Thursday, June 29, 2006

Google Checkout Opens for Business

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 29, 2006 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced the launch of Google Checkout (checkout.google.com), a checkout process that makes online shopping faster, more convenient and more secure for Google users. Google Checkout offers an easy and trusted checkout option that enables shoppers to purchase from participating stores with a single Google login. It also works with Google’s search advertising program, AdWords, to help merchants acquire new customers and process all or a portion of their Checkout sales for free.

"By integrating the checkout process with search and advertising, we’re helping our users complete the cycle of searching, finding and buying," said Salar Kamangar, Vice President of Product Management at Google. "In the offline world, shoppers don’t tolerate long lines and tedious data entry just to buy something. They shouldn’t have to in the online world either. Google Checkout simplifies and improves the online purchase experience for both consumers and merchants."

Security and Convenience for Shoppers

Here’s how it works: shoppers can find stores that accept Google Checkout by looking for the Google Checkout icon on AdWords advertisements or whenever they come across the Google Checkout option on a merchant’s site. If shoppers want to use Google Checkout, they can create a Google Checkout login right from the merchant’s site with a single username and password by entering basic information, such as their contact details, payment preferences, and shipping information, once. Then, when checking out at any store that offers Google Checkout, they can simply select Google Checkout, quickly complete their transaction with their login information, and avoid the hassle of filling out multiple forms. In addition, shoppers can keep track of their purchase history, including orders and shipping details, in one place.

Shoppers can also enhance their security when making purchases through Google Checkout. The service conceals the buyer credit card number and provides reimbursement for unauthorized purchases. And to provide more control over email spam, Google Checkout lets shoppers choose whether or not to keep email addresses confidential or turnoff unwanted email from the stores where they shop.

Google Checkout enables purchases using existing payment methods, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Citi, a leader in innovative financial services products, is offering its credit card customers a special, limited-time promotion for signing up and purchasing with Google Checkout using their Citi Card. More information can be found at checkout.google.com.

More Sales, Lower Costs for Merchants

Google Checkout helps merchants streamline the checkout process and also works with Google’s advertising program, AdWords, so merchants can attract more customers and increase sales. The Google Checkout icon on AdWords advertisements makes it easier for shoppers to find Google Checkout stores when they search. Once shoppers buy with Google Checkout, AdWords advertisers can also process all or a portion of their sales for free. For every $1 merchants spend on AdWords, they can process $10 in sales through Google Checkout at no charge.

Google Checkout offers a wide range of integration alternatives to make it easy for merchants to provide this new checkout option on their websites. These integration options include cut-and-paste buy buttons, as well as an advanced API that integrates with existing merchant shopping carts and order management systems. Many service providers have already integrated Google Checkout with their commerce platforms, including GSI Commerce, MonsterCommerce, and ChannelAdvisor among others. To learn more about integration options and join Checkout stores like Jockey, Starbucks Store, Levi’s, Timberland, Buy.com and many more, visit checkout.google.com/sell.

The service is currently open to all U.S. merchants, whether they advertise with Google or not, and Google is currently working to make the service available to merchants internationally.

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Media Contact:

Megan Lamb
Corporate Communications
650-253-3627
mlamb@google.com

###

Google is a registered trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks
of the respective companies with which they are associated.

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Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Celebrity, Summer Searches Dominate Weekly Google Zeitgeist

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Tuesday, June 27, 2006

New Google Analytics Reports Now Integrated with Google AdWords

Announcement
June 27, 2006

As part of Google’s ongoing efforts to provide more useful reporting information to advertisers, today we are introducing two new reports for Google Analytics, the AdWords Analysis report and the AdWords Keyword Positions report. Both reports are tailored specifically for AdWords customers, but will appear in all Google Analytics accounts. These reports represent another step towards increased integration between AdWords and Analytics reporting. These new Google Analytics reports expand on previous integrations between Google Analytics and AdWords including the ability to automatically track AdWords campaigns. As with previous AdWords reporting, these new reports are populated with data imported directly from the AdWords account linked with the Analytics account. It is done automatically without manual tagging of keywords or uploading of data, thereby saving time and increasing efficiency.

