Visitcumbria.com and Google

7th September 2008 marked Google�s tenth birthday, so here is a summary of how this site uses the features of google.

When I started this website 11 years ago - google didn't exist. I used the search engines Altavista and Lycos, and rarely found what I was looking for because it wasn't there to find.

Slowly google started to appear and became known to those who used search a lot. Shortly after - I added a google search box to this website - see below - though now this is probably pointless since almost everyone will reach this website via a google search.

Search the Internet :

Statistics for the last 3 years (2006-2008 inc) indicate searches were from :
Google (86%), Yahoo(7%), AOL search (2.3%), MSN search (2%), Altavista (0.09%), Lycos (0.03%).

More recently - as I have developed the necessary programming skills, I have added various google tools to this website, in particular - google maps. Every page for a specific location now has 'places nearby' option - that lists all places of interest within a specified distance, and plots the locations on a google map. I will expand on this feature - including town trails - as and when I get the skills to do so.

Similarly - I am slowly adding the relevent control files to view certain locations via google earth, which gives the option to tilt the horizontal axis to give a 3d like view - especially useful for the mountains and lakes pages.

I have created a google custom search engine for this site - so you can search just this site for a particular phrase or word - for example 'smallest church'.

In due course I will add the google translate option to all pages (see the M6 page for an example).

Several years ago I joined the Open Directory as a volunteer editor, and slowly built up the category for Cumbria from about 200 entries to over 3000 entries. The Google Directory is based on the Open Directory, but offers to list the pages in google's pagerank order. Many pages in this site link to an appropriate Open Directory category, and I will probably change the links to google directory links.

Open Directory for Cumbria
Google Directory for Cumbria
Open Directory for Cumbria - Archive version of 2001

If you have an IGoogle homepage, you can add the VisitCumbria search engine gadget to your page. .

Google was a clever idea - but made no money until they decided they had to add adverts to the website. Likewise - this site, which costs a lot to maintain, made no money until I started adding accommodation listings, and then google ads on every page. The ads are targeted to hopefully be useful and relevant to the page, and each time someone clicks on one of them, I get a few cents commission.

Google features that I use within this website :

I now use Igoogle for my homepage, and gmail for my personal email.

Google Personalised Homepage

Google Mail

My son and grand-daughter at Mountain View