Raise your hand if you use Google just about every day. We all do. Google has proven itself as the simpler, more precious choice of the any of the search engines in the industry; But did you know that there are very powerful, yet easy, methods for improving the quality of the results that Google provides?
Below are six fast and easy ways to improve your search results. There is no better nor faster way to become a Google searching expert. Your friends and colleagues will be impressed, I promise.
Simply apply quotation marks around phrase to force Google to treat them as such and not allow "filler" words in between. For example, perhaps you are interested in researching Internet advertising. Typically, you might simply type those words into Google and hope for the best. Instead, your results would be much more relevant to your search had you enclosed your phrase in quotes.
Quotes Example:
This one is powerful. In the above example we are interested in finding out about Internet advertising, but we don't any results that include the phrase ´banner ads´. Simply add a minus sign before the phrase, and since it's a phrase, don't forget those quotes.
Exclude example:
This tip is especially useful for finding official documents, scholastic materials and print pieces that require precise layout and text/image quality. Recently, my wife was searching the Internet looking for blank maps of Europe for my stepson's school project. All the maps she found within web pages were of low quality and printed even worse; however, when she modified her search to only return options in PDF format, she was able to find crisp, clean maps that printed as intended.
Score!
File type example:
Suppose you are looking for SEO information on this very web site. This site does not host a search engine, but using the keyword site Google can comb the pages for you and return phatz.com pages only that match your specific query
Site search example:
One of my favorite words in the english language is accoutrements. Know what it means? With Google it's very easy to find the definition of any word simply by using the word define associated with your keyword.
Define example:
Want a quick snapshot of the current weather along with four or five days of additional forecast? Simply use the weather keyword plus your five-digit zip code and voila - weather information via Google.
Weather example:
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Under all that simplicity, Google is a very powerful search engine with access to an incredible wealth of information. These six tips will make your information searches much quicker and more efficient. Now go amaze people with your new found knowledge.
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