More about the AdWords Analysis report

The AdWords Analysis report displays the return on investment for every Campaign, Ad Group, and keyword in an AdWords account. The report is useful for advertisers as they monitor and optimize their Ad Groups and keywords. ROI is calculated using AdWords keyword costs and goal or e-commerce values specified by the advertiser within Analytics.

More about the AdWords Keyword Positions report

For each keyword that an advertiser has purchased, the AdWords Keyword Positions report displays conversion information correlated by paid search result position. The report can be useful for advertisers in determining the value of keywords and their bid amounts in relation to their actual position on Google search results pages. It can be used in conjunction with the Position Preference feature within AdWords to actually optimize around ad position: the AdWords Keyword Positions report in Google Analytics shows which position works best for a keyword and then, with Position Preference in AdWords, that position can actually be selected as a target.

We’re also pleased to report that we’ve improved the response time for new signups. Now advertisers who request an invitation for Google Analytics can expect to receive one within as little as a few days.

For more information, please visit the Google Analytics Blog: analytics.blogspot.com or go directly to the Google Analytics homepage: www.google.com/analytics

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Monday, June 26, 2006

Staying Connected Around the World Has Never Been Easier With New Mobile Services From Google

Announcement
June 26, 2006

Today Google announced the availability of several mobile services that further demonstrate its commitment to making the mobile phone a more convenient and dependable device for accessing useful and relevant information while on the go. Already available in U.S. and U.K. English, mobile phone users will now have access to Google’s mobile services in a range of languages including French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Chinese and Turkish.

Google is committed to unlocking the technological potential that today’s mobile phones promise to users by providing products and services that are practical, easy to use, and free. Beginning today, mobile phone users will be able to stay in touch with friends and family through Gmail, keep abreast of recent news through Google News, and access their personalized Google home page--all from their mobile device.

Stay in touch with friends and family while away from your computer

Gmail users will no longer have to worry about missing important email. Gmail users now have quick and easy access to their Gmail account directly from their mobile devices.

To access Gmail, users simply visit gmail.com through the web browser on their mobile phone and sign in to their Gmail account as they would on the web. Because every mobile device is different, Gmail automatically optimizes the interface for each phone. Users can also view attached photos and documents from their phone, and reply-by-call to people whose phone number is stored in their Gmail account. Gmail messages are automatically synchronized, regardless of whether Gmail is accessed from a mobile device or through the web.

Read the latest news headlines--no matter where you are

Whether waiting in the doctor’s office, riding the train to work, or standing in line at the local market, mobile phone users will now be able to search and read the latest headlines quickly and easily on their web-enabled mobile devices.

Google News offers quick headline updates, the ability to search current news, and browse categories that enable quick and easy access to the news that matters most to individual users. To access Google News, users simply visit google.com on their mobile phone’s web browser, and click the link to Google News. Users will then be directed to links and headlines for the top news stories.

Google News also provides users with the option to browse through quick links to specific news categories such as Business, Science/Tech, Sports, Health, and Entertainment. Only sources whose content has been designed specifically for viewing on mobile devices are displayed, ensuring that users can quickly and easily read the news they want.

Access your personalized Google homepage from your mobile device

Google Personalized Home for mobile devices is a new service that enables users to access their personalized Google homepage on their mobile phones and PDAs. Business travelers can easily keep up with their personal stock quotes while they’re on the road, and news junkies can stay on top of their favorite headlines when they’re away from their desktops and TVs--all without having to search multiple web pages from a mobile device.

Google Personalized Home provides at-a-glance access to information from users’ Google personalized homepage such as Gmail, customized news headlines, local weather, stock updates, hand-picked RSS feeds, and more. Information is optimized for the smaller screens and slower bandwidth of most mobile devices and is presented in a format that reduces the need to click multiple links.

