Google is one of the most preferred search engines in the web sphere. “Googling it” is a legitimate verb that has made its way in to our lingo, and for good reason too. Google is also one of the most powerful search engine, owing to its myriad of features. Some of which might not be quite popular. Here are ten tips to optimize your search results and get the best out of Google.
- Exact Phrase: This is one of the most common of the lot. Searching for exact phrases within quotes is one of the most effective way to search for something specific in that exact order. Eg: Searching for “construction companies in Bahrain” will show you the pages which specifically have those exact words in that very order.
- The OR Function: The OR function can be used when you are not sure of the exact phrases used, and want to search for one or the other term. Eg: Searching for paint OR chemical dealers will show you results for both paint and chemical dealers in the same page.
- Search within a site: Some sites do not have a very good search feature, or sometimes, the search feature is missing entirely. In such a case, you can use this method for optimally searching within the website. Eg: Searching for site:www.webtreeonline.com followed by a search term will show you the results only from http://www.webtreeonine.com.
- Related sites: Searching similar websites is easier with the related qualifier. Eg: Searching for related:bna.bh will show results for websites that are similar to the Bahrain News agency website
- Exclude terms: You can exclude specific terms just be adding the minus symbol before the word you do not want the search engine to find. Eg: Searching for holiday destination in Middle East –UAE will show you results for holiday destination in the Middle East, by excludes any results containing UAE.
- Synonym search: Searching for synonyms is beneficial if you are unsure of the specific term used. Eg: Searching for Door ~furnishing will show you the results for all kinds of door fixtures like door handles, knobs, etc.
- The asterisk: The asterisk works as a filler, in case you forget/ are unsure of something from a phrase. Eg: Searching for The quick brown fox * the lazy dog will show you the results for The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog
- Between two definite values: Using two dots and a space between two values will show you the results that occur between those two values. Eg: Searching for Formula 1 winner 2002.. 2008 will show you the results for the winners of the Formula 1 races between 2002 and 2008.
- Exact word within a title, body or url: Searching for exact words within the title, body or the url will help you to find the most appropriate pages that suit your searches. Eg: Searching intitle: plumbing will show the results with the word plumbing in the title. The other alternatives for url and body are inurl: and intext:
- The power of all: The best part about these tips is that you can use more than one of these tricks in a single search to enhance and narrow down your search results. Go ahead and try them out to become a Googling wizard today!
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