Google Archives - The Thomas Stories

October 1, 2019October 1, 2019

How to install an application on an Android device without Google Play Store?

Thomas wants to install an application on his Android device, but he cannot find it in the Google Play Store. However, he knows that the application exists, and thus, he wants to find a way to install the program without having to find it in the Google Play Store. How can it be done?

Certain programs cannot be found in the Google Play Store. Other programs are licensed and allowed to be in the Google Play Store, but they cannot be downloaded from everywhere. For example, lots of TV networks have their applications hidden in other countries as a part of their geo-block. This is true about the ITV Hub application (used to watch ITV in the UK), it is true about the 9Now application in Australia and lots of other similar application.

Thomas is quite angry with this, and he wonders what he can do to fix the problem. How can he download and install a program he cannot even find in the Google Play Store?

Download Android apps without Google Play Store — How to install an Android program that cannot be found in Google Play Store?

Thomas discovers a way to download and install Android applications without using Google Play Store

Before you continue, Thomas wants to warn you. Downloading applications from so-called unknown sources can be dangerous, so make sure to download applications you know from sites you trust. Anything else can risk your Android device and your safety and privacy.

Thomas has found a site he likes a lot. It is called apkpure.com and here he can download so-called .APK files. APK is an abbreviation for Android Package, and here you can find packages/programs for Android. There are lots of similar APK sites out there, but this seems to be the one with the least pop-ups and the easiest process of downloading content.

There he searches for the applications he wants to download, and he can easily download them by a few clicks at his screen.

Do you trust this source?

After Thomas had downloaded the first application, he gets a bit scared. The telephone asks him if he wants to install this program? It comes from an unknown source and it can be dangerous. In fact, he has to change some settings on his phone (in the developer settings) for it to work. Luckily, he trusts the site, so he changes the settings and installs the program.

But, where did the program go? After installing it, he cannot see an icon for the new program on his desktop. What happened? Well, when you install programs like this, they normally end up at the list of applications, but it isn’t automatically added to the desktop of the device. To find the app easier later, Thomas quickly drags it to his desktop as well.

Now he can run the application, and he has found a method he will use many times in the future as well to install Android programs on his device without using Google Play Store.

Has Thomas helped you with his instructions? He has helped himself and he feels very happy about it. Should you have any questions for Thomas, write a comment and let him hear what is on your heart!

September 29, 2018September 27, 2018

How to submit an URL to Google in the new Google Search Console?

Thomas had a fantastic system for adding URL’s to Google and to make Google index them in the old Google Search Console. But, recently Google forced him to use the new Search Console, and he had to find a new way to submit his articles and posts to Google. How is it done?

Luckily, things are even easier in the new version of Google Search Console. Probably, you do not even need the help of Thomas to fix it, but in case you wonder how to make Google index your sites and articles quickly, this is what you need to do.

Submit an URL to Google in the new Search Console

First of all, you need to add your domain to your Google profile in Google Search Console. That is the first, and most important step. Once this is done, follow the instructions in the video beneath, or do as follows.

Press URL inspection in the menu on the left. You will then simply be taken to the “search bar” at the top of the page. Add your URL to this bar, and it will start asking Google what it knows about the URL. If it has been indexed already, you will get a message about that. If it hasn’t been indexed, you can ask Google to index it.

Once you have finished the index request, you will see a message looking something like this.

Your indexing request has been sent to Google

That was it, Thomas has fixed it, and you can submit your URL’s to Google in the new Search Console as well.

It is important to submit quality, and if you do, Google will normally index your article within a few minutes. If you submit spam, it probably won’t get indexed at all.

Have you enjoyed this little tutorial from The Thomas Stories? Give it a like, an upvote, and share it with people who might find it useful!

September 27, 2018September 27, 2018

How to find out if Google has indexed your website?

Thomas has created an article and would like to know if Google has indexed it already, or if he needs to manually submit it for indexing. Is there an easy way to discover if Google has indexed your website or not?

One of the most annoying things on earth is to have a fantastic product, but nobody knows about it, and thus the success keeps its distance. And, Thomas is afraid that all his brilliant articles will fail to succeed, at least if people cannot find them in Google. But, how can Thomas find out if Google has actually indexed his articles or not? Is there an easy way to find out?

Has Google indexed my website?

It is very easy to find out if Google has indexed your website or your articles? Here are two methods you can use easily.

Ask Google

This is probably the easiest and quickest version. All you need to do is to visit www.google.com and to search for the address/article/website you are curious about.

search google — Enter the exact address in Google and press search.

If your site has been indexed, you will find it in the search results. If you cannot find any content, then it hasn’t been indexed yet.

Visit Google Search Console and do an URL inspection

Make sure to register your website in the Google Search Console. Once it is registered, use the URL inspection tool and search for the address you would like to know more about.

If the article has been indexed, you will see something like this.

The URL is on Google and has been indexed

If the article hasn’t been indexed, the Search Console will tell you so, and it will also offer to index it so that it can be found in the search results.

Thomas now knows that Google has indexed his article

Thomas has discovered that Google has in fact indexed all his articles, and he is happy to see that Google is quick to index his new content.

Has Google indexed your content as well? Did this article help you? Make sure to bookmark the site, and to follow The Thomas Stories on your favorite social media sites.

August 6, 2018August 6, 2018

Thomas wants Google to Index his content NOW!

Thomas is writing his stories at www.thethomasstories.com, but it can take Google weeks to index his content. What can he do to make those lazy bots index his articles faster?

Thomas is a quite patient guy, at least if he gets what he wants right now. He never wants anything for Christmas, because at the moment he discovers that he is in need of something, he has already ordered it from Amazon, eBay, or AliExpress. He is a guy that gets things done, but he isn’t always understanding when other people delay his work… like Google does when they do not index his articles at once!

Thomas is extremely fed up with Google

Can you imagine? Thomas wrote an article about an event that took place a few days after the article was written. He came up with information about the event, where to park your car, ticket prices and more. But, nobody visited the article at all. Thomas felt like he had wasted his time, and he quickly understood why… Google hadn’t indexed the site, and it was impossible to find it in the search engine. What is the solution for Thomas?

In his despair, Thomas has found a solution! This is what he has done to make Google index his articles (normally) in a few minutes.

What Thomas does to make Google index his articles

Thomas has registered his website in the Google Search Console.
He has added a sitemap of his website in the Search Console.
Now he finds the URL of the article he wants Google to index.
He clicks on “Crawl” and then “Fetch as Google.”
He adds the URL of the article he wants Google to Index and presses “Fetch.”
He now clicks “Request Indexing” and follows the instructions.
The article should be indexed by Google within a few minutes/hours.

Thomas has found out that this works almost always. But, there is one exception. Thomas started to doubt this method as he noticed that several articles didn’t get indexed at once, and it could take days, even when he used the method.

index by google — What to press to make Google index your articles quickly!

But, Thomas believes that he understands what the keyword is… quality content!

Google indexing and quality

The times when it has taken Google days to index his content is when the quality of the content has been very similar to other websites online. The articles didn’t say anything that hasn’t been said before, and for that reason, the Google bot made a decision to put the article on hold for some days, as those looking for information can find all the information of the given article in other articles online anyway.

Now Thomas is ready to publish this article. He has worked a lot on it, and he has even prepared a little YouTube video with the instructions. After publishing, he will follow his very own instructions from this article, and then he will update this article to tell you how long it took Google to index the article.

Time from publishing to indexing by Google: 2 minutes

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