Google Earth is a free download application allowing users access to global satellite imagery. Find out how it can be used on your web site…
Hundreds, if not thousands, of words could be expended trying to explain what Google Earth is, and what it can do. Briefly - before going off to download it and see for yourself – Google Earth brings to the computer monitor a virtual globe which is linked to millions of satellite photographic images. You can zoom high resolution images to street level and see individual houses. Or investigate just about anywhere on the planet in a sort of Bond villain kind of way.
The satellite images are in turn tied into Google’s search engine thereby creating a linkage between a satellite image and your business listing and web site entry. This is a thumbnail sketch of Google Earth, there are lots more to it. The best way to gain an understanding of Google Earth and its capabilities is to download it. However, you may first wish to take the Google Earth showcase and demo tour.
In terms of implementing Google Earth on a web site, the primary benefits are the ability to obtain a link to a particular destination – your premises – that can be shared with other Google Earth users who visit your site and also to obtain co-ordinates for car sat nav systems. Corny, as it is, the world is your oyster with Google Earth.
Another way, incidentally, to get hold of satellite navigation data for customers driving to your business premises is to visit streetmap.co.uk. Enter your address or postcode and check the ensuing map image that appears. If this looks close enough as makes no difference, scroll down to almost the foot of the page and click the text link to convert/measure the co-ordinates. It may be difficult to spot, but it appears in the box containing the long URL to the map image you have selected.
Clicking on the convert/measure link takes you to a new yellow coloured page with a table listing OS map coordinates as well as longitude and latitude. Copy and paste this info to use on your site or capture this page’s address from the browser bar.
Still not 100 per cent happy with the map images you have been able to obtain on the web?
The answer is to make your own in Google’s My Maps.
An add-on to Google Maps, My Maps is an online map drawing tool. To be more precise, it’s a tool that lets you draw on Google Maps, save and share them with other users. For instance, you could create a map that graphically shows the best route from the centre of town to your premises or the quickest way between two separate business sites.
To get started with My Maps, click its tab in the left hand column of Google Maps. You need to register, it’s free. Once in, mouse-ify (I’m test driving this alternative to click) the Create New Map link and away you go.
The first step is to indicate whether you wish your map to be Public or Unlisted. Select Public and then give your map a meaningful name, cue appropriate keywords, and a description (yet more keywords). Save these details then navigate to the map image you require (see previous mapping article for help). At top left of the map image there are four new buttons. These are the tools for drawing on your map. Take your time in order to get your map looking neat and as professional as possible.
The tools are basic. The chubby hand is for moving the map image around. The speech bubble/tear drop affair is for inserting placemarks while the lightning icon is for drawing lines and the lopsided party hat for drawing shapes. When drawing lines you may need to adjust the zoom to get the line to go exactly where you want it. A steady hand is also good. But since roads don’t usually follow perfectly straight lines and are intersected by roundabouts, it’s often necessary to draw your line in short stages. Much the same applies to the shape tool that lets you pinpoint an area and then fills it with semi transparent blue.
During the process of map mapping there are prompts to add names and explanatory text, which is useful but requires a bit of careful thought. When finished click the Save button in the left hand column and then click the ‘Link to this page’ text link (immediately above top right hand corner the map image) to capture the URL to share the map with your web site users and have it listed via Google. That’s you done, with the exception of adding the map link to your own site.
This is one I made earlier of the route from HIE Innse Gall offices in Stornoway to the ferry terminal. Fairly high cheese content, but this is an example of what can be done using the My Maps tools. The best thing is that you can constantly update and edit your map as new ideas and circumstances occur. Happy mapping!
