10 Top Tips for Using Google+

Throughout the summer, we’ve been sharing 10 simple tips for utilizing Google+ over at Creative Sandbox. We know our agency partners juggle a lot at once, between the RFPs and last-minute campaign launches, traffic reports and research studies -- and we’ve been on the lookout for ways that Google+ can make your day a little easier.

You can check out today’s final post on Google+ -- and we wanted to share the full list here:

Get inspired

• Follow interesting people -- See what industry experts, colleagues, peers and competitors -- as well as celebrities, photographers and your friends -- are sharing publicly. Check out these suggestions: google.com/+/whotofollow
  
  


• Host focus groups -- Get immediate feedback and insights from consumers via a Hangout. Have a face-to-face conversation online, as if you were in the same room.
  
  


• See how your work gets shared -- See the earned media effects of a campaign by entering a URL or YouTube video into Ripples, which show how posts are shared and reshared on Google+. 
  
  


• Review portfolios -- Can’t visit every job fair? Host a Hangout to give live feedback on advertising and marketing students’ work. Announce ahead of time on your Page.

Make communication easy

• Meet with clients -- Connect with your clients on a Hangout to review new initiatives, get feedback on creative or even hold a planning meeting. Utilize Screenshare or Google Docs to jointly view proposals.
  
  


• Manage projects -- Trying to keep everyone informed on your most recent project? Keep the team in the loop by creating a Circle just for everyone involved.
  
  


• Communicate with clients -- Organize your contacts by client or even industry in Circles so you can share insights with the most relevant audience.
  

Build your brand

• Lead the way -- Host a Hangout On Air featuring influencers in your agency to shine a spotlight on research, share case studies or provide insights on trends.
  
  


• Show and tell -- Have a piece of stellar creative you’ve completed or a great insight you just discovered? Share it on your Page and start a discussion with others who might learn from your experience. 
  
  


• Be seen on search -- Give your stamp of approval to articles, videos and research that you would recommend with the +1 button. Your friends will see your recommendations when they search.
  

Want more? Download the full booklet and share it with your coworkers -- or even hang it at your desk! And if you have your own tips and tricks for using Google+ as an agency, share them today over at Creative Sandbox with hashtag #g+toptips.

Posted by Becky Bowman, Google+ for Business

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Validating Land Cover Datasets with Geo-Wiki.org

This guest post is by Dr. Steffen Fritz, and Ian McCallum, researchers for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, an international research organization that conducts policy-oriented research on global problems.  



During the last decade, scientists have created several global land cover datasets. Comparison studies show that there are large spatial discrepancies between these products. One reason for these discrepancies is the lack of sufficient ground data for developing and validating these products. To address this issue, we have created the crowdsourcing tool Geo-Wiki.org, a web application using the Google Earth API and Google Earth plug-in. We chose Google Earth largely because of Google Earth’s navigation functionalities, including the ability to adjust the globe’s tilt and see the structure of the Earth’s surface, a significant advantage in recognizing land cover.







In a nutshell, volunteers can:

• view disagreement maps derived from three recent global land cover datasets


• select among available high resolution images as well as upload or view geo-tagged pictures (e.g. http://confluence.org), and


• determine which land cover type is found on the ground and decide which dataset is correct.
  
  

We record the results in a spatial database.







Geo-Wiki.org adds data to Google Earth in many ways. A MapServer provides raster data that are overlaid above Google Earth imagery using  KmlGroundOverlays. Vector data such as current pixel outlines are generated with JavaScript by creating and adding place marks with custom styles. Point data such as members or confluence points are loaded asynchronously as KML and simply added to Google Earth.







One of the main challenges we faced developing Geo-Wiki.org was the rapid handling of the large global datasets we wanted to visualize. To solve this, we chose the open source PostgreSQL relational database with a PostGIS extension to allow for spatial queries. The database stores the user details, user validations and the pixel polygons of the three global land cover data sets. Although the global land cover maps can be viewed as a semi-transparent layer on Google Earth, the bounding coordinates of each pixel are stored in the database. This representation was chosen in order to quickly retrieve the outlines of the pixels and their attributes at any given point on the Earth’s land surface.







In addition to the Google Earth API, Geo-Wiki.org uses the following technologies: Apache2 web server, PHP 5.2, MapServer, GeoServer, GDAL/OGR, PostgreSQL+PostGIS, JavaScript/AJAX.



