Web Marketing All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition
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iGoogle is one of the simplest social media desktop tools you can use for online marketing. If you already have Gmail or use another Google service, you can simply add it to your existing account. Plus, it integrates with Google’s various other services.

The only downside about iGoogle is this: You don’t have much control over how your page looks. If you’re not a fan of the Google aesthetic for pages that have a lot of text on them, iGoogle may not be for you. As you’ll soon see, your social media desktop will have a lot of text on it.

You can set up an iGoogle homepage as your social media desktop in just a few simple steps:

  1. In your web browser, go to iGoogle.

  2. If you already have a Google account:

    • But you aren’t logged in: Sign in, and then skip to Step 4.

    • And you’re already logged in: Accept the offer on the iGoogle splash page to make it your homepage, and then skip to Step 4.

    If you have a Gmail account, you already have a Google account. Sign in using your Gmail address and password. You’ll see the iGoogle setup page.

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  3. Select a theme, but leave your interests blank. Enter your location.

    You’ll fill your page with other widgets that bring you news feeds, headlines, and content related to your interests, from blogs, news websites, and search engines.

    When your iGoogle homepage appears, with a bunch of preselected items (such as Google News, weather, and the current time), you can remove them, too.

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    You’re ready to start adding items, such as search results and your favorite blogs.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

John Arnold is the author of E-Mail Marketing For Dummies and coauthor of Mobile Marketing For Dummies.

Ian Lurie is President of Portent, Inc.

Marty Dickinson is President of HereNextYear.

Elizabeth Marsten is Director of Search Marketing at Portent, Inc.

Michael Becker is the Managing Director of North America at the Mobile Marketing Association.

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