Now available with Google Apps: AdWords

[Cross-posted from the Google Enterprise Blog]

Editor’s note: We recently launched an improvement that makes over 60 additional Google services available to Google Apps users. This series showcases what’s new and how your organization can benefit.



Welcome to Google AdWords
Every business wants to connect with its customers and this is often one of the goals that a business spends the most time on. Now, your business can more easily use the power of Google AdWords to connect with your customers using your Google Apps account.

AdWords gives you the ability to reach more than 80% of Internet users* as they are actively searching for information about products and services on Google and Google’s advertising network. AdWords enables you to connect with your potential customers at the right time with the right message, by letting you select Google search keywords related to your product or services so that users searching for these keywords can see your advertisements.

Setting up an account takes only minutes and controlling costs is easy - you only pay when people click on your ad and land on your site, and you can set a daily budget to limit your total spend. AdWords also offers great flexibility, allowing you to change your budget on the fly. Plus, if your business serves certain geographies, you have the ability to target your ads only to people searching in a particular state, city, or region.



Now that AdWords works with Google Apps, collaborating with other people in your organization to manage campaigns in AdWords is simple as well. You can invite colleagues to access your AdWords account with their existing Google Apps accounts and grant them differing levels of access depending on how much or little control you’d like them to have. Whether your business has one person that handles all of the online marketing or a team that works collaboratively, AdWords can accommodate your needs.



Also, in addition to collaborating in AdWords itself, tight integration with Google Apps lets you export your reports to Google Docs in a single click. This lets you share your campaign data with colleagues and collaborate in real-time in the same way that you already collaborate on other documents and spreadsheets using Google Docs with your Apps account.



Be sure to check out some success stories from businesses of all sizes, including First Crush Restaurant, which was able to increase traffic to its website by 400%, or Happy Hound dog daycare and boarding facility, which gets over 90% of its business through AdWords.

Learn more and get started
Google AdWords can be enabled by your domain administrator from the Google Apps Control Panel at https://www.google.com/a/[your_domain.com] (replace [your_domain.com] with your actual domain name). If your organization isn’t using Google Apps yet, you can learn more and sign up today at http://www.google.com/apps/more.

For more information about AdWords you can visit our information page or you can find the latest news and tips at the AdWords Blog.

Share your story
Have you already started using Google AdWords at your organization, or plan to now that it’s available? Please share your story and your organization could be featured in the next Gone Google ad campaign!


Posted by Kit Broussard, AdWords Team

Note: Google AdWords may not be available in all areas.
*Source: comScore Media Metrix (US, May 2009)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

The Valley here this morning was very picturesque. The snow has stopped falling and skiing weather is here. Let's see if the market lets me skive a bit this week.

I had a couple of goes at selling the DAX this morning. I scratched the first attempt, but the second worked well. My one and only Fib found The Spot. From there it was pretty easy. I just kept selling the pullbacks. It finally found support at the reciprocal of the first Fib.

I have been getting more questions about the DVDs. All these trades are taught in the DVDs. The full set is made up of 4 theory DVDs on days when the market was closed (Saturdays and Sundays) and the other 14 are about 14 hours a day of live market trading with me describing EXACTLY what I do to envision, identify and trigger the trades and then manage them. All the live trading is very valuable to a student, as the camera is not turned off for the whole day. There are 10 full teaching days and 4 SIM days with me doing some teaching and the webinar attendees interacting with what they have learned. I also show not just what to learn, but HOW to learn it. How to create the "muscle memory" and confidence to trade with real money when you have proven to yourself that you are CP in SIM.

In my opinion, whether you learn my methodology or something else, this is THE way to learn, as you KNOW you are consistently profitable before you have risked one cent of your money. The structured step by step evolving TPs (trading plans) that we provide, take you through the process with you needing to hit milestones before you progress to the next one.

If you look at the trade locations you can see their importance and also see the structured nature and context sensitivity of the entries. This structure and context is one of the cornerstones of the EL methodology and is one of the reasons why people can learn it and make it their own. Everything is measurable and back testable.

The First Snow

We had the first snow of the year last night here in France and it's snowing now as I write. The ski season is really close, maybe here already. I can almost not stand the wait. I have my skis waxed, my boots ready and my season pass bought. Bring it on. The official date for the start of the lifts is December 18, but they have said that they will open the lifts on the weekend if there is enough snow. Looks like I may get to ski afterall.

