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Google
Search Techniques Basic Google Searching Type some terms describing
your topic in the search box and hit Enter or click Google Search.
Only hits containing all query words are returned so refine a search by adding
more words to the terms already entered. The new query will return a smaller
subset of the pages found for the original query. Choosing Keywords For best results, choose
keywords wisely. Keep these tips in mind: Try the most obvious terms
first. If looking for information on Picasso, enter "Picasso" rather than
"painters". Use words likely to appear
on a site. Focus on the vocabulary most likely to be used. Make keywords specific as
possible. "1967 Ford Mustang" gets more relevant results than "old
cars". Term Order The order terms are typed
in the search box affects search results. Type search terms in the order of
importance so Google will rank them by the order they were typed. Google Has Automatic
"AND" (+) Queries By default, only pages
including all search terms are returned. AND is not necessary. To further
restrict a search, include more terms. Don't worry about using AND. Automatic Exclusion Of
Common Words Common words/characters and
certain single digits/letters are ignored since they slow searches without
improving quality. Google will indicate if a term has been excluded. If a
common term is essential for getting desired results, put a + sign in front of
it so it will be included in the search. Another method to include
excluded common words is using a phrase search with quote marks around two or
more terms. Quotes force the search results to have the words in the order
typed within the quotes. Capitalization Means
Nothing Searches are not case
sensitive. For example, "kierkegaard", "Kierkegaard", and
"kIeRKeGaArD" will return the same results. Category Searches -
Google Web Directory Start here if unsure of
which keywords to use. Searching a category allows quick locating of the most
relevant pages. Perusing the directory in the subject area of interest gives a
better idea of what terms can be used in a search to find more related sites. Advanced Google Searching
With Advanced Operators Search accuracy can be
improved by adding operators to fine-tune the keywords. Most operators can be
entered directly in the search box or selected from the Advanced Search page. Here are some special
Google operators: " + " Searches If a common/ignored word is
essential, include it by putting a "+" sign in front of it. Another method
is conducting a phrase search, which is putting quotation marks around two or
more words. " - " Searches Exclude a term by putting a
minus sign "-" in front of the term to drop. Ergo: bass -fishing. Phrase Searches Search for phrases by
quoting them so the terms appear together in the exact word order typed. Truncation/Word
Stemming/Wildcards Not Available Terms are searched for
exactly as they are entered in the search box. Try both term forms in an
"OR" search when term variation is needed. Ergo: cat|cats. Language Restrict search results to
a certain language. Available on the Advanced Search page. SafeSearch Screen and eliminate
objectional sites from search results. Available on the Advanced Search page. Boolean Operators AND (+)
Not necessary since this is the default. The only time + is needed is
to include an ignored word type. OR (|)
Combine results for all search terms. Any search term/phrase can be
combined in this way. Example, soren|kierkegaard. Use OR with caution
since it can give too many results. NOT (-)
Exclude words/terms from search results. "soren kierkegaard" -hong
gives results excluding "hong". Advanced Google Search
Operators These have a special
meaning, modify a search, or request a specific search type. Many are on the
Advanced Search page, but some are not. There is no space between the special
operator and the term that follows them. Here are some supported
special operators: Site Search - (site:) Search a specific site/domain only. "story time" site:www.hickorygov.com gives results for the phrase "story time" from www.hickorygov.com. To exclude a specific domain/site, use the "-" operator in front of the domain/site to eliminate from the search results. Also available on the Advanced Search page. Title Search
- (intitle:) Search for pages with specific terms in the title. intitle:"Boiled
Eggs" gives sites with that phrase in the title. All In Title - (allintitle:)
Restrict results to those with all query terms in the title. For instance, allintitle:bad
dog only returns documents with both terms in the title. Also available on
the Advanced Search page. URL Search
- (inurl:) Search for pages with a specific term in the Url. Ergo:
inurl:"psychic sasquatch" All In URL Search - (allinurl:)
Restrict results to those with all query terms in the Url. This works on
words, not Url components, and ignores punctuation. Thus, allinurl:pub/linux
restricts results to pages with the words pub and linux in the Url, but won't
require them to have a slash, be adjacent, or be in a particular order. Also
available on the Advanced Search page. Related Search
- (related:) Find similar sites compared to a specific site. related:www.tucows.com
lists pages similar to Tucows. Date Range
- Searches can be limited to a date range pages were indexed. Dates must be in
Julian format. To convert dates to Julian, use
www.24hourtranslations.co.uk/dates.htm. To find pages indexed by
Google on Soren Kierkegaard during May 2003, "soren kierkegaard"
daterange:2452774-2452803. Also accessible via the Advanced Search
page. File Type
- Limit to file type extension. To find a pdf file on Soren Kierkegaard, type "soren
kierkegaard" filetype:pdf. File types can be excluded by placing a minus
sign in front of filetype: Plain Text Searches
- Search just the page text and exclude links, urls or titles. Ergo, intext:"jimmy
page". Cache Search
- (cache:) Search for results stored in Google's cache. Example, cache:slashdot.org.
