your information will appear when searchers enter a relevant query by including highly structured information with each item.
This means including rich attributes that accurately represent your content. You can learn more about optimizing your items here.
You can also create Google AdWords ads for single items if you submit them via the Google Base web form. If you already have an AdWords account connected to the Google Account you’re using on Google Base, your Google Base ads will automatically be linked to your AdWords account. If you’re new to AdWords, we’ll help you create an AdWords account within Google Base. You can learn more about this feature here.
