Google Search Tips – Save Time and Find the Right Info.
I use Google constantly, for my job as a copywriter and the fiction and screenplays I write in my spare time (isn’t that the story of all copywriters’ lives?!). Since I search online so much I’m constantly looking for the best Google search tips.
And while I’m thankful for the sheer amount of information online I’m also disheartened by the voluminous cyber garbage (fake news, anyone?!) that’s out there.
To find valuable, credible info in the digital realm consider the “trust no one” dictum. Make sure the source you find online is well-known and trustworthy.
Your reputation is at stake when writing a blog post or report for a superior. Put your best effort into the work and fact-check information by looking for it on more than one, credible website.
It’s also incredibly easy to go down the rabbit’s hole of information overload after searching for something. Google is proud to show you, after a simple search of “email marketing”, that it only took the search engine giant 0.43 seconds to retrieve over two billion results.
Two billion results – we all have time to look through all of those, right?!
To find relevant webpages and make searching easier here are 10 Google search tips for marketers:
Narrow Down Your Search to a Specific Time Frame
This is one of the best tips I discovered and use it constantly.
If you’re looking for current information on a certain topic, as opposed to billions of outdated results from eight years ago, you can narrow your search to a specific time period.
- Enter your search query.
- At the bottom, right of the search field click on “Tools”.
- At the bottom, left of the search field click on “Any time”.
- Choose from “Past hour”, “Past month” or the three other dropdown options.
- To customize the search further, click on “Custom range…”.
- Choose the month and date range you want to search in.
Search Only the Words You Want
By putting quotation marks around a phrase you’ll get results with only those words in the quotations, in the order you entered them, and nothing related or only having one of your search terms.
Try searching “email click-through rates” instead of email click-through rates for better, more precise results.
Narrow Your Search to a Specific Website
Let’s say you saw an interesting blog post about cart abandonment on a website but when you go back to that site you can’t find it. Searching this way – site: www.take5mg.com “cart abandonment” – should bring up every page on that site with the term “cart abandonment”.
Once you get to a desired webpage you can search just that page by pressing Ctrl-F. A search box will then appear in the top right corner of your screen, ready for your query.
Advanced Image Search
This one is really cool. You can search for images with certain words, a specific phrase, by size, aspect ratio, colors, filetype and more.
- Enter your query and click on “Images”.
- There are two ways to get to the Advanced Image options: click “Tools” and dropdown menus appear for “Size”, “Usage rights” and more or click “Settings” then “Advanced search” for all the choices.
Search for Images with an Image (Reverse Image Search)
If you have an image you want information on, you can enter it into Google to see what websites it appears on. You’ll also get plenty of info about the image, Google can identify a work of art, many faces and show similar-looking images.
- Once on Google click “Images”.
- Next, click on the camera icon on the right side of the search field.
- Drag, paste or upload the image into the field and click “Search by image”.
Search by Specific Filetype
If you’re looking for a .pdf about location-based marketing, it’s a breeze on Google. Simply search “location-based marketing” filetype: pdf and bam! The .pdfs are yours for the perusing!
Use the Tabs
After entering a search query you’ll see several tabs below the search field. These tabs include “All”, “News”, “Images”, “Videos” and “Books”. If you’re looking for a video about blockchain technology, enter that term in the search field and click “Videos” and you’re all set.
You can then use the above tip about narrowing searches in a specific time frame to find current videos (or whatever you’re searching for).
Google Calculates It
You don’t need to open any calculators on your desktop or mobile device, Google will do it for you. Just enter a math problem, e.g., 868 divided by 16, in the search field and press the “Enter” key. A calculator then appears with the answer.
You can then use the calculator for other math problems.
Google News – Search A Massive, Worldwide Newspaper Archive
News junkies and researchers will love this one.
Go to https://news.google.com/newspapers and search an impressive newspaper archive – hundreds of newspapers from around the world – dating back to the late 1800s.
Real-Time Stock Quotes
Want to quickly check your portfolio or see how any stock is doing? Just enter the company’s ticker symbol in the search field and you’ll get real-time stock performance, corporate information and news about the company.
Searching on Google doesn’t have to be a mishmash of billions of outdated, irrelevant websites. Try using some of the above Google search tips for more manageable and appropriate results.
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We then use our cutting-edge, digital marketing channels – email, display ad and social media retargeting, geo-fencing, Web Interceptor™ and others – to get your message to those audiences.
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