search google like a pro
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Search Google like a Pro
Alyssa [email protected]
http://globeeducationnetwork.com/library
Click here to Watch the Recording!
How Search WorksAn Introduction
Questions About Search
What does it mean to search an index of the web?
What are spiders? How do they help build Google's index of the web?
How does Google search its index when you enter a search query?
How does Google decide what search results you really want?
How Search Works
Google engineer Matt Cutts explains how Google Search decides which search results to give you, based on your search query.
What Does Google Do When You Search?
Search the index: When you click the Google Search button, Google races through its billions of web pages to find every page that contains the word or phrase or group of words you've used.
Analyze the web pages for relevance: Google screens web pages in the index to see which ones are most likely to have what you're looking for.
Evaluate each site's reputation: Google looks at how often other websites link to these pages to determine how popular or useful each one is.
Rank the web pages: Having scrutinized the web pages in terms of their relevance to your search words, Google presents your results, with what we believe are the most useful pages at the top.
Understanding Search
Finding the Right Keywords to Use
What Matters In My Search Query?
Think of a topic or question you would like to search for.
Pick three or four keywords to use in your search query.
What happens if you reorder them? Add capitalization or punctuation? What if you take out a word?
1 Every word matters.
Try searching for [who], [the who], and [a who]
2 Order matters.
Try searching for [blue sky] and [sky blue]
3 Capitalization does not matter.
Try searching for [barack obama] and [Barack Obama]
4 Punctuation does not matter.
Try searching for [red: delicious! apple?] and [red delicious apple]
* There are some exceptions!
Can you think of any? Click here for a few examples.
What Matters In My Search Query?
Keyword Search
How do you come up with the right words to search for? Can you remember a time when you had trouble finding what you were looking for? What makes certain searches hard?
Tips For Better Searches
Use descriptive, specific words. Avoid general or common words.3
Think of how the page you want will be written. Use words that are likely to appear on the page.2
Keep it simple. Describe what you want in as few terms as possible.1
Think Before You Search
What am I looking for?
How would I talk about this?
How would someone else talk about this?
What keywords could I use in my search query?
Which of these keywords are common or general words? Which would be more specific? Are there better words I could use?
What kind of results am I looking for?
Do I want a definition, a database, a list, a map, an image, a video, or something else?
How can I describe this
better?
What do I want? What am I trying to find? What am I trying to find out?
Give It A Try!
Remember:
Keep it simple.
Use descriptive words.
Think of how the page you want will be written.
And most importantly:Think before you search!
Pick a topic you want to find out about and brainstorm keywords to use in your search query.
Google Search OperatorsPowering Up Your Search
What is an Operator?
An operator is a symbol that modifies the words or numbers around it.
You already know some operators!
+
%" "
*
_
( )>
!
$ #
&
Google Search Operators
In search, an operator changes your search query -- often with drastic results!
These operators can help you tweak, refine, and narrow your search.
There are seven basic operators in Google Search.
Search ToolsUsing Operators to Narrow Your Search
Exclusion (-)
The minus symbol (-) excludes words from your search results.
Try these searches:
[panthers]
[panthers -sports]
What do you notice?
Inclusion (+)
The plus symbol (+) makes sure the word it precedes is used exactly as you entered it.
Try these searches:
[buddhist]
[+buddhist]
What do you notice?
Similar Words (~)
The tilde symbol (~) includes similar words in your search results.
Try these searches:
[food store]
[~food ~store]
What do you notice?
Multiple Words (OR)
The boolean "or" (OR) includes one, the other, or both words in your search results.
Try these searches:
[curl straighten hair]
[curl OR straighten hair]
What do you notice?
Number Range (..)
The dot-dot symbol (..) includes a range of numbers in your search results.
Try these searches:
[academy awards 1965]
[academy awards 1965..1973]
What do you notice?
Fill-in-the-Blank (*)
The star or asterisk symbol (*) leaves space for a missing word in your search results.
Try these searches:
[dark and night]
[dark and * night]
What do you notice?
Exact Phrase (" ")
Double quotes (" ") include only the exact phrase -- the exact words in the exact order you entered them -- in your search results.
Try these searches:
[alexander bell]
["alexander bell"]
What do you notice?
Putting It All Together
Source: http://www.cashedge.com/pressRoom/news_070104_bst.html
• Exclusion (-)
• Inclusion (+)
• Similar Words (~)
• Multiple Words (OR)
• Number Range (..)
• Fill-in-the-Blank (*)
• Exact Phrase (" ")
Can you think of particular examples when these search operators could help you?
This lesson was developed by:Trent MaverickTasha Bergson-Michelson
This lesson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike license. You can change it, transmit it, and show it to other people. Just always give credit to Google.com ("Attribution"), and make sure that any works you make based on these lessons are also under the same Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike license ("Share-Alike").
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode.
