How to search google a bit more effectively

operators

1. refine: cutting through the clutter

-exact phrases: “”

-don’t ask a question

-singular vs. plural: Is the document that you’re searching for going to use the singular or plural?

-Word order matters

-Boolean logic: -, +, (), OR,|

-search operators

--filetype:  restrict results by file type extension

--site: search a particular domain; or .au, .com, .org, .edu (e.g., site:edu)

--intitle: & allintitle: words must appear in the title (e.g., intitle:”marketing plan template”)

--inurl: & allinurl: words must appear in URL – all words must appear in the URL, it doesn’t --matter if there’s a space after the colon with all operators

--intext: the searches only the text in the webpage

--daterange: pages added/updated within a date range (in Julian format)

--define: glossary definition – this puts Google into dictionary mode

--stock: searches stock market

--time in

--weather in

--sunrise/sunset in

--*country* population

-date-based searching—see google’s “Search tools” under the google search bar

2. casting a wider net, including all relevant details

-synonym operator (~)

-asterisk wildcard operator (*) – returns missing words as bolded (e.g., “standards * marketing”)

-OR (|)

-number ranges (..) (E.g., 2004 through 2011 = 2004.. 2011; $50.. $100)

-related: operator – discovers related sites

mastering the Google interface, understanding all the tools available

3. I’m feeling lucky: takes you to the first search result

4. cached: takes you to a past documented version of a link

5. advanced page: allows you to search without operators but with their effect

6. Google groups: lots of discussions (this is an example of a vertical search engine)

employing specialized services

7. soople: this is an advanced operator that sits on top of Google

8. Google patent search

9. Google books

10. Google scholar

11. Google Q & A (instant answers) – The Google search box is a phone book, a calculator, a measurement converter, a dictionary, a package tracker, and airline timetable, a street map Atlas, and a stock ticker

assembling your toolbox

12. download & install Google toolbar

13. subscribe to Google alerts

14. set your start page

15. by a reference book on Google

16. create a Google cheat sheet

17. take the Googleguide.com tutorial

Tip:  You can actually search for “confidential”, “proprietary”, “do not distribute”, etc. and find “classified” documents, for example.