The shocking news about Google Reader - tell them if you are upset about it

I'm sure many of you are just as appalled as I was to see that Google is going to "retire" Google Reader - what!!!

I don't know what I'll do as an alternative yet and will be looking out for some good advice.

In the meantime, I have signed up to the 2 petitions to save it - one on Change.org and the other on keepgooglereader.com

I have also put messages on Google's forums.

While I don't have a lot of hope that Google will relent, it would be great if you also expressed your views as Google users.

Google Search Tips

OK - I am no expert on techho things. But I thought you might be interested in a few easy tips for improving your Google search results. I poked around on the net to find an article for you but the ones I found were very geeky. So here goes, in my own words.

• If you want Google to only find sites with a particular word in them put + followed immediately by the word eg +search

• If you want Google to find you sites with a particular phrase, put that phrase between quote marks eg "searching Google"

• If you are getting too many results that are irrelevant you could try adding a word or words for Google to exclude. You do this by putting a minus sign directly before the word eg if you wanted results about Searching Google that didn't include SEO information you would put "Searching Google" -SEO

• My last tip, is about using what is called a tilde (who knew). I found it on the keyboard on the left hand side just above Tab. It looks like this ~ . This is a really useful one - if you put it before a word you are searching Google won't just search that particular word but all other words that it believes means the same. So if you were searching for "can opener" for instance if you put ~can opener, Google would also look for tin opener.

Happy searching. And apologies to all of you for whom this is old hat.

Did you know that your post's SEO is improved every time someone clicks the Google Plus 1 button?

I have just learned that if you click on the Google Plus 1 button at the bottom of posts you are enjoying that you are actually helping that posts SEO?   So from now on I am going to do that when I like posts whether I have time to comment or not - just a little way to pay forward the respect I have for everyone's hard work in putting up great posts.

Why don't you give this a go, too?

An article that sets out to explain Google+

I have just found a site Serendipity and Spice that has all sorts of helpful advice for bloggers.  Here is a link to an article about Google+ - which I haven't been able to figure out at all until now.  I think you will find it interesting.

Getting the best from Google Searches

OK - I am no expert on techho things.  But I thought you might be interested in a few easy tips for improving your Google search results.  I poked around on the net to find an article for you but the ones I found were very geeky.  So here goes, in my own words.

• If you want Google to only find sites with a particular word in them put + followed immediately by the word eg +search

• If you want Google to find you sites with a particular phrase, put that phrase between quote marks eg "searching Google"

• If you are getting too many results that are irrelevant you could try adding a word or words for Google to exclude.  You do this by putting a minus sign directly before the word eg if you wanted results about Searching Google that didn't include SEO information you would put "Searching Google" -SEO

• My last tip, is about using what is called a tilde (who knew).  I found it on the keyboard on the left hand side just above Tab.  It looks like this ~ .  This is a really useful one - if you put it before a word you are searching Google won't just search that particular word but all other words that it believes means the same.  So if you were searching for "can opener" for instance if you put ~can opener, Google would also look for tin opener.

Happy searching.  And apologies to all of you for whom this is old hat.