Google will not restrict your search or give images unless you tell it to do so. It will ignore common words unless you tell it not to do so. So, in order not to waste time and get frustrated with google search results, let me share with you these search tips and tricks although the list is by no mean exhaustive.
1. Use quotes to locate a specific phrase:
Quotes tell the search engine to search for the whole and exact phrase. Otherwise, you'll come back with a huge jumble of results. So, use quotes to minimize the guesswork for Google search.
Example: "long haired cats."
2. Use the minus (-) sign to narrow down your search results:
If you want your search result to exclude certain words from your search, just use minus (-) in your search. For example, if you are looking for “Australia” but you don’t want to get an answer from “Wikipedia” all you have to do is type
Example: “Australia- Wikipedia”, “Mercedes – car”
3. Use asterisk (*) within quotes to specify unknown words:
Put an asterisk within a search as a placeholder for any unknown or wildcard terms. You can search for phrases with or without quotation marks, but using quotation marks is often more effective than leaving them off. One can also improvise their writing skills with the proficient use of asterisk and words.
Example: “wrote a * poem”
4. Use the tabs
On the top of your search engine are a number of tabs like: Web, Image, News, and More. If you need images, use the Image tab. If you are looking for a recent news article, use the News tab etc.
5. Synonyms / Similar Words
Use the '~' (tilde) operator to include results that contain similar words or synonyms. In the search results, you can see the synonyms in bold.
Example: “~child”
6. Use “DEFINE:” or “MEANING” to learn the meaning of words:
Google makes it easy for us to look up words. Simply type [Define: keyword] or [keyword meaning] in the search box and you will get the word meaning, examples, synonyms, antonyms and its pronunciation.
Example: "define: stereotype", "stereotype meaning"
7. Confine your time slot.
With Google, you can narrow down your search within the expected time period. Click on tools beneath the search bar, a new menu bar will appear (“Any time” and “All results”). Click “Anytime” to define the timing from the drop-down menu.
8. Confine your language slot.
With Google, you can also narrow down your search within the expected language. Click on tools beneath the search bar, a new menu bar will appear (“Any time” and “All results”). Click on “All results” to define the language from the drop-down menu.
9. Use Google to search within a site
You can use Google to search within a site, and since most site search tools just aren't that great, this is a good way to find what you're looking for with a minimum of fuss. Simply use "site", then a colon, then the URL of the website you'd like to search within.
Example: site:yahoo.com "Covid19"
10. Use another search engine
If Google isn’t cutting it, you have alternatives. Competitors like Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, and DuckDuckGo, may yield sites that don’t show up in Google because each search engine prioritizes search results differently. So if you don’t get satisfied with google results, try the same search in another engine may do the trick.
Quotes tell the search engine to search for the whole and exact phrase. Otherwise, you'll come back with a huge jumble of results. So, use quotes to minimize the guesswork for Google search.
Example: "long haired cats."
2. Use the minus (-) sign to narrow down your search results:
If you want your search result to exclude certain words from your search, just use minus (-) in your search. For example, if you are looking for “Australia” but you don’t want to get an answer from “Wikipedia” all you have to do is type
Example: “Australia- Wikipedia”, “Mercedes – car”
3. Use asterisk (*) within quotes to specify unknown words:
Put an asterisk within a search as a placeholder for any unknown or wildcard terms. You can search for phrases with or without quotation marks, but using quotation marks is often more effective than leaving them off. One can also improvise their writing skills with the proficient use of asterisk and words.
Example: “wrote a * poem”
4. Use the tabs
On the top of your search engine are a number of tabs like: Web, Image, News, and More. If you need images, use the Image tab. If you are looking for a recent news article, use the News tab etc.
5. Synonyms / Similar Words
Use the '~' (tilde) operator to include results that contain similar words or synonyms. In the search results, you can see the synonyms in bold.
Example: “~child”
6. Use “DEFINE:” or “MEANING” to learn the meaning of words:
Google makes it easy for us to look up words. Simply type [Define: keyword] or [keyword meaning] in the search box and you will get the word meaning, examples, synonyms, antonyms and its pronunciation.
Example: "define: stereotype", "stereotype meaning"
7. Confine your time slot.
With Google, you can narrow down your search within the expected time period. Click on tools beneath the search bar, a new menu bar will appear (“Any time” and “All results”). Click “Anytime” to define the timing from the drop-down menu.
8. Confine your language slot.
With Google, you can also narrow down your search within the expected language. Click on tools beneath the search bar, a new menu bar will appear (“Any time” and “All results”). Click on “All results” to define the language from the drop-down menu.
9. Use Google to search within a site
You can use Google to search within a site, and since most site search tools just aren't that great, this is a good way to find what you're looking for with a minimum of fuss. Simply use "site", then a colon, then the URL of the website you'd like to search within.
Example: site:yahoo.com "Covid19"
10. Use another search engine
If Google isn’t cutting it, you have alternatives. Competitors like Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, and DuckDuckGo, may yield sites that don’t show up in Google because each search engine prioritizes search results differently. So if you don’t get satisfied with google results, try the same search in another engine may do the trick.
|
|