Google was founded in 1998, as a website that later became a popular search engine. Google has since expanded into a company that not just makes phones, computers, and other gadgets but connects users from around the world with its innovative products and services. From their search engine to the internet browser, they have a wide range of products that are free and also come in different price ranges. Google makes it easy for business owners to market through their platform using the advertising services to reach audiences worldwide.
In the article, we explain the top 10 Google products and services loved by Internet users, businesses, and organizations and their features that help regular users just like you and me. Read on!
#1 Gmail
Google’s Gmail is the world’s most popular email service. It’s free, has great features, and most importantly, has a lot of people using it. Gmail has a few features that other email services just do not have. It’s also great because Gmail offers a variety of helpful tools that make your time more efficient and productive. Creating and setting up a Gmail account is very easy and within a few minutes, you can take advantage of the world’s most popular emailing service to connect with your friends and family. But what are the features that make Gmail great? Below we discuss the most popular features offered by Gmail and loved by millions!
Writing Suggestions
Since Google is an expert in A.I., most of its products have automation or intelligence. Regarding Gmail, users can have smart suggestions when composing emails. In the process, when writing, Gmail suggests the next word or phrase it finds appropriate. Typically, it acts like an autocorrect like on phone keyboards minus the auto-replace part.
Schedule Emails
Sometimes, it’s easier to compose an email and schedule it to send at a later time. By doing so, there is no need to wait for a specific hour and possibly miss an important matter. Considering this, Google enabled message scheduling in Gmail.
During email composition, one can click the dropdown beside the send button to open the feature. After that, it’s possible to choose from templates or customize the date and time. As a result, Gmail will save the email in the account and send it automatically on the defined period.
Notification Controls
While it’s a different story on mobile apps, Gmail on the web still has enough notification controls. In detail, a user can toggle mail alerts or only receive new or important mail notifications. Additionally, a pop-up will appear on a desktop displaying a specific message.
Google Calendar Integration
Due to Google services’ tight integration, users can send an event invite from Gmail directly to Google Calendar. Without much tinkering, Calendar will detect an event in mails and provide options to add them. Likewise, one can easily invite other people from event creation or inside an email.
Excellent Search
As Google became popular due to its excellent search engine, it’s no wonder why Gmail has a powerful search feature. Aside from searching simple keywords, users can also specify items. In other words, Gmail has search fields for digging emails from specific senders, recipients, subjects, included and excluded words, size, timestamp, and many more.
Attachments
Like other providers, Gmail also supports attachments. In mail composition, users can easily insert files from computers and Google Drive using the mail merge feature. Also, Gmail makes saving an attachment from mail into Drive with only a few clicks. Lastly, it’s possible to include images from Google Photos, a computer, or a direct web address.
Send Delay and Auto Reply
Send delay is a feature that allows mail cancellation at a given time. In this case, Gmail offers four options: 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds. After sending, there is an option to undo the message at the selected time limit.
AutoReply, as the name suggests, responds to emails when a user can attend. When setting this feature, one can specify the first day of office leave, subject, and the message body. Finally, there’s an option to only reply to contacts.
Themes and Personalization
One thing that sets Gmail apart from other providers is the customization level. Unlike similar services with only dark and light themes, Gmail has different color themes and allows background images.
Moreover, users can also change the inbox style:
There are three views: default, comfortable, and compact, each of which differs in information density. Users can set what emails appear first on the inbox.
Gmail has a reading pane and conversation threading features.
Confidential Mode
Users who send sensitive information over email should benefit from Gmail’s confidential mode. In essence, it allows users to set an expiration date for an email. Limitations can be a day, a week, a month, three months, or five years. Also, one can choose whether to use an SMS passcode or not when opening mails.
Spam Protection and Email Blocker
As an essential feature, Gmail sure has a reputation for providing spam and email blocking protection. Using these features, users can block spam, newsletters, or even a specific email address. If you’re interested in learning how to block emails in Gmail, please read the following sections.
Alternatively, you can try Boxysuite, the best Gmail app for mac that offers tons of additional features including email tracking, integrations, minimal mode, and many more!
#2 Google Calendar
There are countless reviews and regards about Google Calendar and other services offered by the company online. An excellent one would be similar to “Google’s products can be as simple as you like, and flexible as you want them to be.” What does this mean?
For instance, such a tool, Google Keep, is a minimalist blank canvas until you fill it up with various data forms. Similarly, the Calendar can be as simple or complex should you prefer it to be. Regardless, the following are the general features of Google Calendar!