If other terms are added, these are highlighted. cache:slashdot.org computer
shows cached content with the word computer highlighted. Also accessible by
clicking Cached on the search results page. This can give older site
versions. Useful when you need the site and it is down. Link Search
- (link:) Find how many or what sites link to a site. link:www.hickorygov.com.
Also available on the Advanced Search page. Info Search
- (info:) Info Google has on a particular site. info:www.hickorygov.com.
Typing the Url in the search box accesses this also. Google Phonebook
- Phone number search. The following styles may be used:
To find the phone number of
John Doe in Nowhere, NC:
Stock Search
- (stocks:) If you begin a query with stocks:, Google
treats all terms as stock symbols and shows info for those. For example, stocks:rhat.
Also available if you search just on the stock symbol and click Show Stock
Quotes on the search results page. Google Keyword Limits The keyword limit to search
simultaneously is ten. Subsequent words over this limit are not included. Common
words are ignored and do not count as part of the keyword number limit.
Over-ride this by putting a "+" in front of the word. Synonym Operator Operator to search for
synonyms. Add a tilde (~) in front of the keyword for which you want to find
synonyms. Using synonyms can help yield more search results. Examples: ~cat,
~dog, ~"tasty morsel", ~apple. Tracking Classification
Numbers Numbers like UPS tracking
numbers, FedEx tracking numbers, FAA airplane registration numbers, patent
numbers, and FCC equipment id numbers can be searched. Here are the ways by which
this can be searched: FAA Airplane Registration
Numbers Enter the number. Example: M300ru FCC Equipment Registration
Numbers Enter fcc, a space, and the
equipment number. Example: fcc C3C-99887-NOW FedEx Tracking Numbers Enter fedex, a space, and the
tracking number. Example: fedex 1111111111111 Patent Numbers Enter patent, a space, and
then the tracking number. Example: patent 1234567 UPS Tracking Numbers Enter the tracking number
directly. Example: 2S7777B2222222 Google "Define"
Operator Use define with a space
between it and the word to be defined. It'll pop up the definition. Use
define: to get all meanings of a word. Examples:
Area Code Search on an area code in the
Google Phonebook to get a link to a map of that area code. Example: bphonebook:restaurants
828. The results for this example should all be from the 828 area code. Number Range This syntax works by
inputting two numbers, with a double period between them. Any number in the
stated range will be found. This is good for historical or date range specific
types of research. Examples:
Operator Combining For
Search Efficiency Quotes, plus and minus signs,
and the other Google search operators can be combined into a single search to
give more targeted results. This is a means by which you can fine-tune a search.
For a more powerful search, combine some of the above techniques in one search
like: intitle:"computer supplies" -site:ebay.com -apple This gives results for the
phrase found in a title but not those found on ebay.com or sites with Apple
computers. Any of the above operators and advanced search strategy types can be
combined to narrow/broaden a search. Experiment and see what happens. |
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