I've been playing around with Flo some more. I am using Flo in the DAX to enter trades and then I manage them manually. The DAX can be a market on steroids, and I find that I can concentrate less and not miss entries. The converse is that I get put into trades that I would not have entered manually. But I manage them, and on the whole not missing trades seems to be more beneficial than having to scratch trades that I don't want to be in. I'll let you know how this progresses. It may suit some of you to use this technique if you want to be a bit more mechanical but still manage the trade. I am still finding that the exits for Flo are the most problematic in terms of maximizing profits. There are so many more ways of exiting than entering. I'm used to taking profits and finding re-entries on the trend or swing and that's the rub with Flo. To a certain extent it's the periodicity.

The Gap trade for the ESTX50 is a trade I look for on most days. It's the Eurex traded Dow Euro 50 stock index, for those not familiar with it. It's the European eMini ES. Trades 1 million-ish contracts a day on average.

You can see today's chart shows the attempt to fill the Gap at the open. I leaned against my one and only Fib number, which held - Long at 2740. It traded up to almost close the Gap, but yesterday's POC held and I exited there - 2751. This was a scale out point in any case. I then had a short picture at the 33EMA - Short at 2746 and rode it down, scaling out as it retreated downwards. The sequence continued with a scale out at 2727 after the market became oversold and I prepared to exit the balance. Covered more at 2721 and then the low of a couple of days ago at 2720 broke sharply. I ran out of bullets at 2715 and prepared for the next trade.

This stuff is not hard to do if you create a structure within which to trade. Knowing in advance where you want to do business is part of the secret. Envisioning what can happen is another part, even if you're wrong, because what doesn't happen tells you a lot too.

I know what I won't give thanks for

I won't be thankful for more days like today - holidays are no trade days for me, unless there is something special going on.

These are days I use for testing. I have been making a few more improvements to Flo. We are trading Crude, Bunds, Euro, ES and DAX and are looking to add more currencies as well as some commodities - softs. This means more back testing. The basic algo is the same but as each market has it's own fingerprint, some adjustments have to be made.

I thought the Korean stuff would have a bigger effect, but looks like not. Also the Irish and Spanish economic situation is not causing as much agro as I thought either. So it was a testing day for me.

My son in law started restocking the wine cellar and I'm looking forward to tasting one of his choices tonight.

Those of you who are having a well earned rest, enjoy. Remember, you have to feed the soul too.

How I’m Using Hotpot to Plan My Thanksgiving Weekend

[Cross-posted from the Hotpot Community Blog. We recently announced the availability of our new local recommendation engine powered by you and your friends, called Google Hotpot. Read on about how folks in your local area can find your business through the ratings, reviews and recommendations on Google. - Ed.]

The word “Thanksgiving” conjures up images of my family gathering around the table in Pennsylvania, passing the turkey and mashed potatoes to one another. But not this year. While my family's off on a surfing trip in Mexico, I'm staying in New York to spend time with my boyfriend Wes.

But I don't want to spend the next several days lazing about the apartment. I want to use the time to discover new local places, and maybe even visit a few forgotten ones. So here I sit, with my Google search fired up and my Hotpot recommendations — based on what I’ve rated and what my Hotpot friends have rated — ready to set my course. What new places should Wes and I check out? Here's what Hotpot suggested:


Thursday
Sure, I could attempt to cook, but why make Wes suffer? In Maps, I search for "restaurants new york, ny,” and in the left navigation where I see my search results, I find friend recommendations listed with the top several results. Here’s one restaurant that catches my eye, recommended by my friend Vivi:

I’m thinking we can get an early meal at Freemans, and then treat ourselves to some delicious dessert. Preferably close to home — Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn — so we can load up on sweets and then roll ourselves back to the couch. Searching for "dessert brooklyn, ny" pulls up this local gem, one I’ve been meaning to visit:

Note to self: Remember to schedule in some gym time.

Friday
My family's big into books, so for Black Friday, I want to go somewhere a little less big bookseller, a little more worn-and-torn. I’ve rated and reviewed a bunch of independent book shops already on Hotpot, so by searching for "book shop new york, ny,” Google should know exactly what kinda bookseller I’m looking for. And voila:

Saturday
I live in New York, but, sadly, I don't always take full advantage of the many wonderful cultural institutions we have. So this weekend, I'm committed to getting us to a museum. But which museum? The search "museum new york" pulls up a great recommendation from my friend Daniel:

Sunday
After an eventful few days, Wes and I will most likely just want to chill out in front of a movie. To avoid the crushing Harry Potter crowds at the cineplex, I'm thinking we should see something at a local independent theater. Searching for "cinema new york, ny" shows me a few options based on theaters I’ve already told Google I like. This one stands out:

And they're showing Woody Allen's latest! Perfect.

