9 Hot Tips for Google Searches

Last week I shared ideas on 10 cool things you can do with Google. This week, I’m back with nine more hot tips.

If you’re not familiar with Google’s Advanced Search page and features, then you might not be getting as much out of your web searches as you could…

1. “I’m feeling lucky”

   This search option on Google takes you directly to the top search result page. For example, entering “WSJ” and clicking “I’m feeling lucky” will take you directly to the Wall Street Journal’s website.

2. Check a numerical range

   Use the “X..Y” modifier to search for any number within a given range. “Invisalign 2008..2010″ will return results that contain both “Invisalign” and a number between 2005 and 2010, which is particularly useful if you’re looking for a date range.

3. Search for file types

   Searching for “cosmetic dentistry filetype:ppt” will return PowerPoint files with “cosmetic dentistry” as a keyword. You can also use it for other file types: .xls (Excel spreadsheet), .doc (Microsoft Word document), .pdf (Adobe PDF), and more.

4. Remove results from specific sites

   This is particularly useful if your search results are dominated by one website that doesn’t interest you – for example, if you’re in the shopping section and you’re overwhelmed by eBay results.

5. Avoid results you don’t want

   All you have to do is include the minus sign before any word you don’t want to appear in your search results – for example, “braces – Invisalign” would exclude Invisalign results from your braces search.

6. See it even after it’s gone

   Google’s “cached” feature is a powerful tool. You’ll often see a small link that says “Cached” next to individual search results. Clicking that link will show you a snapshot of that website that Google has stored on its own servers. This can allow you see content that has been removed from the live site. It also provides a way to access content on blocked websites or URLs.

7. Broaden your search to include related terms

   Use the tilde (~) symbol to search for related words. Google typically searches for closely related terms (for instance, a search for “pediatric dentist” will also return results for pediatric dentists and pediatric dentistry). The tilde lets you expand that to even more related words or phrases. For example, a search for “~gum disease” will also return results with keywords of gingivitis, periodontal disease, periodontitis, etc.

8. Narrow your search to include exact words or phrases

   You can search for an exact phrase or word by putting it in quotes. With a single word, you can also put a plus symbol in front of the word. For example, “+denture” will return only results with the exact word “denture,” not related words like dentures or synonyms like false teeth.

9. And remember: the Advanced Search page is your friend!

   This is always a small link underneath the main search button. You don’t have to know any special syntax to use the advanced search, because it’s very user-friendly. Here are some of the things you can do from the Advanced Search page:

   • Search for an exact phrase
   • Exclude words from your search
   • Do searches that include OR functionality
   • Select how many results to display per page
   • Choose your language
   • Search for specific file types
   • How recent the page is
   • Choose where your keywords show up in your results (text, title, URL, etc.)
   • Turn Safe Search on and off
   • Restrict your search to a particular domain

Next week, I’ll share some tips for using Google to monitor the health of your dental website.