Users who have already set up a personalized Google homepage on their PC can simply visit www.google.com through the web browser of their mobile device, select the "Personalized Home" link, and then sign in with their Google account username and password. The next time they visit google.com on their phone, they will automatically see the same customized content modules that are featured on the web version of their Google personalized homepage. (Users who do not yet have a personalized Google homepage on their PC should first visit www.google.com/ig from their desktop computer and select the content to be added to their homepage.)

Pricing & Availability

Available today, Gmail, Google Personalized Home, and Google News for mobile devices are free from Google. The services work with most web-enabled mobile phones, but users should check with their carriers to determine if there are additional charges for web access.

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Thursday, June 22, 2006

Google Launches Google Search Appliance and Google Mini in Australia and New Zealand

SYDNEY , AUSTRALIA – June 22, 2006 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced the availability of the Google Search Appliance and Google Mini for customers in Australia and New Zealand. Local businesses and organisations can now utilize Google’s search technology to search across their internal content, including company intranet, databases, business applications and public websites.

Additionally, Google announced the appointment of ChannelWorx as the distributor for Google Enterprise products in Australia and New Zealand and a partnership with BearingPoint to launch a Search Solutions Practice for enterprise customers in the region.

"The Google Search Appliance enables businesses to quickly and easily search for information behind their firewall, all while using the simple Google interface," said Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager, Enterprise, Google Inc. "Through our relationship with ChannelWorx and BearingPoint, we’re able to offer a full suite of enterprise solutions to companies and organisations in the Australian and New Zealand markets."

With the new Google OneBox for Enterprise feature of the Google Search Appliance, employees can also access relevant, real-time information from enterprise sources, such as CRM, ERP and business intelligence systems.

The Google Search Appliance can index millions of documents, and its security features ensure that users can only search the information that they have permission to view. The Google Search Appliance starts at AUD$74,486 (MSRP) to search up to 500,000 documents.

The Google Mini is designed for website and departmental search or to enable smaller businesses to add Google search to their corporate networks. With plug-and-play simplicity, Google Mini can be set up in under an hour and requires minimal ongoing administration.

The Mini comes in multiple versions. The most affordable Mini searches up to 50,000 documents for AUD$4,965 (MSRP) – including all hardware, software and a year of support. Additional versions search up to 100,000, 200,000 or 300,000 documents.

"There is a high level of interest from customers and resellers for Google’s Enterprise products," said Paul Oxley, Sales & Marketing Director, ChannelWorx. "We will be working closely with Google to support the reseller channel and make it easy for customers to add Google search to their business information."

"We have seen the success of these appliances in the U.S. market, and we welcome the opportunity to assist clients in this region to harness the value of their information asset," added Rob Hillard, Managing Director (Partner), Data and Knowledge Management, BearingPoint.

Google’s enterprise business grew more than 100 per cent last year, and currently has more than 4,000 customers worldwide. To learn more about the Google Search Appliance and Google Mini, please visit www.google.com.au/enterprise or www.google.co.nz/enterprise

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

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Tuesday, June 20, 2006

We're Feeling Sporty: Summer Exertions Rule Weekly Google Zeitgeist

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Friday, June 16, 2006

Google Introduces Ad Scheduling for Google AdWords

Announcement
June 16, 2006

As part of Google’s continuing effort to provide more value to its advertisers, Google today introduced ad scheduling (also know as "dayparting") for Google AdWords. This feature enables advertisers to automatically adjust their bids or pause and resume their campaigns based on the time-of-day or day-of-week.

This feature is appropriate for all types of AdWords advertisers, from small to large, local to national and new to sophisticated. Small businesses and local advertisers can now schedule their ads to run only during business hours. More sophisticated advertisers who would like to capture and exploit intra-day and intra-week cycles of buyer behavior can fine tune their campaigns in real time. For example, a retailer could run additional ads at lunch time since it is generally a higher than average time for consumer purchases. By providing advertisers with more granular control over when their ads run and how much they bid, we believe this feature will drive greater return on investment for the advertiser.

