How to Google Like a Pro

Have you ever waded through 3 hours of useless data online before you found what you were looking for? One thing is for certain, the lack of pertinent information is not to blame. People often find themselves "googling" things that they need to know more about.

The problem with all the millions of Google searches that happen daily, however, is the lack of knowledge about how to efficiently search Google in order to receive the most accurate results. In order to help you refine your searching technique and provide you with the most pertinent results, we are sharing some of our favorite “Googling” tips. If you follow these search tips, you are more likely to start receiving quality results each time you search.

When you Google a certain term, remember that every word matters. Each word you type into the search box will be used to provide you with the closest possible results to your original terms. Google assumes you know what you are looking for, and will try to provide you with accurate information accordingly. Case does not matter when you Google either, so it will not matter if you search for “Abraham Lincoln” or “abraham lincoln.” You will still get the same results.

There are a few steps you can take to achieve better, more accurate search results from Google. You should always keep your search simple. Google will generally be able to pick up on what you are searching for, so try just entering the basic information to avoid any unnecessary confusion. If you are looking for a specific restaurant, you should try just entering the name of the establishment, adding the city and state if you wish. For example, you could search for “The Olive Garden” and you would get results for The Olive Garden restaurant. From here you can choose to go the the actual site of the establishment where you will find valuable information ranging from the menu to a chance to win prizes. However, if you are simply looking for “The Olive Garden” location nearest to you for a tasty dinner, you might find that Google Map results are more helpful. Or, perhaps you are looking for a review of your local Olive Garden. In this case, you will notice that none of the results that appear on the first page point towards restaurant reviews. Instead of searching through page after page of returned results, you can simply refine your search using the Google “search within results” link on every Google search result page. Try searching for “restaurant reviews” within the returned results for “the olive garden” and you will only get restaurant reviews from websites that also contain the keyword “the olive garden”. To be even more specific with your searching, you could even search within these results again for your city and/or state. This will give you restaurant reviews for your closest Olive Garden.

When searching, you should also take into consideration that Google is not human, and cannot process information like humans do. Google takes the terms you search for and matches them to web pages, which provides you with your search results. Your search results will be arranged based on certain criteria that Google deems most relevant, such as page ranks, site popularity, and inbound links.

You should always try to be as specific as possible while keeping the search query fairly basic. For example, if you search for “How many counties are in Tennessee?” you will often return pages that have this question, not necessarily with an answer. However, if you search for “Tennessee counties” you are more likely to find results telling how many counties are located in the state of Tennessee, as this is how the information is likely to be found on the page.

The search terms you use should also be as descriptive as possible. Descriptive words are more likely to return the exact type of results you need. If you are searching for a business that sells beds in your area, you could search for “bed sells” or “bedroom furniture” instead of “Where can I buy a new bed?” These short, descriptive terms will provide accurate results every time.

If you take these few simple tips and apply them correctly to your Google searches, you can have clear, informative results each time. You’ll be “Googling” like a pro in no time!