In the 21st Century, successful business will be focused on findability, about creating an online and offline presence that helps your customers find you. Business and marketing used to be characterized by efforts to brand your company and get in front of your customers, but that's not what's propelling the hot new companies, the entrepreneurs who are already striking it rich in this new world.

From a Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) perspective, I find these interesting because they suggest how Microsoft corporation is thinking about the Internet and the rise of search engines: remember that Google has also been pushing aggressively towards creating a Web-based competitor to Microsoft Office, which, along with Windows itself (and the stalled-out Vista), is the core revenue stream for the corporation.

Anyway, here's what Bill had to say...

I wish that you had a book that was more "basic". I did get the feeling that a person must take computer classes first and then read your book. I just learned how to "copy and paste"! Anyway, I will reread it how ever many times it takes because I feel that you are an internet genius and hopefully my business will benefit from your book.

Thank you for being the warm person that you are. I definitely got that from reading your book and that you care about small businesses succeeding."

"As I said in my presentation, Dave Taylor’s book “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Growing Your Business with Google is the most useful book I’ve ever bought on marketing - it covers a lot more than blogging, and explains how to make yourself ‘findable’ via Google and other search engines. At the very least you should make sure your web developer reads the chapter on building a Google-friendly website."

POWER TIP

Create your own Google Maps

A new Google Maps feature lets you easily create maps with placemarks that incorporate your text comments, photos, and videos from YouTube and Google Video. It's a great way of sharing your stories on a map, whether it's stops you enjoyed on a recent vacation or the best places to grab a quick bite to eat in your city. To get started, just click the "My Maps" tab on the left-hand side of the Google Maps homepage. You can take a look at the maps other people have created (there's even one of the Googleplex), and then get started making your own by clicking "Create new map." If you make your map public, we will make it searchable for other folks who use Google Maps. http://maps.google.com

Dear Publisher,

Congratulations, your account has been selected to participate in the AdSense Referrals Beta. The Referrals Beta is an exciting new feature of AdSense that allows you to:

• Earn extra revenue on a cost-per-action basis
• Select ads from hundreds of AdWords advertisers as well as our standard Google product offerings
• Select a list of relevant keywords for your site and let Google figure out the best ads for your site
• Customize your referral ads to match the look and feel of your site
• Track the success of your referral units with custom channels

I can't add anything to that other than to say Thanks!

During the last decade, digital technology has changed the world in profound and exciting ways. Today we communicate instantly with the people we care about without worrying about traditional limitations of time and location. At work, we collaborate with colleagues in distant cities. Global supply chains enable businesses to manufacture products and move them to market with incredible speed and efficiency. Mobile devices ensure that we are productive no matter where we are.

But these changes are just the beginning. As more and more of the world's information, commerce, and communications moves to digital form, it will open the door to a new world of connected experiences that link our interests and our communities into a seamless whole that extends across home, work, school, and play.

Already, a new generation of technology is transforming expectations for how we will conduct business, communicate, access entertainment, and much more. Increasingly, people envision a world of anywhere access - a world in which the information, the communities, and the content that they value is available instantly and easily, no matter where they are.

Anyway, here's their email to me...

Don't take my word for it, though! Go check out the official announcement:

WP releases Wordpress 2.1, "Ella" release

POWER TIP

Click-to-call on Google Maps

Google Maps isn't just for searching local businesses anymore; now you can "click to call" the business listings on Google Maps directly for free, anywhere in the United States. When you search for a business within the U.S., ring it up by clicking the "call" link next to the business's phone number. You'll be asked to enter your phone number and after clicking "Connect for free," we'll call your phone and automatically connect you without sharing your phone number with the business. The numbers you call from Google Maps will be stored automatically in your phone's caller ID, so you can call them again. And, by checking the box to remember your phone number, you can make future calls from Google Maps with just two mouse clicks.

[Ed note: Now you can see how a VOIP service and ecommerce go together. Interestingly, Google got into trouble with people using this system to crank call, so they'd find, say, a cigar shop and enter someone else's number into the 'click to call' box. Google's tweaking the service as a result.]

http://maps.google.com

Even strictly local retailers and service businesses need to hone their search quotients. Multiple studies have shown that a majority of customers for many products search on the Web before heading to a local store. If you provide information and develop some awareness in the customer's mind, they may take a drive over to see you rather than order online. Take a gander at how you rate on Google. If you rate poorly, Taylor's book will help.

[ref]

Tip: Copywriters who want to learn to craft search engine-friendly copy should read this book too.

Craig's note: That's my own copy shown at right. I read it on vacation in early 2006 while we were planning our own CreativeIQ blog. I thought I knew a fair bit about web design before. The dozens of post-it notes and highlighted sections are a testimony to how much I didn't realize I should have known about designing sites that work well with search engines.

While supporting Seattle-area design studios, we'll often find ourselves talking with studio owners who are frustrated or confused with why their website don't rank well on online searches. Or worse, when sites they've designed for their clients are largely invisible to searching customers.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., August 28, 2006 - Google Inc. today announced the launch of Google Apps for Your Domain, a set of hosted applications for organizations that want to provide high quality communications tools to their users without the hassle of installing and maintaining software or hardware.

In addition to customizing the user interface with their own branding and color scheme, organizations can tailor the service to their needs by mixing and matching the email, messaging, calendaring and other tools offered through Google Apps for Your Domain. Over time, Google will offer versions of Google Apps for Your Domain that are oriented toward the needs of a variety of organizations, from family websites and community groups to non-profits and small businesses, as well as universities, large enterprises, and ISPs.

I think that there's a huge problem with being unable to differentiate editorial and advertising, actually, but I realize that I might have an unusual perspective on this because I've spent many years in the magazine and publishing world. Let me explain...