Tech Talk: A Training Manual For Using Google
Searching online has become more and more difficult. A simple search can yield overwhelming results, annoying, advertisements and irrelevant information; it is amazing how anyone finds anything. The top five search engines are (by volume):
There are little things you can do to make your search more efficient and productive. Here is basic information on searching using Google:
- Every word matters. Generally, all the words you put in the query will be used.
- Search is always case insensitive. A search for "new york times" is the same as a search for "New York Times".
- Generally, punctuation is ignored, including @#$%^&*()=+[]\ and other special characters.
Examples of Smart Search Options
Basic search engine entry. search: bottle opener results: anything with the words bottle and opener Basic search engine entry with "or". search: bottle or opener results: anything with the word bottle or opener
By putting double quotes around a set of words, you are telling Google to consider the exact words in that exact order without any change. search: "bottle opener" results: anything with the exact phrase "bottle opener"
Specify a specific word not to be included. search: bottle -opener results: anything with the word bottle but not the word opener
Specify a specific word to be included. search: bottle +green results: anything with the words bottle with only the word green, not plural, tenses or synonyms
Search using the synonyms option. search: ~auto loan results: anything with loan info for both the word auto and its synonyms: truck, car, etc. Definition look-up. search: define:bottle results: definitions of the word bottle from around the internet
Specify a beginning and an end. search: better * worse results: anything with the words better and worse separated by one or more words
Specify that your search results must come from a given website. search: bottle site:thecontemplation.com results: from the site thecontemplation.com that contain the word bottle search: bottle site:ashlandcurrent.com results: from the site ashlandcurrent.com that contain the word bottle
Specify a whole class of sites. search: bottle site:.gov results: only government sites that contain the word bottle
Specify a country (Country Codes). search: bottle site:.ie results: only sites from Ireland that contain the word bottle
Specify a Price search: bottle opener $25 results: anything with the words bottle and opener with the price $25
To see the weather for many U.S. and worldwide cities, type "weather" followed by the city and state, U.S. zip code, or city and country. search: weather 54806 search: weather Ashland, WI search: weather Bogota, Colombia
To see current market data for a given company or fund, type the ticker symbol into the search box. search: GOOG search: NASDAQ:GOOG
To see the time in many cities around the world, type in "time" and the name of the city. search: time Ashland, WI search: time Moscow, Russia
To see scores and schedules for sports teams type the team name or league name into the search box. This is enabled for many leagues including the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB. search: milwaukee brewers search: minnesota twins
To listen to music, search for artists, albums, songs or lyrics type in full name of group or artist. search: ting tings search: blake shelton search: bruce springsteen search: lady gaga
To see the precise times of sunrises and sunsets for many U.S. and worldwide cities, type "sunrise" or "sunset" followed by the city name. search: sunrise Hayward, WI search: sunset 54843
To use the built-in calculator function, simply enter the calculation you'd like done into the search box. search: 2 + 2 search: 5*9+(sqrt 10)^3= To see information about recent earthquakes in a specific area type "earthquake" followed by the city and state or U.S. zip code. For recent earthquake activity around the world simply type "earthquake" in the search box. search: earthquake Baja California search: earthquake
You can use Google to convert between many different units of measurement of height, weight, and volume among many others. search: 10.5 cm in inches search: 5 teaspoons in cup
To see trends for population and unemployment rates of U.S. states and counties, type "population" or "unemployment rate" followed by a state or county. search: population MI search: unemployment rate Bayfield County, WI
To find reviews and showtimes for movies playing near you, type "movies" or the name of a current film into the Google search box. search: movies 54806 search: The American 54806
To search for U.S. patents, enter the word "patent" followed by the patent number. search: patent 5123123
This should help you get the most out of your search engine. If you use a specific search engine, other than Google, please contact Tech Talk to publish the specific cheat sheet.
If you want Tech Talk to cover a specific topic, website, or local blog contact Tech Talk (http://www.soketnetto.com/).