getting more from google
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given at National Career Guidance Show Spring 2011. 92% of UK websearch starts in Google, so this presentation offers 10 ways to improve your Google search experience.TRANSCRIPT
Getting More
From Google
14 billion
The Indexed Web contains at least 14 billion pages (worldwidewebsize.com February 2011).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28705377@N04/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kentwang/
92%
Search Providers Market Share in UK Google 92%, Bing 4%, Yahoo 2%, Ask Jeeves 0.5% Statcounter Globalstats Top search engines in UK January 2011
Ten Tips for better search results
1. Keep it simple
2. Use search syntax
3. Make use of maps
4. Filter your results
5. Use search tools
6. Tailor your search settings
7. Refine with advanced search
8. Personalise by logging in
9. Make Search social
10. Protect your privacy
• Use words likely to appear on the page
• As few terms as possible
• Google ignores words like where, how and the
• Use unique, descriptive terms
i.e. (not “website”, “document”, “company”)
1: Keep it simple
+ - |“ “~ *
2: Use search syntax
+
Search exactly as is (+)
-
Terms you want to exclude (-)
|
Alternative terms (|) pipe
“OR” (in uppercase) is same
“ ”
Phrase search ("")
Synonyms (~)
~
Fill in the blanks (*)
*
3: Make use of maps
• Webcams
• Wikipedia
• Photos
• Video
• View maps made by other users
Google maps and places
tick to reveal more data on map
hover, click more and
How to view user-created maps
1. Search within Google maps
2. Show Search Options
3. Select User-created maps
4: Filter your results
Hash Tags
• Keywords prefixed by the # symbol
• Designed to make it easier to follow comments on specialist topics
• You could use #ncgs if you are tweeting about the National Career Guidance Show
5: Use Search Tools
Click Show Search Tools to
choose from these options
“Something different” offers some
alternative topic areas to look at
6: Tailor your search settings
• Language
• Location
• SafeSearch
• Google Instant
• Google Instant suggests results as you type
• It can be turned on/off in Search Settings
7: Refine with Advanced Search
• Control Geographical Location
• Date range of publication
• File type – e.g. Search for .DOCX or .PPTX
• Reading level or (closed captions on video)
• Specified websites (or newspapers in News)
• Search for sites similar or linking to a website
8: Personalise by logging in
• Log into Google to bookmark results
• Create lists of sites and share with friends
• Search sites you’ve previously viewed
• Personalise background image
• Get notifications with alerts to email or RSS
You can change Google’s background image with your own images or Google’s
recommended images.
www.google.co.uk/alerts
Google Reader is a tool for aggregating RSS feeds
from other websites
iGoogle is a homepage which can also display
RSS feeds
Installing Google Desktop on your PC
• Sidebar to display widgets – including
News and RSS feeds
• Google search for your own PC files,
emails, chat logs and web history
9: Make search social
• Share your content on Google maps
• Add your reviews to Google places
• View search results from your social circle
• Ask questions of real people at vark.com
• Google Toolbar enables you to
• Share your views on webpages with sidewiki
• Share any webpage with your friends
Add people to your Google social circle by:
-Add to Gmail contacts
-Import contacts from other email
-Add social network profiles to your Google Profile
vark.com
“Sidewiki” is a feature of Google Toolbar
“Share” is a feature of Google Toolbar
10: Control your privacy
• Log out of Google from public computers
• google.com/privacy - read about Google’s five privacy principles
• google.com/dashboard – View and edit what Google has about you at
11: Search Features
Type directly into the search bar:
Time Athens
Weather Sydney
500 Km in miles
500 USD in GBP
Manchester United
12.5 x 150
Define career
Movies LS10 1LT
UA940
11: Searrrch like a pirate
• Google Pirate interface
• www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate
google.com/support/websearch
Michael Larbalestier
Prospects Services Ltd
www.prospects.co.uk
Slideshare.net/larbal
Blog: bigchange.co.uk
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruchez/