Tip of the Week: Some Google Search Tips You May Not Have Known

Be honest: you don’t think, “I need to search for this online.” You think, “I need to Google this.” Google is the standard in online search, but so few of us use it to its fullest abilities. Here, we’re sharing a few tips and tricks to make your use of Google Search much more effective.

Searching for an Exact Phrase

If you happen to know that you are looking for an exact phrase, verbatim, Google search enables you to specify that in your search. As you type in your query, enclosing it in quotation marks will tell Google to look for that phrase, as it is written.

For instance, let’s say you wanted to learn more about business backups. Typing in “data backup best practices” would only return results that included that specific phrase, those words in that order.

Searching for Synonyms

What if you aren’t sure what the best term would be to find what you need? Well, if you have a general idea of what you’re looking for but aren’t sure of the exact wording needed to find it, Google can help here, too. Try using a tilde (~) just before a search term. That tells Google to also search for that term’s synonyms.

So, if you were to type in “~run,” your search would also include related terms like running, runner, and even things like marathon.

Searching Specific Websites

Google can also be instructed to zero in on a specific website as you’re conducting a search, whether that search is for something specific or not. This is possible by adding the name of the website and a colon to the front of your query.

For instance, if you wanted to find a blue jacket on Amazon, you could do a quick Google search for amazon.com:blue jacket. Your results list will be a list of blue jackets for sale on Amazon.

Excluding Results from Search

Sometimes, however, you may wish to keep certain results out of your searches, as they are irrelevant to what you are seeking out. Adding terms that would direct the search to these irrelevant responses, and immediately preceding them with a dash, will omit them from inclusion.

So, if you had interest in a certain model of car, but not in a 1984 film of the same name, you would search for gremlin car -movie.

Searching Within a Range

If you need to find something that falls within a set range of numbers, this capability is sure to be a big help. By separating two numbers with two periods, you can easily restrict your searches to that range. Returning to our Gremlin, let’s say you wanted to find one and were willing to spend between $500 and $1100 on it.

By searching gremlin car $500..$1100, you could see if there were any available for that price.

Searching for Multiple Queries

Finally, Google can search for multiple keywords in tandem. This can be accomplished by separating each query in your search with a vertical bar.

So, if you wanted to find a managed service provider who offered comprehensive services to businesses (and you didn’t think of BSGtech, for some reason) you could simply search for managed services|backup|disaster recovery, and we’d likely be one of your results.

Of course, since you’re already here, there’s no need to do a Google search for us now! To learn more about how we can assist your business with its critical IT solutions, reach out to us at (866) 546-1004.