When Larry Page and Sergey Brin birthed this search-engine called Google, they single-handedly ensured no student forgets to fact-check their project submission, no business leaves any stone unturned with respect to its web presence and so on so forth. Google has served the key requirement of the Internet, bringing information to our finger tips, by the book. But did you know, there are several ways to skin this resourceful cat? Here are 8 ways you can refine your Google search.
If you are looking for periodic information, for instance the career track record of an athlete, simply use the date ranges on which you are concentrating. Adding the time frames, e.g., 1990…2010, would refine your search and give you encapsulated information specific to this period, nothing more nothing less.
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Presently, the implementation of tools like AdSense has made it easier for one to search for merchandise across different websites and compare them. But what of other search topics, which are not of the financial kind? Simply using the “related:” command, followed by the name of the website, allows you to come up with websites cataloging similar information, without throwing any advertisement in your way.
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If you are looking for websites that should specifically have a particular word in its title then you can use the command “intitle:” followed by the phrase which you are using as a search parameter. For example, if you are looking for ‘ps3 games’, then make your search “intitle: ps3 games”. This will not only limit your search results to websites that have this word in their body, but in their title as well.
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Are you looking for something more specific than a website, like an article within a website? No problem! When you search for the same, simply write the websites name followed by the subject matter of the article; if you think that there might be multiple articles on the same subject then do yourself one better and add the time-frame as well for the article in question. That should narrow down your search results a lot! For example, if you are searching for a salsa recipe on ‘xyz.net’, then the search parameter should be “xyz.net salsa recipe”.
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Ever have that disconcerting feeling in your gut when you are trying to look something up on Google but you are clutching at straws when it comes to remembering the whole subject? What should you do? The concept of pulling up batch results using wildcards is intriguing and yields results. A wildcard is a command-specific symbol that allows you to pull up content of the same type by the dozen. For instance, you would like to look up the fastest car but do not remember the name or type, then simply search “fastest car *”; this shall show you search results with all the fastest cars of every type, now take your pick. ‘*’ is the wildcard in question. Once you add ‘*’ after any search keyword it shall look for items that include the keyword preceding the symbol in all the entries it comes across.
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If you are searching for something that comprises of an entire phrased sentence, the search process can be cumbersome. There are also instances where you are missing crucial bits and pieces of the search phrase. Replacing the missing phrase with the command “(around)” would allow you to go ahead with an equally efficient search. The command incites Google search to find entries, concentrating on the provided keywords, and results framed ‘around’ those words.
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Ever searched for something and exclaimed at how much of junk you have to sift to find what you need? Now you can narrow down your search. If what you are equipping the search with is a vague keyword and you know might digress from what you need, then add “- “followed by what you DON’T need to see. For example, you want to search for sports equipment but do not wish to see anything about sports shoes specifically, then search “sports equipment -shoes” to narrow down the results.
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If multiple results only hurt more than help your search then the “I’m feeling lucky” option is your best friend. However, there is an alternative to this. If you are aware of multiple results which will adhere to exactly what you wish to look up, then simply put your search keywords in quotes. Example, if you want to search for “Manchester United” and the websites discussing genuine news about the same, search “” Manchester United””. This should allow you to not only come up with their official website, but also the most relevant, popular, and trustworthy websites discussing Manchester United related information.
Google has been around since the author of the article discovered what the Internet is and shall be around for ages to come now that it has a stake in the smart device industry. It only behooves you to know how to refine your Google search, one of the most efficient open-source information searching tools out there.