Google is a powerful tool which can ease and enhance our internet exploration. Google’s search options help us to search on the basis of key words; we can also find various websites with the help of Google and also with the help of Google programmers. It is possible to use a special syntax by which we can restrict our searches to certain elements or characteristics of web pages. Google has an exhaustive list of its syntax elements and there are some advanced operators which help us narrow down our search results. Let us have a look at some such operators.
Intitle: This restricts our search results to just the titles of web pages at the beginning of a query word or phrase.
Intext: This one does just the opposite of Intitle. It searches the body of the text ignoring titles and links. It is best applicable when what we search appears in URLs.
Link: Link allows us to see which pages are linking to our web page or to another page we are interested in.
Using site with Intitle: This kind of search restricts our search to top-level domains. It helps us to find certain types of pages. By mixing various elements we can develop several strategies for finding the things we want.
Google has a number of services which, we thought, were unlikely of Google. For example, the new calculator feature of Google allows us to do mathematics and a variety of conversions. Google also helps us to check whether we have got the right spelling and the right word. If one enters a misspelled word, Google may suggest the proper spelling of the misspelled word. This does not succeed all the time, but will work best when the word you are searching for is found in the dictionary. Imagine you want to contact someone and you do not have his phone number. Well, do not fret. Google does help us in finding someone’s phone number too.
Google immensely helps us in fine tuning our search. Google groups store millions of messages from decades of discussion. It also helps us with shopping through two tools namely Froogle and Google catalogs. Google alert monitors our search terms and updates us on any new additions to Google’s web index. It is important at this juncture to be aware of the fact that Google alert is not affiliated to Google. It uses Google’s Web services API to perform its searches. Google has a news alert service too which monitors up to fifty news queries per email address. You will get news stories that match your query by this service.
Google on the telephone is yet another service which is made possible by the people at Google Labs. With Google Voice Search one dials the Voice Search phone number, speaks one’s key words, and then clicks on the indicated link. Every time a new search term is given, the results page refreshes itself with the new query. This service is still in its infant stage. The Application Programming Interface (API) of Google is a way for programmers to access Google’s search engine results without violating the Google Terms of Service.
Google goes far beyond an ordinary search engine in terms of its services and the umpteen opportunities it offers. Date range restricts our searches to pages that were indexed within a certain time period. It is more useful when you go elsewhere since it requires Julian dates, not standard Gregorian dates. Therefore, Google is definitely the best general-purpose search engine on the web. The unfortunate fact is that most people do not use it to the best advantage. The optimum use of Google will bring about a sweeping change all over the world.
Latest posts by Harvey Hammond (see all)
- The Great Google Secret - April 30, 2014