When I went to log into my Google Account for Gmail today, this was the image Google was showing me beside the sign-in box:
I realized as I was reading through the text that this image was a concept I had tried to explain many times.
While I can see one username and password as a security nightmare, the ease and simplicity of a single item to remember dwarfs the concern. Beside Google has a number of security precautions you can enable, including having Google ring your phone with a code every time you log-in. So for you, dear reader, I’ve created a list of reasons your webmaster desires for you to have the ONE password for all of Google.
Authorship
By creating a Google+ account under one username and password, you can show your photo next to your articles, blogs, etc. when they appear on a Google search. Studies are showing more folks are clicking the links with the author’s photo next to them.
Google Analytics
Knowing who, how, and from where someone is visiting your website are important metrics for any business to measure. Have a simple, but in-depth interface to do the measuring can be expensive – unless you using Google Analytics. A free website metrics tool, Google Analytics can provide analysis of your website visits, keywords, and even web browsers used. If you haven’t created and placed the tracking yourself, your webmaster can easily do it and add you as an administrator. All using your one Google username and password.
YouTube
When Google purchased YouTube a few years back , I noticed it didn’t take them long before our YouTube accounts were connected to our Google account. This can be a challenge if you have more than one YouTube account today since you will need a separate Google account for each. This transition has caused difficulties for clients who had to rediscover their YouTube accounts after the need for the SEO connection became apparent. Your best bet it to consolidate to ONE YouTube account. YouTube is currently testing have multiple administrators managing a channel.
Google+
Google+ may still be the new social media game in town, but with Google continuing the extend and improve features like Google Hangouts, Google Pages, and Google+ Local, if you haven’t setup an account by now, you will want to set started. Google+ interaction also improves your Google Authorship and potentially your Google search rankings as well. Since Burst Media announced in April 2013 that Google+ has more users now than Twitter, this newer social media site it picking up steam.
Gmail
After search, Gmail has been a hallmark of the Google brand. Setting up your Gmail account is the first step to harnessing the power of your Google account. Gmail can be a simple answer to many email issues.
If
- you have multiple accounts elsewhere
- you want to be able to use email on your phone without loosing it on your desktop
- you just want a simple online interface for all your email accounts
- you need help with spam filtering (especially for older domain names),
then Gmail can be a good solution.
While Google offers a number of other options, these are the ones I discuss with my clients the most. So if you haven’t started a Google account yet or you want to consolidate the ones you have, start by creating / consolidating your Gmail account at www.gmail.com
Have you setup a Google Account yet? What Google products can you not live without? Share your insights in the comments below.
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