Google Search

Google Search Things you know and things you don’t.By: Jiwanjot Singh

Google SearchOK, do you know how to search on google.com?The But obvious answer to this question is YES.This presentation is not going to teach you how to search on Google, however, we will talk about how to make that search fruitful and quick.Please Note that the examples given in this presentation are included in Brackets [ ], please do not include [ ] while searching on Google using the examples in this presentation.

Very BasicsGoogle search is simple: just type whatever comes to mind in the search box, hit Enter or click on the Google Search button, and Google will search the web for pages that are relevant to your query

Some basic factsEvery word matters. Generally, all the words you put in the query will be used. There are some exceptions.Search is always case insensitive. Searching for [ new york times ] is the same as searching for [ New York Times ].With some exceptions, punctuation is ignored (that is, you can't search for @#$%^&*()=+[] and other special characters).

Exceptions to 'Every word matters'Words that are commonly used, like 'the,' 'a,' and 'for,' are usually ignored (these are called stop words). Synonyms might replace some words in your original query. (Adding + before a word disables synonyms.)A particular word might not appear on a page in your results if there is sufficient other evidence that the page is relevant. The evidence might come from language analysis that Google do.

Punctuation that is not ignoredPunctuation in popular terms that have particular meanings[ C++ ] or [ C# ] (both are names of programming languages), are not ignored.The dollar sign ($) is used to indicate prices. [ Nikon 400 ] and [ Nikon $400 ] will give different results.The hyphen - is sometimes used as a signal that the two words around it are very strongly connected. (Unless there is no space after the - and a space before it, in which case it is a negative sign.)The underscore symbol _ is not ignored when it connects two words, e.g. [ quick_sort ].

Guidelines for better searchKeep it simpleThink how the page you are looking for will be writtenDescribe what you need with as few terms as possibleChoose descriptive words

Keep it simpleIf you're looking for a particular company, just enter its name, or as much of its name as you can recall. If you're looking for a particular concept, place, or product, start with its name. If you're looking for a pizza restaurant, just enter pizza and the name of your town or your zip code. Most queries do not require advanced operators or unusual syntax. Simple is good

Think how the page you are looking for will be writtenA search engine is not a human, it is a program that matches the words you give to pages on the web. Use the words that are most likely to appear on the page. For example, instead of searching [ my head hurts ], search [ headache ], because that's the term a medical page will use.The query [ in what country are bats considered an omen of good luck? ] is very clear to a human, but the document that gives the answer may not have those words. Instead, use the query [ bats are considered good luck in ] or even just [ bats good luck ]

Describe what you need with as few terms as possibleThe goal of each word in a query is to focus it further. Since all words are used, each additional word limits the results. If you limit too much, you will miss a lot of useful information. The main advantage to starting with fewer keywords is that, if you don't get what you need, the results will likely give you a good indication of what additional words are needed to refine your results on the next search.

Choose descriptive wordsThe more unique the word is the more likely you are to get relevant results. Words that are not very descriptive, like 'document,' 'website,' 'company,' or 'info,' are usually not needed. Keep in mind, however, that even if the word has the correct meaning but it is not the one most people use, it may not match the pages you need. For example, [ celebrity ringtones ] is more descriptive and specific than [ celebrity sounds ].

How to read search results (1)

How to read search results (2)The title: The first line of any search result is the title of the webpage.The snippet: A description of or an excerpt from the webpage.The URL: The webpage's address.Cached link: A link to an earlier version of this page. Click here if the page you wanted isn't available.

Anatomy of a Web Address (1)If you already know how to read a web address or URL, skip this section. Otherwise, consider the web address http://www.googleguide.com/searchEngines/google/searchLeader.html.

Anatomy of a Web Address (2)http://www.googleguide.com/searchEngines/google/searchLeader.html

Refining a QueryRefining a query means changing or adding to the set of search terms to do a better job of returning the pages you’re seeking.Successful researchers frequently enter several queries to find what they’re seeking

Refining a Query: Example (1)Lets take a example: lets say we are searching for “Vacation spots”.Step 1: Type in Google search bar and hint enter: Vacation spotsMany of the results will refer to world wide vacations spotsStep 3: Refine the search by location, search for: Vacation spots + India

Refining a Query: Example (2)Exploit successful queries: look deeper within your results using “search within results” option at the bottom of your Google search results. Type winter in the search box in the bottom of search results and click on “search within results” button. This will further eliminate al vacations spots which are not for winters

Google search: Advance techniquesNow, lets begin with some advance techniques that you can use to refine your Google searchThese techniques help in getting more focused results and its fun.

using Special CharactersQuoted PhrasesThe + CharacterThe – CharacterThe ~ CharacterThe OR and | CharacterThe .. CharacterThe * Character

Quoted PhrasesTo search for a phrase, a proper name, or a set of words in a specific order, put them in double quotesFor example, [ “Larry Page“ ] finds pages containing the phrase/name “Larry Page” exactly not “Larry has a home page”.

The + Character (1)The + operator is typically used in front of stop words that Google would otherwise ignore or when you want Google to return only those pages that match your search terms exactly.Note that you should not put a space between the + and the word. So, to search for the satirical newspaper The Onion, use [ +The Onion ], not [ + The Onion ].

The + Character (2)Disable automatic stemmingSearching for pages that match variants of your search term(s), by preceding each term that you want to be matched exactly with the + operator.For example, if you want to see only pages mentioning one favorite book rather than lists of favorite books, Google will search for “favourite” and “favorite” too. To prevent this, precede the word “favorite” and “book” by a + sign. [ +favorite +book ]

The - CharacterPrecede each term you do not want to appear in any result with a “–” sign.Find pages on “salsa” but not the dance nor dance classes.USE [ salsa –dance –class ]NOT [ salsa ]

The ~ CharacterFind synonyms by preceding the term with a ~, which is known as the tilde or synonym operator.In math, the “~” symbol means “is similar to.” The tilde tells Google to search for pages that are synonyms or similar to the term that follows.[ ~inexpensive ] matches “inexpensive,” “cheap,” “affordable,” and “low cost”[ ~run ] matches “run,” “runner’s,” “running,” as well as “marathon”

The OR and | CharacterSpecify synonyms or alternative forms with an uppercase OR or | (vertical bar).The 2 examples below will find pages that include either “Tahiti” or “Hawaii” or both terms, but not pages that contain neither “Tahiti” nor “Hawaii.”[ Tahiti OR Hawaii ][ Tahiti | Hawaii ]

The .. CharacterSpecify that results contain numbers in a range by specifying two numbers, separated by two periods, with no spaces.For example, specify that you are searching in the price range $250 to $1000 using the number range specification $250..$1000.[ recumbent bicycle $250..$1000 ]

The * CharacterUse *, an asterisk character, known as a wildcard, to match one or more words in a phrase (enclosed in quotes).For example, [ “Google * my life” ] tells Google to find pages containing a phrase that starts with “Google” followed by one or more words, followed by “my life.” Phrases that fit the search include: “Google changed my life,” “Google runs my life,” or “Google is my life.”

Google as CalculatorWant to add up a list of numbers, convert from miles to kilometers, or evaluate some other mathematical expression? You can solve mathematical problems with Google’s built-in calculator function.

Search OperatorsThese are query words that have special meaning to Google. Since the advanced operators are convenient for searching, Google Guide calls them search operators. Here are all of them:Define

Google Search

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