LEARNING TO DO SMARTER SEARCHES IN GOOGLE

If you are like most television station people, Google.com is your constant companion in the search for relevant information. Surprisingly, most people have never really taken the time to learn to use this powerful tool effectively. Implementing a few simple tricks can hone your searches, revealing the right information more quickly.
Going to the Second Page is Wasted Time.A lot of people put one or two general words in the search box, then press return. They are then presented with a long list of results, most of which do not match. This is a bad use of your time. The best Google searches do not require scanning page after page of results. You will find what you need faster if you get very specific in your search description, then scan the results to see if you were successful. If what you need is not on the first page, don't go to the second page. Instead, narrow your parameters in the search box and do another query.
Use QuotesQuotes are one of the most powerful tools in Google search. Google starts looking for web pages that contain all the words put in the search box. The terms can be in any order or at any place on the web page. For example, let's say you were looking for the famous Churchill quote, "Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." Unfortunately, all you remember is the end, ...loss of enthusiasm. If you put this term in the Google search box with no quotes around it, Google looks at all pages that have these three words. This search will yield articles about workplace feminism, a charm blog, and opposition during World War One. If you put "loss of enthusiasm" in quotes, Google looks for instances where those three words appear one after the other, in this precise order. Churchill's quote jumps to the top of the list. Whenever you're searching for a phrase that contains common words, using quotes can increase your chances of success.
Use the Minus SignIf you want Google to skip over pages that contain specific words, put the minus sign in front of those words. For example, if you are searching for the hottest news on Britney Spears, an optimal search would look like this: "Britney Spears" -pickle -weapon -aboriginalThis would eliminate all pages that contain the word spears that discuss the latest trends in dill pickle recipes, medieval weaponry, and native Australian hunting techniques. Remember to avoid excluding common words when using the minus sign. For example, "-the" would exclude most of the web pages in the world.
Use the Plus SignJust as the minus sign eliminates words from a search, the plus sign accentuates words in the search, giving extra weight to pages that have this word. If you were looking for pictures of the planet Neptune, your search might look like this:Neptune planet +photo -god -roman -horseThis would weight the search towards astronomy sites with photos, and away from horse racing and Roman mythology.
Use OrThere are times you don't want Google looking for all the terms in the search, but for any of the terms in the search. For example, let's say you are looking for the latest information on crime in metro Boston. Naturally, you would include Boston in your search, but you would also want to include the names of the other neighboring communities. You might enter the search as:"Crime Statistics" Boston Brookline SomervilleBut this would only find pages that contain the names of all three communities. By using the or command, your search would be more accurate because it would bring up pages that contain crime statistics on Somerville, where Boston and Brookline are not mentioned. So the more successful search would look like this:"Crime Statistics" Boston or Brookline or SomervilleThis would bring up all pages that contain information on each of these individual communities.
Use the Tilden SignThis is the little squiggly (~) character right beside the "1" key. There are times when you are looking for something, but don't know quite what to call it. Let's say you're looking for information on corruption in Congress. Where do you start? You don't know whether to search Senate, House, Congress or committee. Putting the tilden in front of the word signifies that you're looking for "words similar to this." Google will include synonyms to those words, expanding your search.
These are just a few of the simple ways you can optimize your searches. That little Google search box has many more tricks in store for you.