How to Use Google Syntax Properly
As of today, search engines and the internet have become a primary tool for humans to discover information. Dominating search engines such as Google, contain a growing plethora of data and resources that can be accessed by anyone with internet connectivity. However, with there being so much information available, it can be difficult to find the resources that meet your needs. This is why it’s important to understand how to search for digital content properly in order to find the exact information needed.
Using Google:
- How would you search for an exact word or phrase?
To search for an exact word in Google, type the term that you want to research in the search box. You can then add a hyphen and any other words that you want the search engine to exclude from its results in order to specify your search.
E.g. Patagonia — Argentina → this will exclude the place Patagonia but will pull up the brand instead
When searching for an exact phase, it is best to enclose the phrase in quotation marks. This will pull up any documents that have this phrase. You can type up the phrase with phrase connectors such as slashes and periods to pull up results from any resources.
“Mary had a little lamb”
2. How would you search for something on a specific site?
In the search bar, users should type the word site with a colon, then the website address they want to search (minus www) followed by the terms they want to search for on the website.
E.g. site:amazon.com white sneakers
3. How would you correctly search for a definition?
The best way to search for a definition is to type definition followed by a colon and then the term you want to research
E.g. definition:sunscreen
4. How would you search for a specific product available within a specific price range?
You can search for product ranges by typing in the product term within the search bar along with the price range you want to search for separated by two periods.
E.g. phone case $20..$25
5. How would you search for a specific filetype?
On google in order to search for specific file types you would use the filetype: search tool followed by the specific filetype you are looking for and any other key words that are associated with the file
E.g. filetype:pdf dogs
6. How would you include or ignore words in your search?
Google will include all words typed into the search bar unless the user wants them ignored. With that being said, you can prioritize or include words by putting them within quotation marks. In order to exclude words users can add a hyphen before any terms they want to exclude.
E.g. Sneakers — Nike
7. How would you find sites/pages similar to an existing one?
In the search bar users should type related followed by a colon and then the website they want to find related content to.
E.g. related:facebook.com
8. How would you confirm the exact form of a quote even if you were missing some of the words?
Type up the quote as normal but place any missing words with an asterix
E.g. Mary had a * lamb
9. How would you search for pages containing two connected words?
Simply type the terms you want connected within the search bar and Google will pull up resources that have those words connected.
10. How would you search for social media content containing a specific tag?
Use the hashtag sign followed by terms specific to the content you are looking for
E.g. #france
