5 Tips For Better Web Searches

Do you find yourself on your favorite search engine looking for something but can’t quite find it? Are there too many choices available that force you to scroll through page after page of results without finding what you need? Are your employees growing frustrated trying to use these great technologies?

These are common issues for every computer user and business. Here are a few tips to take the sting out of searching.

1. Do I Need to Go to Google.com to Search?

When Google and other search engines started, you needed to go to the site’s home page to complete any searches. However, today’s web browsers have made it far easier to do a search. Simply use the browser bar, which contains the URL that you’re on or is blank if there’s no website selected. Type in what you want to search for. In most browsers, you’ll be given a list of search term suggestions as you type. If those don’t match, finish entering your search words or phrase and hit enter.

2. How Do I Search Within a Site?

Searching within a site is simple.

In the browser bar or Google.com, enter site:www.website.com your search term and hit enter. You’ll see a list of results just from that website.

3. How Can I Narrow Down a Search?

Let’s imagine you’re looking for a nearby business called Frozen Dinner Theater. You want to find information about the business but not a coupon for Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. Typing Frozen Dinner Theater into a search engine will give you lots of foods but not what you want.

You can use different Google tools to hone in on your search.

• Use quotes around the complete name or phrase “Frozen Dinner Theater” and Google will return results for that exact phrase. You won’t have to scroll through hundreds of results.
• Use a hyphen after your search term to exclude a word from the results. So if your friend Tom Brady is in the play you’re seeing, you could search for “Frozen Dinner Theater” Tom Brady -football -Patriots.
• Use “near me” searches. Putting the phrase near me after your search term helps Google narrow down the results to those nearest your location.

4. How Do I Get the Most Recent Results?

In Google, after you’ve searched for a term and gotten your initial results, you can fine-tune them using the Settings and Tools tabs. In Settings, for example, you can narrow the search to pages in a particular language. In Tools, you can set time parameters, including results from the past hour, day, week, month or year. You can even set a custom date range.

5. How Can I Search for Images?

Clicking on the Images tab in your search results gives you just those items, as do other tabs for Video, News and Shopping. If you’re looking for just the right image, you can use Advanced Image Search to narrow your search options, including size, type, color and aspect ratio.

Google’s search tools are a powerful way to boost efficiency and find what you need quickly. Colorado Computer Support is the technology company in Colorado Springs that helps businesses and their teams get the most out of their technology solutions. From help-desk services to desktop Apple and Mac support, wireless networking to mobile device management, CCS helps businesses find the best business solutions for their most pressing needs. To learn more about how CCS can help you solve your most pressing technical needs, contact us for your free initial consultation.