Create Events
As the most crucial feature, Google Calendar sure allows unlimited creation of events. When adding one, it learns about your existing appointments and suggests unoccupied times instead. However, if you like overlapping events, you can override the suggestion and input your preferred one. Moreover, if you have a recurring schedule, you can set an event to repeat every other day, week, month, or even year.
Create Reminders
Initially, the reminder feature isn’t present in the service. However, due to popular demand, Google later added it. In its basic form, reminder varies from events in terms of importance. While they both appear on the timeline, reminders can overlap each other by default. Also, unlike the former, it only accepts the date, time, and recurrence input.
Create Tasks
In 2018, the company released Google Tasks, a mobile and web application. However, it still doesn’t have its domain at the time of the writing and is only accessible on the right vertical sidebar inside Google Calendar and Gmail. Nevertheless, it made the intersection of Events and Tasks more manageable that will help you maintain your schedule.
Share and Invite Participants
Collaboration is a crucial element of Google services’ success, and Calendar is no different. On it, you can add guests to an event from your contacts. Also, it’s possible to delegate someone as the new owner of an event you’ve created. If you’re interested to learn more about the tool’s operation, please read the rest of the article.
Integration
While the Calendar and other Google’s Workspace members can integrate interchangeably, they can also connect to external platforms. Curious to find out how to sync Google Calendar with Outlook or Google Tasks? Let’s move further.
#3 Google Contacts
Most users with mobile devices have probably heard of, seen, or even use Google Contacts before. It’s not that popular as a dedicated platform for casual users, so it became unnoticed in many home screens and app drawers. However, it’s undeniably a significant and robust product because so many individuals and teams use it. With this in mind, the following are the reasons why should you use Google Contacts!
Free To Use: Since it’s a Google product, it’s unquestionably free. Unlike the company’s other services, this one doesn’t have any additional subscriptions or fees for extra storage, unlocking premium features, and many more. Contrary to Docs, Photos, and Gmail, the data you store in it will not count against your 15GB Google Drive storage quota. Due to this, you can store unlimited items, details, contact notes, and other related information.
Integration: As a vital feature, the app can integrate with other Google Services. If you’re inside Gmail, Hangouts, Meet, Calendar, Tasks, and even Keep, you can directly search, interact, and use the items you store on your Contacts account. Moreover, if you’re often in contact with a particular individual, Google’s algorithm will analyze and suggest saving it on your Contacts app.
Multi-platform: Aside from the well-designed mobile applications, Google Contacts is also accessible on the web. While it’s not the ideal use case, it still works. If you want to use it natively on a Mac, please read until the end; we have an effective solution for you.
Yes, the Contacts app is free for unlimited yes; accordingly, it also supports as many devices as you like. As long as you can log in to your Google account, your contact items will also be there.
Well-maintained and Secure: Since your contacts are quite a sensitive type of information, the digital platform in which you’ll store it should be secure. If you’re looking at Google Contacts, you’ll be confident with the privacy and security measures it provides. As a Google product, it shares the same level of protection the company employs on every account. You can protect your data by using built-in two-factor authentication, mobile phone or email verification, and many more.
As a free offering, it’s a bonus that it’s well-maintained. Due to the continually evolving digital communication form, it’s also vital that your contacts application can adapt to these technological changes. Indeed, you don’t want your contact data to be incompatible and unusable right?
Versatile: It’s known that Google’s product can adapt from the most basic users to professionals. What does it mean? If you use the Contacts app, you’ll see a user-friendly interface. Without any overbearing features, it only displays the necessary components for most users.
However, suppose you’re in a corporate position and manage numerous contacts and teams, then the tool can also do it. Using labels, detailed information, and many more, you can create a systematic structure in your account. If you’re interested, let’s discuss the tool’s excellent features in the next section.
Google Contacts is exceptional in the things it can do. Whether you only want a simple means to store your contacts or create a sophisticated system, you’ll feel right home with it. Regardless, Google Contacts’ features are as follows:
Unlimited items
As mentioned above, Google Contacts is entirely free. It means that you can create, store, and access limitless items on your account. The stored data will not deduct from your Google Drive, leaving you more room for other files.
Cross-platform Sync
As long as you can log in to your Google account, you can access your contact data. Along with the fast and easy-to-use mobile versions, it’s also available as a web app.
Recommendations
When you frequently exchange messages with someone, the algorithm can detect and suggest them to your account. In the “Frequently contacted” section on your sidebar, you’ll see all the recommendations. From there, you can save, star, or delete the items you want.
Labels
Similar to tags, labels are a way to group items. For instance, you can create a label for your family, friends, and colleagues.
Export and import
If you want to migrate your data to another service or account, you can export them as either a Google CSV, Outlook CSV, or vCard file. On the other hand, if you want to use an existing file, you can easily use the import feature.
