We know how the internet makes the world smaller, and Google helps to keep everything within arm’s reach. Google has become so wildly popular that the term “googling” has become synonymous with internet searching, even when it’s done with a different search engine. Still, Google remains the top dog in internet searches. With millions of websites yielding hundreds of millions of results with a single search, it’s hard to always find exactly what an internet user is looking for. If you need to find some specific information, the best way is to follow these Googling tips and tricks.
Use Quotes
If you are having trouble finding a specific search term, put it in quotes. Enclosing search terms in quotation marks will prompt Google to only produce search results that match that exact keyword in that exact order. This is useful when searching for a multiple word search term, like someone’s name. However, it will not work with Microsoft Search Server. If you need to search for an exact phrase, enclose the phrase in quotation marks to get the results you actually want to see.
Search Within A Site
The first tip in narrowing down a Google search is to know where you want to look. By prefacing your search with a specific website, you can find more relevant results. To do this simply add “site:” before the name of your preferred site. Once you’ve done that, the Googling will come much easier. Search through archives of the New York Times or find as many cat videos on Youtube that your heart desires with this simple Googling trick.
Narrow Down Images for Use
Google images can be just as daunting as the infinitely long website search results. The best way to narrow these results down is to utilize Google’s “Search Tools” option. By clicking this, you can choose to search for digital art or images of a specific size, color, or type. In fact, you can even weed out images that are not available for personal or commercial use, which keeps you safe from copyright infringement and saves time! By taking an extra second to use these tools, you can make Googling a whole lot easier.
Date And Time
Google’s search tools come in handy for website results, too. This is especially true when you are on the hunt for the most recent news for your media tracking strategies. You can filter by date and time. That’s why Google sorts through decades of websites for you! Change the results based on specific dates they were published or uploaded by using the search tools. This will identify results from as little as one hour ago to sites from as far back as the 1970s. This way, Googling allows you to look back in history or scan through the present with a quick click.
Find Files
Googling often ends with results from all over the web. Specify your search by using the File Type search feature so that all those coveted PDFs can finally appear in one place. To use this feature simply type “filetype:” before the abbreviated file acronym and search away! Then, you will only have to search between PowerPoints or JPGs, rather than a ton of excess sites. Googling can be made so much easier when you know exactly what you want!
Ungoogleable
There are indeed some things that are simply ungoogleable, like when you are trying to find a how-to guide for refilling JagTag cards. This does not necessarily mean your search will not turn up any results. It could mean that you get a bunch of irrelevant search results. In either case, your best bet is to switch up your search term. This is the only way to try and make an ungoogleable search productive.
Googling Is Official
Googling has even become an official word, according to Miriam-Webster. Recently, the dictionary giant made the move to add the word google, in all its tenses, to their new edition dictionaries. To google is “to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the World Wide Web,” according to Miriam-Webster. And that is exactly how Google likes it. The company recently responded to an attempt by Sweden to define a new word, “ungoogleable”, as “something that cannot be found on the web using a search engine.” Google politely requested that the definition be changed to reflect Google as the particular search engine something cannot be found on. Clearly, this company wants the credit they are due. We cannot blame them. They are responsible for an entirely new verb just because people use their service to search radio broadcasting topics. Can you?
Googling broad terms or common phrases can be a difficult task, even with a Das keyboard. Google can be as easy as typing some words in a search bar, but it can also be a more complex game of detective if you know what to look for. By using these tips and tricks, or even combining them, your next Googling session will be that much more productive!
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