I'm sure you may have caught yourself many times that with every question (even the most absurd), you head straight to the search engine. And no wonder! The Google search engine has become our portable treasure trove of knowledge, which we can access anytime, anywhere. What's more, we expect it to always provide accurate search results and show us what we expected. This is where the problem comes in - what can we do to make Google search results even more relevant to our needs? In this article, we will discuss how to type in the right phrases and commands in such a way that the answers to our queries are 99% as expected.
What opportunities does Google's search engine offer?
Today, the vast majority of internet users use Google's search engine because of its ease and speed in use. It is by far the most popular internet search engine and offers a great variety of options for finding information.
Thanks to the extensive suite of basic tools at Google's disposal, we can direct our search to what we are interested in - if, for example, we have a search for a particular product or service. we are looking for a particular place, we can use Google Mapswhich will display the details of the address and contact and, in addition, analyse the available travel options by various means of transport, taking traffic flows into account.
Another popular tool is the Google dictionary, known as the translator. It allows translation of the text into any language in the world, but in this case, attention must be paid to grammatical correctness, as texts often do not follow the language rules or words are used that do not fit the context.
Google Search also enables product search via the tab Shopping. All you have to do is type in what product you are interested in and Google will match the search results to what you are potentially interested in. There is an option to filter goods by price, colour, style, brand or size.
If we want to find a specific graphic, Google Graphics comes to our aid. Simply describe in the search bar what you want the image to contain, and the Google will show us any that fits our requirements.
Google Search also allows for image search - this is a technique that allows users to search the internet using images or photos as queries, instead of traditional text. This works by analysing the visual content of an image and trying to find similar or related images or information on the web. The image search process typically involves uploading or pasting an image into a search engine and then receiving results that include information about the source of the image, similar images, websites where the image appears, or other related content.
What is advanced search on Google?
Google knows that the available ways of searching can sometimes be insufficient, so it has provided us with solutions to get more precise results. The first of these is use of the search form, which we move to by selecting advanced search in browser settings.
The problem is that this option is not compatible with the mobile site. If we want to use the form on a phone, we need to use a command that specifies the search location, such as:
- "advanced_image_search"- command used to search the Google Graphics database,
- "advanced_book_search"- search phrase in Google Books.
Google Search also allows you to search by using advanced search operators, which are logical commands designed to narrow down Google search results. These are special characters or keywords that you can use when typing a query into Google to get search results that are more specific.
There are a few basic types of operators that are worth knowing, as they will greatly facilitate the search.
Allows ograniczenie wyników wyszukiwania do określonej witryny internetowej. When you use it, Google will only show results within one domain. For example, "site:wikipedia.org" will only show results from the Wikipedia site.
Search by page title
Allows you to find results that include a specific word in the title of the page. Example: "intitle:technology" will display pages whose titles contain the word "technology". This way, Google will display search results for similar pages that are interested in a particular topic.
Searching by URL
The "inurl:" operator allows you to find results that contain a specific phrase in the address URL pages. If you want to find pages with the phrase 'entertainment' in the URL, use 'inurl:entertainment'.
Searching for files
This operator allows searching for specific file types. For example, 'filetype:pdf' will display results containing only PDF files. You can use it to easily access documents or other types of files.
Searching by link
The operator "related:" allows you to find websites linked to a specific site or theme. If you use "related:example.com," Google will show pages similar or related to example.com.
Operator "OR"
Allows you to search for results that contain one of at least two specified words enclosed in inverted commas. For example: "smartphones OR tablets" will show results that contain either "smartphones" or "tablets".
Exclusion of the words concerned
Allows exclude a specific word or phrase from search results. Example: "apples-red" will exclude results containing the word "red" from the results.
Searching for incomplete phrases
You can use an asterisk as a substitute symbol for missing words or passages. Example: "polish * recipes" will show results with different phrases in place of the asterisk.
Scope
Allows specifying the range of numbers in the query. For example: "smartphones £200..500" will show results for smartphones priced between £200 and £500.
Google's search operators allow you to tailor your search results more precisely and focus on specific information. You can combine and use them together to optimise your search.
Advanced search allows you to focus on specific phrases or keywords, which is useful when conducting research or searching for information on a specific topic. You can also exclude unwanted results from searcheswhich improves the quality of the results obtained.
Filtering of search results
Google's advanced search hides another very useful solution, which is the filtering the results. You can use it independently of the Google tool you are using. Filtering gives you the option to search by language or by the date the source was added/updated, so you get more tailored results.
Advanced search on Google and its value
Now knowing what Google advanced search is, using the search engine will be much simpler and more convenient. Test in practice how the commands and operators work and how to use the advanced search filters. By using these methods skilfully, your Google search results will be much more relevant and tailored.
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