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6 Powerful Search Tips and Tricks
One year agoGoogleclaimed to have officially indexed 1 trillion pages in its index. Theexorbitant number is supplemented with the estimation that approximately 1 billion new pages are being indexed on the web with each new day. With an astronomical amount of  pages on the web, it can be increasingly difficult to find what you are looking for whensearching.
Statistically about 80% of all sessions on the Web begin with a search.Simply typing a phrase into a search bar can often bring random,unrelated results. We have compiled a list of six tips and tricks that willhelp you find exactly what you are looking for on the web.
1. Learn helpful operator functions.
Operator functions allow youto narrow down your search without using the “Advanced Search”options. Essentially, you are using the Advanced Search optionsthrough the regular search bar.
 
Helpful operator functions:
·
Site Specific:
Use the “site:” operator function to search for pageswithin a specific site. Example: The search [site:digg.com apple] willfind ‘apple’ related pages only on Digg.·
Quotations:
Use quotations to find exact phrases within pages onthe index. Example: The search ["health care reform issues"] will turnup only results with this exact phrase. ["health care reform" issues] willfind pages with the exact phrase ‘health care reform’ and the term‘issues’.·
Exclusion:
Use a dash to exclude certain terms from your search.Example: The search [web apps -apple -iphone] will turn up searchresults related to web applications that do not deal with Apple’spopular Mobile Apps platform.·
Wildcard:
Use the asterisk to denote a wildcard in your search. Thewildcard is helpful when you cannot remember a word in the completephrase. Example: The search [never * give you up] will turn up thelyrics to the Rick Astley song you are searching for.
2. Use a niche search engine for research.
Niche search enginescater to researching a specific topic or discipline. There are nichesearch engines for everything from movie reviews to obituaries.
Helpful niche search engines:
·
USA.gov:
USA.gov gives you access to all searchable informationwithin the federal, state, and local governments. Example: Searchingfor [marijuana] will turn up results related to marijuana reform andinformation within the government.·
Healthline:
Healthline is medical information resource. To ensureaccuracy, the results are filtered by medical personnel. The engine willhelp you find information related to symptoms, treatment options andeven doctors.·
Simply Hired:
Simply Hired is a dedicated job search engine thatcatalogs hundreds of thousands of new jobs every week. The easy-to-use site maps jobs based on location and industry.
3. Use the right-click shortcut.
 The latest versions of the mostpopular browsers allow you to select text, right-click, and then searchfor the phrase. If you are on the latest version of Mozilla Firefox,
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Jed Diamond, Ph.D.

Interesting and helpful article on "search" capabilities.

reply09 / 28 / 2009
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