When asked to research a topic or find the answer to a problem, many of us instinctively go to Google. Millions of people use Google for research and even more use Google for entertainment. Below you will find a few tips to help you maximize your Google search ability.
Every time you search, there are thousands, sometimes millions, of webpages with helpful information. How Google figures out which results to show starts long before you even type…how do they do that?

Since a majority of students use Google as our default search, you should familiarize yourself with the tips and tricks below. 

  • Use the Tabs: The first tip is to use the tabs in Google search. On the top of every search are a number of tabs. Usually you’ll see Web, Image, News, and More. These tabs can help define what kind of search you need to do.
  • Use Quotes: When searching for something specific in Google use quotes. For example, Australian animal sweaters, Google will search each word individually…However, if you search, “Australian animal sweaters” Google will search for that phrase exactly as you typed it.
  • Use a Minus Sign: When searching a topic such as colts, and you only want to know about the animal, use the minus sign to remove other possibilities. For example, mustangs -cars. This tells the search engine to search for colts but to remove any results that have the word “car” in it.
  • Use a Colon: When searching for an article or content from a specific website, use this shortcut…. site:nyt.com …all other search results will be removed.
  • Use the Asterisk: Use the asterisk as a placeholder when searching song lyrics or poetry. For example, come * right now ..using the asterisk will give you the results of the Beatles song, “Come Together”
  • Find Sites Similar to Each Other: If you want to find a website like the one you have been favoring, use this trick, related:nyt.com
  • Use the Word OR: Using the word OR helps to limit and narrow the search and will help you find what you are looking for faster. For example, chocolate OR white chocolate will yield results for either chocolate or white chocolate.
  • Keep the Search Simple: For example, vegetarian nearby, your search will grab your location and deliver a variety of results about pizza places that are near you.
  • Use Keywords: When you use to many words you may jeopardize your search with the retrieval of too many results. 
    • Don’t use: How many miles equal a 5K
    • Instead Try: miles 5K
  • Find a Specific File Type: If you want to only find PDF documents try this, Google Classroom filetype:pdf OR Google Classroom filetype:ppt, will yield only powerpoint files.

 

 

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