Google is making this feature available at the request of advertisers and agencies who have asked for greater campaign management control. The feature is part of the current AdWords campaign management interface and is available to all advertisers worldwide.

More information on Google AdWords ad scheduling

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Thursday, June 15, 2006

New Google Search Site Makes It Easier To Find Government Information

Announcement
June 15, 2006

Google today announced Google U.S. Government Search (usgov.google.com), a new search product that will make it easier to find U.S. government information and keep up to date on government news.

With Google U.S. Government Search, millions of U.S. government employees, various contractor organizations, as well as the general public can easily search across content on official federal, state and local government sites from a single search box. They can also keep current on government-related news with constantly updated content from government and commercial news sources, including the White House, Department of Defense, The Washington Post, and Google News.

Google U.S. Government Search allows people to customize the layout of the page and add content to the site from an easily searchable directory that includes information on government and general topics such as sports, business and technology. News from other websites can be added using RSS feeds (technology that makes it easy to subscribe to content).

Google U.S. Government Search is the newest Google search product for government agencies. Google’s enterprise group already counts hundreds of government agencies as customers for Google enterprise search and geospatial products.

To expand Google’s ability to serve federal government customers, Google also recently added Mike Bradshaw, as head of federal sales. Bradshaw, who has more than 20 years experience selling technology to federal agencies, will be located in Google’s office in Herndon, Va., where he will focus on helping federal agencies benefit from Google enterprise products, such as the Google Search Appliance, Google Mini, Google Earth Enterprise and Google Maps for Enterprise.

Please go to www.google.com/enterprise/government/ for more information about Google’s government search products or federal sales programs.

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Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Google Launches Shakespeare Website

Announcement
June 14, 2006

Summer’s here and that means two things: summer reading and the commencement of Shakespeare festivals around the country.

Today, Google Book Search celebrates both traditions with the launch of its "Summer with Shakespeare" website, a place to find and search all the plays of Shakespeare – from the popular favorites to the lesser-known gems. The site launches in conjunction with the first day of Shakespeare in the Park, New York City’s famous outdoor festival, which this year will feature the production of Macbeth.

In Shakespeare’s day, gaining greater access to theatrical events meant duking it out with the other "groundlings" for the best view of the stage. It took centuries before the modern publishing industry could make works like Macbeth widely available. Today, the Internet is continuing to remove the barriers between people and knowledge, and Google Book Search is helping people all over the world browse and discover the great texts of history.

At www.google.com/shakespeare, book lovers and theater fans alike can explore Shakespeare’s entire oeuvre right from their desktop. You can search for famous lines in Macbeth without toil and trouble, browse through all the plays you know, or follow your curiosity to discover new works on the site. And if you decide you want to buy a copy of one of Shakespeare’s works, the "All editions" link will show you every version in Google Book Search, many of which are available for purchase.

While on the site, readers can check out other ways to enjoy Shakespeare by:

For more information, please see today’s Google Blog post at booksearch.blogspot.comor Google Book Search at books.google.com.

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Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Shiloh, Summer Sports Dominate Weekly Google Zeitgeist

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Monday, June 12, 2006

Google Announces Major Imagery Update For Google Earth, New Tools And Innovations in Mapping

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – June 12, 2006 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced a series of updates to the company’s mapping product suite, further illustrating Google’s commitment to creating powerful tools for sharing geographic information. Announced live at Google’s first Geo Developer Day, these innovations both connect users to information about the world around them, as well as address the growing needs of the developer community.

"We are excited to celebrate the one year anniversary of Google Earth and the Google Maps API with new technologies for these products," said John Hanke, director, Google Earth and Maps. "In the past year, we have had more than 100 million unique Google Earth downloads and have enabled over 30,000 websites to create mash-ups combining their own geographic data with the Google Maps API. The enthusiasm of the geo-developer community encourages us that these geo-based tools are connecting users to information in new and innovative ways."

