10 Google Tools that makes Blogging Simple, Fun, Better and Profitable

Before I start mentioning about those 10 Google apps which the title of the blog highlights, I would like to make you known of the  4 terms – simple, fun, better and profitable – that I used in the title of the post. These four terms simply refers to more organized, efficient, coordinated and possibly more lucrative blogging.

Google helps blogging at every stage. Right from setting up your free blog (at Blogger.com), promoting your blog on social networks (Google Orkut) and finally monetizing your blog (Google Adsense) – Google is always there extending their selfless (free) service for you. Lets see what tools does Google have in stores for bloggers.

10 Blogging Power Tools from Google

1. Google Blogger: Lets get started with Blogging

Blogger.com is the simplest and easiest blogging platform that can be easily used by any new player entering the blogging arena.  Though WordPress is the blogging platform of choice of the most of the professional bloggers, but wordpress themes are now being adapted for use on Blogger platform and  Blogger users can now enjoy some of the features of wordpress like static pages. Further, with an account on Blogger.com, you do not need to look for hosting providers and pay hosting charges.

You are also given an option to use your custom domain. I use Namecheap.com for buying domains. A .com domain with privacy protection costs me under $10 when purchased at Namecheap.com. The default Blogger templates are quite minimalistic and basic. I would suggest to visit www.btemplates.com and use an advanced blogger template.

Once you have setup your blog with a custom or free domain and an advanced blogger template, you can start using the below mentioned Google tools to populate content, organize your blog life and make your blogging activity pretty profitable.

2. Google Alerts

Populate Content for your Blog

You can use Google Alerts for grabbing content for your blog. You can setup an alert using suitable keywords for your blog. Make sure that you select ‘blogs’ from type dropdown. You will then get a digest of all the important blog posts and happenings settled around your keyword daily. You can go through these blog posts,  get inspired and write a blog post for your own blog.

Building Links for your Blog

A few days back I wrote about Google Alerts and told you how you can use it for generating quick quality backlinks for your blog with minimum effort. You can read that post here – How to generate quick quality backlinks for your blog using Google Alert.

3. Google Adsense: Make Blogging lucrative

Once you have setup your blog on a custom or free domain with an advanced template and have started adding some pretty descent posts everyday,  you can start monetizing your blog. There are many ways to monetize a blog – in-text ads, affiliate marketing, merchandising, etc. However, the easiest way to monetize your blog is by using PPC (Pay Per Click) ad programs and Google Adsense stands out as the most profitable amongst all the ad networks available. Just click “Monetize” button on your Blogger layout. Choose where ads will appear by placing them in sidebar widget or in between the posts. Google will pay you a decent amount every time someone clicks on those ads.

4. Google  Analytics: Track your Blog’s Growth

Visit www.google.com/analytics and use your existing Google account (the one used for creating a Blogger account) to use this service. Using the service is easy. Just embed a code in your blog and you are all set to get started with tracking your blog’s performance. It helps you track page views, search queries, and more. Go through these statistics on a regular basis and plan your blogging strategies using these stats for better blog performance.

5. Google FeedBurner:Manage your blog subscription

FeedBurner is yet another power product from Google which can be used to manage subscription. You can access it from “My Accounts” page. Setup a feed to deliver regular blog updates to your blog subscribers. You can use Adsense to monetize these feeds as well.

6. iGoogle: Connect with other Blogs

Bloggers should follow others blog to get updated on industry news, to learn new skills and to network with other bloggers.  You can setup an iGoogle account using your Google account used for singing up at Blogger.com. Once you log into your Blogger account, you will automatically be logged into your iGoogle account. The feeds of all the blogs you follow will appear on your iGoogle page and you will be able to know what is going on  in your niche.

7. Google Docs: Document embedding for your blog

Google Docs is essentially MS Office on cloud. The only difference is that unlike MS Office which stores your files on your PC, Google Docs stores it on internet and you can access it from anywhere in the world.  Using Google Docs you can create accessible Spreadsheets, Presentations, and Text Documents and embed it your blog posts for added value to your blog readers.

8. Google Calendar: Stay Organized

Google Calendar is an awesome tool for bloggers who have more than one blog. Using Google Calendar, you can track how many posts you posted on each blog within a given time-frame. Calendars are color coded and you just need to throw a glance to see how many posts you have made on each blog in any given week, month, or year.

9. Google Picasa Web Albums: Organize blog pictures

Photos uploaded to your blogger account gets automatically uploaded to your Google Picasa Web Album. You can use this service for organizing and sharing your own photos or for searching pictures with creative common license for use with future posts.

10. Google Orkut: Find new readers for your blog

Orkut is a social media community you can join using your existing Google account(I am not on Orkut because I use Twitter.com for this purpose). You can  connect with existing readers and network with bloggers using messages, photos, and information sharing. Further, you can join communities related to your blog for gaining new readers.

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Tagged as: Blogging, blogging tools, google, google tips, google tools