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The Power Of Google Advanced Search
Monday, March 14, 2005
When you need to find something on the web, just key the search
term in Google and hit enter right?
Well, maybe. You've seen that Advanced Search link to the right
of the search box, but have you ever used it? You should, as it
can greatly improve your search results. It has the power of many
of the advanced query operators built in to a more convenient interface
for easier use.
If you simply key a few words into a regular search field, you'll
perform what's known as a logical AND search meaning all words must
be in the pages. Sure, you can use the advanced query operators,
but who but the most ardent Google master is going to memorize them?
Even I don't want to! Doing a regular search without the query operators
just does not cut it. You'll likely way too many pages selected.
Using the Advanced Search can trim literally millions of useless
pages from the results!
You'll see from this image of the Advanced Search page that there
are many selections you can use.
It lets you search for pages that:
- contain ALL the search terms you type in
- contain the exact phrase you type in
- contain at least one of the words you type in
- do NOT contain any of the words you type in
- are written in a certain language
- are created in a certain file format
- have been updated within a certain period of time
- contain numbers within a certain range
- are within a certain domain, or website
- don't contain "adult" material
The blue "Find Results" area is the heart of your search.
You can fill in just one field or up to all four. It's pretty self-explanatory
so I won't waste space describing what you'll figure out in seconds.
The next section can really narrow down your search as well. Use
the Language selection to list only web sites in your language.
This is useful for me because for some reason I'm always coming
up with German web pages in my searches.
The file format selection can include or exclude one file type.
The Date option is extremely useful if you are looking for timely
information (and who isn't?). Let's say that you are searching for
the latest precautions on a medication-do you really want to risk
reading a seven year old report on the subject? Set the Date selection
to a recent time frame.
I really like the option to select where the search terms must
be located. There are several choices, but if you really need to
find pages that are created in line with your search terms, asking
to find the words in just the title will find the most relevant.
(The title is not necessarily what you see on the header of the
web site; it is what the web designer carefully crafted and placed
in a "Meta" keyword in the "code" that tells
the search engine what the site title is.) There are other options
you can experiment with.
The Domain selection offers a way to do a search that either searches
only within a particular site or avoids a particular site.
If you are going to search for anything other than porn, turning
on the Safe Search is a good idea. This uses the preferences you
set in the Search Preferences page.
The rest of the page is not related to what we've covered, but
take a look at it for other types of searches you can do.
Using the Advanced Search Option correctly can whittle your results
page down from a few million to a few hundred pages. Make it a habit
to use it more often.
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