Google Earth news announced today includes:

  • Satellite imagery update: A significant high-resolution imagery update for Google Earth increases the product’s index of high-resolution imagery by four times. This makes sub-meter high-resolution imagery available for more than one third of the world’s population. While initially available only in Google Earth, this database will also be accessible in Google Maps shortly.
  • New version of Google Earth: In the product’s first major update since its launch one year ago, Google Earth now features a more streamlined user interface and new tools that enable the creation and display of third party and user generated content. The addition of textured buildings brings a new level of realism and detail to Google Earth’s 3D world. Google Earth is also now available for the Windows, Mac and, for the first time, Linux operating platforms; and is fully localized in French, Italian, German and Spanish.
  • Google SketchUp with textured buildings: In coordination with the release of Google Earth, Google SketchUp now enables the creation of textured buildings for visualization in Google Earth and the Google 3D Warehouse.

Google also announced several updates to Google Maps and the Google Maps API (Application Programming Interface), the developer tool that enables users to easily embed Google’s interactive, dynamic maps into their own websites. These innovations include:

  • Google Maps API: In response to developer feedback, an update to the Google Maps API enables developers of Google Maps-powered mash-ups, or websites that merge geographic information with Google Maps, to integrate data based on addresses. This ability to geocode addresses using the Google Maps API is the most requested feature from Maps API users.
  • KML for Google Maps: A new feature of Google Maps enables the display of KML (Keyhole Markup Language, the file format used by Google Earth and other applications to share geographic information) on Google Maps. This innovation enables data created in Google Earth to be viewed in a web browser as a simple mash-up. Requiring no computer programming expertise, KML for Google Maps makes the sharing of geographic information even easier.
  • Google Maps for Enterprise: Addressing the needs of the enterprise community, Google announced fee-based licensing and support for businesses wanting to embed a Google Maps experience in websites or internal applications. Leveraging the Google Maps API, this product enables businesses to map customer locations, track shipments, manage facilities or view any other data source in a geographic context.

Google Earth is available at earth.google.com. The Google Maps API is available at www.google.com/apis/maps/.

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Contacts:

Megan Quinn
meganq@google.com
(650) 253-4944

Mike Nelson
mnelson@google.com
(650) 253-4718

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Tuesday, June 6, 2006

Sports Of All Kinds Dominate Weekly Google Zeitgeist

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Google Announces limited test on Google Labs: Google Spreadsheets

Announcement
June 6, 2006

Today Google launched a limited test of Google Spreadsheets on Google Labs, our technology playground where we showcase a few of our favorite ideas that aren’t quite ready for prime time. Google Spreadsheets is a free, secure service that enables users to quickly and easily create, store and share basic spreadsheets on the web.

Designed for users who create basic spreadsheets that need to be shared or updated by several contributors, Google Spreadsheets enables:

  • Increased accessibility: Spreadsheets are securely stored on the web so that they can be accessed from any computer. Using Google Spreadsheets on the web also avoids the need to install any software on the local computer.
  • Real-time collaboration: Google Spreadsheets can be shared, updated and edited by several users at the same time, in real-time, saving users from the hassle of manually consolidating multiple spreadsheets from others. Users can also chat while editing or viewing the same spreadsheet and control who may edit and view their shared spreadsheets by listing the specific people by email address.
  • Easy importing: Users can upload spreadsheets or information from other desktop applications (.CSV and .XLS formats supported) with a click of a button.

Google Spreadsheets will be available to a limited number of users on the Google Labs page at labs.google.com. We will regularly send invitations to users on the waitlist on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For more information please see today’s Google Blog post at googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/its-nice-to-share.html.

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Google to Present at the Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – June 6, 2006 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced today that Sheryl Sandberg, Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations, will participate in a question-and-answer session and panel at the Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit in Laguna Beach, CA. The event is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

To access the live audio webcast of the event, please visit investor.google.com/webcast. The webcast version of the event will be available through the same link for approximately two weeks following the event, after which time Google will include the webcast in the "archive" section of the Google Investor Relations website.

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Contacts:

Maria Shim
Investor Relations
650-253-7663
marias@google.com

Jon Murchinson
Corporate Communications
650-253-4437
jonm@google.com

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