How to be A Google Search Expert

01. Sep, 2010

Have you ever had a hard time looking up something in Google? Ever typed something and got totally unrelated results? Did you know that using the Google search engine is actually a skill some employers are looking for?

Using Google search may be something you do everyday and you already know how to use keywords in refining your search. However, there are other fascinating ways you can use the search engine. Here are some clever search tips that can cut your search time in half and boost your productivity.

Don’t scrimp on words – being specific helps you narrow down your search. For example searching for the word “computer repair” can easily get you lost in billions, yes, billions of results. If you want to search for computer repair companies in a specific location , type “computer repair city state” and the answer should be right there.

Look for definition – to see a word definition just type “define:” and the word that you want defined, like the example below;

define: netspeak

Searching for a specific file – let’s say you are researching about “grammar” and you are looking for .ppt or PowerPoint files. Here’s what you need to type in the search box

grammar filetype: ppt

searching for range – if you are looking for a car or property and you have a budget in mind, for example $100 to $200, you can narrow down your search to a specific price range by typing this

car 100 . . $200

Let Google do the math – if there is a specific math equation or conversion that you need and answer to, you can type it directly on the Google search bar. To know the square root of 876 type sqrt (876). Here are some conversion examples.

USD in Euro

Kg in pounds

inch in feet

acre in square feet

km in mile

sec in ms

kilobyte in byte

Search from a specific site – you can search for information from a website without having to go to that specific site first. For example you are searching for the keyword Google on this site, you can type this on your search bar:

google site:www.mytechteam.net

Search similar words – if you are researching on a certain topic you can add ~ before your keyword and Google will search for the word as well as similar words and words with the same meaning. For example you can search for French ~cuisine and the search engine will also look for words like cooking and recipes.

Match words – if you are not sure about your keywords, you can use * to find matching words for your search. For example if you want to look for examples of internet lingo or shorthand used in chatting and you are not sure which one to use. Type * instead of the word and it should match the words with lingo, shorthand, jargon or slang,

internet * used in chatting

Search for Either or both Words – using the word OR and AND in capital lets you get more out of your searches if you are looking for related items. For example:

blog add ons OR widgets

smartphone processors AND plug-ins

Use Google Advanced Search – if you have trouble remembering these Google search tips, you can also use the Google Advanced search page.

ABOUT MY TECH TEAM:
My Tech Team is a leading online tech support company based in the U.S, providing nationwide on demand enterprise level computer support and protection 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.