Starred contacts
Should you want to make a piece easily accessible, you can select it as a favorite. Starred items will appear at the top of the list.
Google services integration
Easily add data when you’re using another Google application. Similarly, you can easily search and use the items you store on your Contacts account for other related services.
#4 Keep Notes
Google Keep Notes is a note-taking app that’s a Google-based alternative to Evernote, and it’s built right into the Chrome browser. You can use it to keep all kinds of notes, including text, photos, or music, and you can use it to create lists. It allows you to organize, share and collaborate with others. You can even set up reminders for your notes. You can save multiple versions of your notes, and it also syncs with Google Drive, meaning all your notes are available wherever you go.
Learn how to use Keep Notes and its features!
#5 Google Drive
Creating a Google account will give you instant access to various Google products including Google Drive. Google Drive offers users a way to access, store, and edit their files in the cloud. Google Drive is integrated into the Google Chrome web browser and allows users to access their files on a variety of other devices, including computers and smartphones. Google Drive does not require users to install a separate application to view and edit their files. You can open Google drive from the products and services section of your Google account.
Here are the most used features of Google Drive!
- Team collaboration and sharing.
- Share files, docs, videos and many more with people.
- Store your file in the cloud and never lose it again.
- Drag and drop files to upload and save files
- Get access to Google Docs, Spreadsheet, slides, forms and many more additional tools.
- Grammar Check and proofreading.
#6 Google Adwords
One of the most common tasks in any business is to increase the traffic to your website. This can be done through Google Adwords. Adwords is a free tool that allows businesses to display their ads on Google-based search results. When someone clicks on one of these ads, they are taken to the business’s website. However, the advertising company has to pay-per-click to promote their businesses through millions of Google-approved websites and networks. Google Adwords is one of the most used services by organizations and businesses to promote their products and services to reach the intended audience.
Here are the features of Google Adwords!
- Promotions Extensions
- Message Extensions
- Sitelinks
- Shopping campaigns
- Dynamic Ads
- Search and Display Ads
- Pay-Per-Click
#7 Google Analytics
Google Analytics (GA) is a web analytics service that collects and reports website data to you. It allows you to see how people use your site, where they come from, which pages they visited, and why they left. It also tells you what type of device they use and how long they spend on your site. You can set up events so that GA can track when a certain event has happened. If you have a large website, GA can help you make sure that the pages you need are being seen by the right people. Google Analytics is one of the most used features by website owners worldwide.
Here are the features of Google Analytics!
- Campaign and Traffic Measurement: Traffic.
- Tracking your Goals including Website conversions
- Audience reports and activities
- User Flow visualization
- Custom reports and analytical data
#8 Google Maps
In the days before smartphones, the only way to get directions was to ask a loved one for help or to buy a bus, train, or car map from a book store and scour the chart for the quickest route to the destination. Now we have Google Maps, an app that allows us to navigate autonomous vehicles from the comfort of our own homes. Whether you’re trying to get to work or a place you’ve never been before, Google Maps is your reliable guide.
Features of Google Maps:
- Satellite Imagery
- Ariel Photography
- Street Maps
- 360° interactive panoramic Street View
- Real-time street traffic conditions
- Route Navigation
#9 Google Chrome
If you’re not using Google Chrome, you’re not using the best browser for Windows, Mac, and Smartphones. When Google unveiled Chrome a few years ago, it was more of a browser than a web browser. It was a focus on speed and security over features, with a clean and simple interface that had a fresh, minimalist feel. Google Chrome has evolved as one of the best browsers across different platforms.
Features of Google Chrome:
- Website Bookmarking
- Website Task Manager
- Incognito Mode
- Reopen mistakenly closed tabs
- Quick Launch Bar
- Browser History
#10 YouTube
YouTube is one of the largest video streaming websites on the web and is a place where millions of people upload, view, and share videos. To say it is wildly popular would be a massive understatement. However, YouTube wasn’t always this great. Google acquired YouTube in 2006 and constantly improved it to be the biggest video-sharing platform worldwide. The video-on-demand market has exploded in the last few years and credit goes to YouTube. The free-to-use service boasts more than a billion users across the globe and closes to a billion hours of video watched every day.
Features of YouTube:
- Search and watch videos
- Upload your videos
- Monetize your videos to earn money
- Subscribe to YouTube channels from the creators
- Create Playlists of Music, Shows, etc.
While there are various other Google services people use in their day-to-day activities like Google Cloud Platform, Google Play, and many more, in this blog we have listed the most used platforms worldwide. Which one of these services do you use the most? Let us know in the comments!
