Googling has become an activity that we all use for finding anything and everything we could possibly think of; finding the lyrics to a favorite song, the location of a fine restaurant, a job-related inquiry, etc. But sometimes Google does not provide us with the results we have been looking for, and that is because finding something specific usually requires certain keywords or keyword order. Let’s have a look at 5 tricks to search on Google that can help you to a more successful result page.
The order of the words
When you are searching for something specific, pay attention to the order of the words you use in your inquiry. If you do not get the wanted results on your first search, try changing up the word order and you will notice the results will be different. This is especially important when you are looking for more common, everyday things which are supposedly easy to find. For example, if you want to buy a certain ‘’green summer dress’’, and the results for this particular word order do not give you the wanted links, try typing ‘’summer green dress’’ or ‘’summer dress green’’; more often than not, this will help you to get what you are looking for.
Do not ignore the suggested links under the search results
Sometimes when looking for a certain piece of information about a wide topic, and the results offered do not seem suitable, look for the links that appear under the main search results. Wikipedia usually provides these additional links that can bring you directly to the page with the information you are looking for, making the whole process a little faster. This might seem like a small thing but it can be a very helpful tip when your search is more specific.
Exclude particular words
If you want to really refine your search, use the minus sign to exclude irrelevant words. For instance, if you are searching for information on sharks but because there are many sports teams also named Sharks, you probably want to avoid all the unnecessary links; you can type in the search bar ‘’sharks –sport’’ or ‘’shark –team’’ and your search will narrow down significantly, and more focused on the thing you do want to find.
Be careful about influencing your search results
There is one very common mistake every one of us tends to make: shaping the search terms that lead to results that just might be a little too specific. When you are trying to find certain information on a broad topic, you have to be careful how you shape your inquiry because if you go into too much detail, Google will provide the most specific results, which does not mean they will be the most accurate ones. If you want to know how high a cheery tree grows, you want to avoid typing a query like ‘’cherry tree height 15 feet’’; this will lead to websites with 15 feet cherry trees, even if this is inaccurate information. It is good to be specific about your search, just not too detailed.
Search by image
Maybe you are already familiar with the fact that you can use the search engine to search using images. When you are looking for specific information on a certain topic, and you have images that you are planning on using, use those images to search for similar pictures that offer a link to a website where you just might find some valuable information.
Conclusion
Since smartphones became a necessity, we have become almost dependent on them, and we tend to ask Google about almost everything. These five tips should help you to narrow down the search results and become a little faster with the whole process.
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