Getting the Most from the Web's Most-Used Search Engine

By Michael Miller

To google or not to google? Increasingly, that is the question for people searching the Internet for shopping information, travel options or background for a term paper. Choose to Google and you're in good company. Google is the most-used search engine on the Web.

But how much do you really know about Google and what it can do? Did you know Google can also help you manage your finances or check your child's algebra homework? "Almost everyone I know uses Google, but few use it to its full potential" says Michael Miller, author of 75 best-selling how-to books, including his latest tome "Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource," from Que Publishing.

"Most people are just skimming the surface of what Google can do," says Miller. Google searches are highly customizable. You can use the search engine to ferret out address and phone numbers of long-lost acquaintances; search scholarly information; find word definitions; perform complex mathematical calculations; create detailed maps; e-mail, chat, and blog; search and download video, images and music; and track headlines.

Google, says Miller, is a tool like any other. If you know all its capabilities, limitations and the proper way to use it, you'll get the best results. Miller offers some tips for making the most of your Google searches:

• If you're searching for an exact phrase - such as a famous quote or person's name - but don't remember all the words, put the phrase in quotation marks and use the wildcard character (*) to stand in for the missing word. For example, if you can't remember Richard Nixon's middle name, try the search "Richard * Nixon."
  
  
• You don't have to include every single synonym of your keyword in your search. Instead, tell Google to look for similar words by using the (~) symbol in front of your keyword. For example, a search for "~car" will also find results for "vehicle" and "automobile."
  
  
• Google automatically excludes common words such as "the," "where," "what," "and" or "how" from a search. To include those words, but a plus sign in front of the word: "+where the red fern grows."
  
  
• To exclude results that contain a particular word, put a minus sign in front of it. So if you want to search for a "bass" singer, not the "bass" fish, you search would read: bass -fish.
  
  
• If you know the specific file type you're searching for, you can narrow your search by adding "filetype:" to your search. For example, of you're only looking for Word documents, your search query would read: "filetype:doc."
  
  
• If you are looking for a specific number within a range of numbers use the ellipsis to indicate the range: 100 … 300.
  
  
• Found a Web page you like and want to see more similar to it? Use Google's operator "related:" followed by the original Web page address. For example: "related:www.cnn.com" will return news Web sites similar to CNN's home page.
  
  

Finally, did you know you can use Google as a calculator? Just enter a mathematical equation into the search box and hit "enter" on your keyboard. Google will supply the answer - for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and algebra. You can also find the value of many common constants, such as Pi, Avogadro's Number, and the mass of the sun.

Miller, who does not work for Google, first wrote about the search engine seven years ago when it was still in beta testing stages. To learn more about Michael Miller and his books, visit www.molehilgroup.com. "Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource" is available at Barnes & Noble book stores, or online at www.bn.com. Courtesy of ARA Content.

Published in Networking Today, September 2006.