Now that I’ve shared with you how I’m using Hotpot to plan my Thanksgiving weekend, do tell: How are you using Hotpot for the holiday? Share your stories in the comments.

Posted by Vanessa Schneider, Hotpot Team

Now available with Google Apps: Google Finance

[Cross-posted from the Google Enterprise Blog]

Editor’s note: We recently launched an improvement that makes over 60 additional Google services available to Google Apps users. This series showcases what’s new and how your organization can benefit.



Welcome to Google Finance
Financial market data is some of the most time-sensitive and important information that many businesses track minute by minute. Portfolios, stock charts, and up-to-the-second market news are all central to understanding investment options, making business decisions, and tracking suppliers, partners, and competitors. How is the market reacting to the press release you just issued? How financially stable is the vendor you’re considering? What are your competitors in the market announcing today? Fortunately, Google Finance is now available to our Google Apps customers, so you can answer all of these questions and more for free with your Google Apps account.

Google Finance puts all of the financial data and market news that matters to you at your fingertips throughout the day and enables you to share it easily with colleagues and clients. Integration with your Apps account allows you to create and save multiple portfolios and track performance over time as well as access your saved portfolios through your mobile device when you’re away from your computer.


Google Finance also makes it easy to keep track of important portfolio company events, such as quarterly earnings announcements, by allowing you to add these events directly to your linked Google Calendar with a single click.


Other Google Finance features allow you to create custom stock charts that include related companies’ performance and custom technicals and indicators of your choosing -- and share them with colleagues easily. And you can brainstorm investment opportunities using the Google Finance Stock Screener or Domestic Trends features.

Learn more and get started
Google Finance can be enabled by your domain administrator from the Google Apps control panel at https://www.google.com/a/[your_domain.com] (replace [your_domain.com] with your actual domain name). If your organization isn’t using Google Apps yet, you can learn more and sign up today at http://www.google.com/apps/more.

For more information about Google Finance, you can check out our Help Center pages, or you can follow the latest product news, tips, and features on the Google Finance Blog.

Share your story
Have you already started using Google Finance at your organization, or plan to now that it’s available? Please share your story, and your organization could be featured in the next Gone Google ad campaign!


Posted by Karolína Netolicka, Product Manager, Google Finance

Note: Google Finance may not be available in all areas.

Early Thanksgiving Wish and Flo Results

We don't really have a Thanksgiving celebration at our house, although Mrs. EL is American. I guess it's partly because we are now spread over three continents and in several countries.  Outside of the U.S., it's a holiday not celebrated, although Candace did have a small Thanksgiving get together last Sunday with all her London friends.  (They love the typical American Thanksgiving dinner, especially pumpkin pie).

None the less, at this time of the year I count my blessings.

I have have just hung up the phone after talking to Nick in Australia. A few months ago, I didn't know whether I would ever be thankful again. Tomorrow, his twin sister will be coming down from Brisbane to visit him. This morning I spoke to Candace in London on the phone about the EL operations that she is managing. Tonight I'll be chatting to Kiki and see how she survived the boredom of Thanksgiving markets.

As I walk around the farm here in France with Mrs. EL, I know that I have a lot to be thankful for and I don't take any of it for granted. I'm a very lucky man.

I wish each and every one of you, whether you celebrate it or not, a Happy Thanksgiving Day and wish you all what you would wish for yourselves.

Flo was working overtime today. It was a bit quiet for me, but it was good to know that Flo has her head down and bum up, grinding it out. Below are the trades and the P and L. These are real live money trades allocated to a 1 Lot sub account that we are using for gathering test statistics. I switched Flo off at 1.30pm London (8.30am NY) as we get closer to Turkey Time.

These are the trades showing the prices and when they happened, all in London time. Below is the P and L including fees.

Part of what we do with this information is to re-run the day using the historical data from eSignal and then compare the signaled trades with the actual executions. We track the actual performance against the hypothetical performance and make any execution instruction changes that we feel will align the two if there is a consistent discrepancy. It took a lot of work to get to this stage and I guess we will be looking for improvements all the time.