Austyn Roberson's Profile

The
biggest problem people have with search engines (perhaps) is that they're
so good! You can type in a word and within a fraction of a second you'll
have 20,000 pages to look at. Most of those pages will not be exactly
what you're after, and you have to spend a load of time wading through
the 19,993 that aren't quite right.

If you know what you're after, why not start by asking
for it as precisely as you can?

Think of all the words that would always appear on
the perfect page. Put those in the WITH
ALL THE WORDS field.

Think of all the distracting pages that might also
turn up because one or more of your search terms has multiple meanings.
What words can you think of that might help you eliminate those pages?
Put those in the WITHOUT
field.

If there's a term with synonyms, either of which might
appear on the page you're after, put them in the WITH ANY OF THE
WORDS field.

Try each of the searches
now, and record how many sites you find.

As you do
each search, take note of what kinds of things turn up.
Notice that the more specific the terms you include and
exclude, the more focused your search.

Words
hang together in predictable ways. If you type a phrase into the EXACT
PHRASE field in Google, you'll be able to locate pages in which those
words appear together in that order. This is obviously useful for finding
things that have a proper name consisting of several words (e.g., places,
book titles, people).

It's also useful when
you can remember a distinctive phrase in something you've read, but
now need to locate it. What's the rest of the poem that starts with
"Jenny kissed me when we met"?

The ability to search
for phrases can be surprisingly useful. Do you suspect that something
your student turned in was plagiarized, or at least heavily borrowed
without attribution? Type in a phrase or two from the paper and see
if it turns up elsewhere! You can also check to see if your own work
is being copied without your permission.

Another use for this
feature: stamping out urban legends. Next time you get an e-mail warning
you about a repressive new law about to pass or a vicious computer virus
about to attack, check it out before passing on misinformation to others.
Type in any unusual or unique phrase you see in the e-mail and see if
others have commented on this particular rumor.

The
next net is not Google-specific, though you'll find yourself using it
often once you get better at Googling.

Often you'll find a
terrific page nestled deep down inside a folder inside a folder inside
a folder. You suspect that there are other pages you'd find interesting
nearby. How to you find them? Trim the URL step by step.

Sometimes you'll get
a notice saying FORBIDDEN! Sometimes you'll get a list of files and
directories. Sometimes you'll get an web page with more links. Each
step back tells you more about where the page came from.

This is also a good
strategy to try when a page goes missing (that is, you get a 404 message).
Perhaps someone at the site moved the page into a new folder or renamed
a folder. Trace your way back to the top and drill down again to see
if you can find it.

Once
you've found something you like on Google, it's very easy (and useful)
to find similar pages. How? Below the advanced search fields that you've
been using up until now are another two fields. These allow you to find
pages that Google has deemed to be similar to or linked to any URL you
type in.

How does Google know
that two pages are similar? The details of the inner workings of search
engines are a trade secret, but it's safe to assume that it's based
on similarities in the words and the external links on each page. All
that matters is that it works surprisingly well, especially when you're
not sure what key words to look for.

Use this tool to find
more of a good thing. Use it to find pages that are linked to a page
that you find useful. Chances are, those pages might be useful to you,
too.

And there's always ego
surfing: if you've uploaded a page of your own to a public server and
it's been there for awhile, find out who else is linking to it.