ADVANCED SEARCH (GOOGLE) TECHNIQUES
ADVANCED SEARCH (GOOGLE) TECHNIQUES
Google — more specifically, Google Search — has revolutionized the way web users search for information, as well as the strategies website administrators employ when it comes to delivering online content. It is not only the most popular search engine in history by a landslide, but also one of the most powerful and innovative tools of the Internet era.
Google Search, one of most powerful and innovative tools of the Internet era, allows web users to input a search query and produce the most relevant information from a sea of online data. In the process of sifting through this information, Google has managed to create an index of web links and keywords. By 1998, just two years after Google launched, Search had indexed more than displayed a counter of indexed websites, the modern Google search page no longer displays the astounding growth of these listings.
| Search Engine | Total Search Share |
|---|---|
| Google Sites | 67.5% |
| Microsoft Sites | 16.7% |
| Yahoo! Sites | 11.6% |
| Ask Network | 2.6% |
| AOL, Inc. | 1.7% |
The Basics of Google Search
Google programs known as “spiders” search (or ‘crawl’) websites to build and maintain these extensive web indexes, following links to collect keyword and URL information. These spiders will routinely search for new information to update existing databases. Once a person enters a query, Google Search takes about half a second to filter through the index and find web pages with a high frequency of relevant search keywords, synonyms, and related terms. Google prioritizes search results based on the credibility of a website.
Authoritative websites will often have multiple links to their home page from news sources, blogs, and other pages; this creates a credible backlink profilefor a given website. A search algorithm analyzes backlinks, keyword usage, and other components to create the website’s page ranking. Spam and unreliable sources are typically pushed to the bottom of Google’s page ranking.
Once a search is complete and the results have been loaded onto the screen, users will view listings that have three main components: a title, a URL, and a description. This layout is optimized so that users can quickly skim through listings and find the best resource. The title highlights the general idea of a page; the URL provides a direct link to the source material; and the description briefly explains the page content, with relevant search keywords standing out in bold text. Users may find their desired information or attempt the search again with refined terms.
Master Advanced Google Search techniques
Effective Google Search queries allow web users to whittle down search results and find exactly what they are looking for. Students can leverage advanced queries to find precise quotes, while professionals can use complex queries to pinpoint information exclusive to their industry. While keywords will yield general information, using commands referred to as ‘operators’allows users to finely tune their query. Here are some operator tips to refine search queries and get the best information.
| Brand | Monthly unique audience (thousands) | Average monthly minutes per person |
|---|---|---|
| 173,003 | 101.5 | |
| 152,718 | 413.6 | |
| Yahoo! | 142,959 | 151.4 |
| YouTube | 127,504 | 110 |
| MSN/Windows Live/Bing | 126,811 | 82.1 |
Google returns the results for our search queries within .5 seconds, but thanks to our broad and inexpert searching techniques, we often spend more time googling for sites we want to check out than we actually spend checking them out.
Searching website types
Sometimes a user has a vague idea of where information is located, but is unable to find it on a specific webpage. For example, a teacher may want to research intermediate school science fair winners in 2010. This may be found on a website ending with “.edu,” since many schools will announce science fair winners on their homepage. If the teacher types “site:.edu 2010 science fair winners” in the Google Search bar, they will find results that appear only on .edu websites. The “site:” operator may also be used with .com, .net, and other domain endings.
Narrowing timeframes
Say that same teacher wishes to find science fair winners between the years of 2010 and 2012. Typing “2010..2012″ at the end of a query will locate pages created and posted within this timeframe. This operator may be blended with others, such as “site:edu science fair winners 2010..2012,” to pull any .edu websites posted within this two-year span that have relevant science fair information.
Excluding terms
Imagine if the teacher wants to exclude any science projects involving magnets. By incorporating the search operator “-magnets,” pages with any mention of this keyword will not be shown in the search results. This can help users remove any additional information that seems to clutter search results.
Using advanced search filters
Google provides several menu options to help narrow down search results with advanced search tools. Users can filter listings with categories such as images, videos, books, blogs, discussions, and patents by choosing the correct subcategory from the menu underneath the search bar. The “Advance Search” button yields even more filters, such as reading level or listings with addresses approximate to the user’s physical location. These could be used by the teacher to find science fairs in the vicinity or to locate articles with images only.
Filtering Google Ads and Marketing
Web users in 181 countries use Google Search to perform more than 1 billion search queries per day. Not surprisingly, there are systems in place to deliver advertising and content directly to users based on their search histories. These tactics have long been regarded as controversial, as tech experts debate how far Google will delve into our personal lives and data to create specialized marketing campaigns. Many are concerned private Gmail conversations, blogs, and websites will be mined for data in order to boost ad visibility.
Google software engineer Matt Cutts illustrates how to identify advertisements in his video, How Search Works. Monetized ads will often appear on the right hand border of a search page, or at the top of search results. These monetized results are highlighted in yellow. Relevant ads are selected from data such as the user’s location, search history, current time, and type of device being used. Users who want to control how much personal data Google incorporates into ad campaigns can adjust their settings to reflect this preference.
Clearing web history and browser cookies can help conceal the trail Google uses to select advertisements for each user. Google Chrome was developed to maximize search efficiency for web users, and will retain information to display specific ads. Explore the preferences and tool settings in browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Safari to clean up saved histories and cookies.
The Washington Post advises Google users to make changes to personalaccount settings to reduce targeted ad campaigns. After signing into a Google account, users can switch off their Google web history. Google Apps users may visit the general ads settings page to switch off tailored ads based on age, interest, and language.
Despite privacy concerns, Google Search has revolutionized the way computer and mobile device users find and receive data. Innovative resources are currently accessible to users across 71 different languages, and this global approach has redefined how businesses grow and students learn. For example, Stanford professor Andrew Ng’s Google Brain project uses powerful computers to run quick Google searches, connecting information in a way that mimics the human brain. Futurist author Ray Kurzweil is dedicating his research efforts to this project, hoping that Google Brain can evolve into an artificial intelligence. As ambitious projects continue to appear on the horizon, tech users can expect to see Google lead hardware and software into exciting new eras.
Fifteen years ago, when the capabilities of search engines were still somewhat undefined, web users began flocking to Google for simplified information and data retrieval. Today, the company still exemplifies this standard — and as a result, Google Search will likely dominate the search engine playing field for years to come.
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