We have recently launched a Geo-Wiki.org competition to raise awareness of the tool and to encourage community involvement in environmental monitoring.

How One Online Food Retailer Increased E-commerce Sales By 70% In Key Regions

LaTienda is an award-winning, family-owned business supporting artisanal firms in Spain. The firm works with small family-run businesses, many of which are dedicated to centuries-old food-making traditions. 



With warehouses in Williamsburg, Virginia and Alicante, Spain, the company ships hundreds of thousands of orders throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

LaTienda’s brand equity is built on its fundamental commitment to the customer experience. They guarantee a positive experience for its customers – quality products delivered in excellent condition, or they will replace or refund the purchase. 



Overall, they had been seeing great success with their online orders, though they wanted to continue looking for opportunities to grow sales. To assist with this, they worked with WebStrategies, located nearby in Virginia. 

They knew that a key product category in particular required more expensive shipping methods if it was too far from LaTienda’s Virginia warehouse. Their challenge was to understand the impact on sales of varying shipping rates for this subset of products. 

LaTienda grouped visitors into two regions: Region A visitors were close enough to the warehouse to always get reasonable shipping costs. Region B visitors were everywhere else, and had to use a more expensive shipping method for the key product category.

WebStrategies wanted to measure the impact on sales whenever one of the key products was placed in the cart. To measure this, they installed Event Tracking to the “Add To Cart” buttons on every product page. 

They then used Advanced Segments Custom Reports to separate visitors in Region A from Region B, and drilled down to view performance by product category. Sure enough, visitors from Region B were found to be 48% less likely to purchase if they placed an item from the key product category in their cart, which raised total shipping costs. 

To combat this effect, LaTienda.com implemented a less expensive, flat rate shipping model in region B and monitored sales. After the test, the rate at which Region B visitors completed the shopping cart were found to have increased by nearly 70%.

Just to be sure, they checked to see if there was a similar increase in conversion rate for Region A visitors, and found that it did not fluctuate more than 3.4% over the same time period. The analysis confirmed that product shipping rates greatly impacted shopping cart behavior, and used data to measure the results of a key business decision. 

Check out the full case study as a PDF download, and see additional success stories in our analytics case studies and success stories section.



Posted by the Google Analytics Team

Multi-Channel Funnels: Webinar, Checklist, Tips & Tricks

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Full Submissions for Google Places API Developer Challenge Now Open!

Earlier this month we announced the Google Places API Developer Challenge, a 10-week application development event designed to spur the creation of applications focused on civic needs. We’re excited to see how you can find solutions to critical needs in areas such as transit, community engagement, education and city management by combining publicly available data sets with the power of the Google Places API. The developers of the winning applications will receive a VIP experience at Google I/O 2013.



Application submissions begin now and will continue through the end of October. The winning applications will be announced in mid-December. The judging and selection of applications will be performed by a distinguished panel of luminaries with backgrounds in geospatial technology, application development, and civic innovation, and they include:

• Bill Oates, Chief Information Officer, City of Boston


• John Tolva, Chief Technology Officer, City of Chicago


• Jay Nath, Chief Innovation Officer, City of San Francisco


• Adel W. Ebeid, Chief Innovation Officer, City of Philadelphia


• Mark Headd, Chief Data Officer, City of Philadelphia, and former Government Relations Director at Code for America


• John Geraci, Founder of DIYcity.org and Outside.in


• Adam DuVander, Executive Editor at ProgrammableWeb


• Jeanne M. Holm, Chief Knowledge Architect at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Chair of NASA’s Knowledge Management Team


• Laurenellen McCann, National Policy Manager, Sunlight Foundation


• Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist for Google


• Paul Rademacher, Creator of the First Google Maps API Mashup and Creator of Stratocam


• Rob Gray, Global Marketing Manager, Google Earth and Maps

To hear more about the types of applications that cities need, check out the video above featuring Ed Parsons (Google’s Geospatial Technologist), Jay Nath, (CIO of San Francisco), John Tolva, (CTO of Chicago), Rachel Sterne (Chief Digital Officer of NYC), and Andrew Collinge (Intelligence Office of the Greater London Authority).



Developers have always impressed us with their innovative uses of the Google Places API, and we're excited to see that energy focused on helping our communities. If you have any questions or concerns about the API, please join our developer community on Stack Overflow. We look forward to seeing all of your great ideas and meeting the winners at Google I/O.



Posted by Justin Chu, Google Places API Product Manager

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