Hi there,
Obviously I use Google all the time. Here are some tricks, features
and techniques that newbies would gain the most from knowing, in my
opinion.
Google Toolbar
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The best way to learn search skills is by practice. The difference
between "should I go to Google.com and search for it" and "it's too
much effort" can be the immediacy of having the Google Toolbar right
there in front of you. It also provides ready access to the Cached
Snaphot of Page function (see below) ands makes searching within a
site easier than remembering the site:website.com syntax.
Cached Snaphot of Page
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It is extremely frustrating to find that the page you wish to look at
is no longer available. Using this feature from the Google Toolbar, or
via the link labeled "cached" in search results is a luxury for
searchers, which I'm sure many are unaware of. In can also help
searchers understand that Google's index is based on how pages were
when Google last visited, and not necessarily how they are now.
Google as a Dictionary
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I have print dictionaries, software dictionaries and links to
dictionary web sites. More often than not my dictionary needs are as
simple as "am I spelling this correctly". I just used Google to check
the spelling of immediacy by searching for the word. Almost always, if
I have spelled a keyword incorrectly, Google suggests the correct
spelling. And, at the top of search results, underlined keywords lead
to a definition at dictionary.com
Google Directory and Groups
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As wonderful as Google's search results are, sometimes clicking on the
directory or groups tabs provide better results. This is especially
the case if a lot of shopping sites appear in the search results, and
you are after unbiased information. The directory is best searched by
using one or two words that would appear in a description of a site,
or the name of a category.
For example, if I was looking for technical details about the gigabyte
a7n8x motherboard, compare the web search result with the directory
result
Web:
://www.google.com/search?q=gigabyte+a7n8x
Directory:
://www.google.com/search?q=gigabyte+a7n8x&sa=N&tab=gd&cat=gwd%2FTop
The directory results have links to categories such as:
Computers > Hardware > Technical Evaluations and Product Reviews
Motherboards > FAQs, Help, and Tutorials
A directory search for "motherboards" works just as well.
I find Google groups to be especially good for finding people's
opinions, or answers to technical problems. If I was after the meaning
to the lyrics of a song, Google Groups is the place to go.
For newbies it is simple advice - if the first page of results don't
have what you are looking for, and quick click on the Groups and
Directory tabs is worth trying.
Advanced Searching
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It can be bamboozling to try to learn advanced search techniques,
because there are so many. Yet when it comes down to it, there's
usually only two that I use. The minus sign & quotes around phrases.
To avoid scaring off newbies with talk of boolean, file formats and
stop words, just teach them these two, they are simple and easy to
remember
" - " Searches
Sometimes what you're searching for has more than one meaning; "bass"
can refer to fishing or music. You can exclude a word from your search
by putting a minus sign ("-") immediately in front of the term you
want to avoid. (Be sure to include a space before the minus sign.)
Phrase Searches
Search for complete phrases by enclosing them in quotation marks.
Words enclosed in double quotes ("like this") will appear together in
all results exactly as you have entered them. Phrase searches are
especially useful when searching for famous sayings or proper names.
(taken from ://www.google.com/help/refinesearch.html)
Search for the Answer, not the Question
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This is a mantra of sorts that helps newbies appreciate that Google
isn't a brain that answers questions - it's an index of web pages that
contain answers.
Phrase your query how you would expect the answer to read - the
difference appears slight, but it makes a huge difference.
"IRS stands for" rather than "What does IRS stand for?"
"man first landed on the moon in" rather than "When did man first land
on the moon?"
"the sky is blue because" instead of "Why is the sky blue?"
Best wishes,
robertskelton-ga |
