How to Use Google Web Search

Search Basics

• How many words can I type in the box? Google allows you to type in up to 32 words, or keywords, in the search box. Though most web users type fewer than 32 keywords, brainstorming more than one or two can hone your web search tremendously.
• Does it matter whether I capitalize my keywords? No. Google is not case-sensitive, which means it does not take capitalization into account.
• What if I misspell my keywords? Google recognizes common misspellings and often suggests alternative spellings in italics (e.g., “Did you mean aquarium?”) at the top of your Search Results page. However, if your keyword is misspelled in an uncommon way, Google might not catch the error. If you’re unsure about how to spell your keyword, type in two or three likely spellings with the word “OR” between them.
• Does punctuation matter? Google reads apos­trophes, hyphens, and quotation marks but ignores most other punctuation, such as single periods.
• Are there keywords that Google ignores? Yes. Google disregards many common words, or stop words (e.g., “the,” “an,” “where”), as well as single digits and letters, for the sake of running more efficient searches. If there is a stop word that you want Google to read, include it in a phrase inside it within quotation marks (e.g., “The Daily Show”).
• Do I need to use the word “and” between key­words to tell Google to find all of them? Google assumes you mean “and” between each separate keyword so it automatically searches for web pages that include all of the keywords. Therefore, it’s not necessary to type “and” or to use the plus sign (+) between keywords.
• What does the word “OR” tell Google? By placing “OR” in between keywords, you’re telling Google to search for the web pages containing either one of those keywords (“OR” is the only Boolean search term that Google reads).
• Does the order of my keywords matter? Yes. Google assumes that the first word you type is the most important one, the second is the next most important, and so on. So bear this prioritization in mind before you type.
• What if I want to search for a particular phrase? Type the exact phrase within quotation marks to run a phrase search. Otherwise, Google will not keep the phrase intact and instead will search for each keyword anywhere on a web page.
• Does Google use wildcards? If you aren’t sure about the exact spelling of a keyword, Google won’t allow you to use the asterisk in place of the missing letter(s) of that word. However, Google does read the asterisk as a full-word wildcard (e.g., “Athens hosted the Olympics * years ago”).
• Are there keyword shortcuts or codes I can use? Yes. These codes can save you a great deal of time:

Defining Your Search

• Make your keywords specific. Your keywords are the only instructions Google has to go on; the more specific you make them, the more clues Google can use. Instead of “design class,” try “graphic design course instructor,” to increase the likelihood that you’ll end up on an academic page, not a commercial one.
• Brainstorm synonyms. If you’re not sure that one keyword is specific enough to turn up what you’re looking for, type the word “OR,” then tack on a syno-nym for your keyword (e.g., Paris accommodation OR hostels). Also bear in mind that tacking a letter ‘s’ on the end of a noun (e.g., Accommodations) will alter your search. Try typing your keyword in both singular and plural form, with “OR” between them.
• Use wildcards. Rather than ask Google for informa-tion in question form (“How many legs does a spider have?”), write out a statement with an asterisk inserted as a blank (“A spider has * legs”). You can also just use an unfinished sentence (“John Kennedy ran against”) and let Google lead you to the complete version.
• Learn syntax operators. There are a few handy codes that enable you to guide your Google search more deftly. For example, since the URL of a website such as www.cheaptickets.com can indicate or at least hint at its purpose and content, telling Google to search only page URLs for your keyword (“tickets”) could quicken your search. Simply type one of the operators listed below, followed by a colon, then your keyword (inurl:tickets). Be sure not to put a space before or after the colon.
  • Intitle: Looks for pages whose titles contain your keyword.
  • Allinthetitle: Looks for pages whose titles contain all the keywords you list.
  • Inurl: Looks for page URLs that contain your keyword.
  • Allinurl: Looks for page URLs that contain all of the keywords you list.
  • Intext: Looks only in the text of a web page and not in the URL, title, or links.
  • Inanchor: Looks only for pages with links that contain your keywords. Helpful for finding email addresses.

Starting the Google Engine

• Google Search: This button functions just like the Return or Enter key; it commands the search engine to find and compile the web pages most relevant to your keywords.
• I’m Feeling Lucky: This seldom-used shortcut sends you directly to your first search result, bypassing the actual Search Results page. This shortcut is useful if you have confidence in the specificity of your keywords or are looking for something extremely obvious.

Sifting through Your Results

• Page title: The name of the page
• URL: The full page address (with your keywords bolded if it contains them)
• Text: A few sentences that give you a sense of the content you’ll find on the page
• Page size: The number of kilobytes in the page’s text portion, which hints at how complex the page is
• Cache: The “cached” link takes you to the last version of the page that Google recorded, helping you uncover older material or material that no longer exists online.
• Similar pages: Brings you to other pages that have been categorized as this one has
• File format: An abbreviation (pdf, xls, ppt) directly before the page title that signals that the page is a formatted document (you can choose to view it in HTML format to save yourself the time of opening the document)
• More Results: If your search result is indented, this means it is another page from the same site as the page above it; click “More results” if you’re interested in seeing more relevant pages from this same site.

Searching Within Your Results

Keyboard Shortcuts

More Google Tricks

• Defines: Type “define” plus a keyword to view a definition at the top of your search results.
• Calculates: Enter an equation, such as 1+1, in the search box, and Google will do the math.
• Converts: Google can switch miles to kilometers, change dollars to pounds, and perform many other unit conversions (e.g., “5 USD in Mexican pesos”).
• Locates:
  • Phone numbers: Enter any combination of first or last name, as well as city, state, and area code (e.g., “Doris Stevens Albany”).
  • Stock quotes: Type the stock ticker symbol (e.g., “YHOO”).
  • Weather: Type “weather” followed by a city name to find the most recent forecast (e.g., “weather Tallahassee”).
  • Maps: Type a complete address and Google includes a map at the top of the search results (e.g., “23 Mulberry Street, NY, NY 10013”).
  • Patents: Visit www.google.com/patents.
  • Flight Numbers: Type the airline plus the flight number to check the flight status (e.g., “Delta 1440”).
  • Postal tracking codes: Type your FedEx, UPS, or USPS tracking number (e.g., “046049211045501”).
  • Movies: Type “movies” or “showtimes” plus the name of your city (e.g., “movies Houston”).