Get to Know Your Search Engines

And the industry leaders are…

Well, I guess we should just say "Leader". It's undisputable that Google is by far the leader in search engine usage (Source). But, that does not mean that you are using Google at home when searching the internet.

Let's throw some other names out there: Yahoo, MSN/Microsoft Live, AOL, Ask…I could go on down the list, but that already covers 99% of you.

We all have our reasons for using the search engines we use on a regular basis—maybe you like the pretty colors of MSN, or the charity-supporting aspect of GoodSearch (which is, in fact, powered by Yahoo). Maybe you like the question-and-answer format of Ask.com, or the extensive services and news offered by Yahoo.

But the point of this episode is not which search engine you should use (read: Google!!!), or which one outperforms the rest (read again: Google!!!). What we're going to do today is bring some education to your desktop, giving you some tips and tricks to making the search engines you use more effective than ever before.

How To: Search Google Like an Expert

Using Google in its simplest form does the job for most of us, but if you're like me, you like to have a little more control over your Search Engine Results.

The following tips are based off 12 Quick Tips To Search Google Like An Expert by Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot, a renowned internet marketing blog.

Tip #1: Search for an Explicit Phrase

Most people don't realize that when searching for a phrase, Google actually sees each word as individual keywords. For example, searching for desktop computer support actually returns pages that have either "desktop", "computer", or "support", or all three in their content. So, to search for the explicit phrase, wrap your phrasing in quotation marks, like this:

 Example: "desktop computer support"

Tip #2: Search a Specific Website

Sure, lots of websites have their own built-in search engines, and many of those work very well. But if you are struggling to get a website's search engine to find the content you are looking for, Google is there for you! Simply type in "site:", followed by the full domain name (eg. www.example.com), followed by your keywords, like this:

 Example: site:www.ideascomputers.com website development

Tip #3: Search for Movie Showtimes

Yep, Google even does this—there is no need to pull the newspaper out of the recycling bin anymore when the information you're looking for is only a few keyboard strokes away! Type in "movie:" followed by the movie title or keywords, followed by your zip code. You can also try searching for all movies playing within a specific zip code by dropping out the movie title or keywords, like this:

 Example: movie:slumdog millionaire 57101 (searches for the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" in the zip code 57101)

 Example: movie:57101 (searches for any movies playing within the zip code 57101)

Tip #4: Let Google be Your Phonebook

Search for residential or business phone listings using this method. For a residential search, type in "phonebook:", followed by a person's name and state. You can also drop off the state to get nationwide results. And lastly, you can do a reverse-lookup using the phone number! Try these examples:

 Example: phonebook:bill gates

 Example: phonebook:bill gates CA

 Example: phonebook:617-555-1212

Tip #5: Google's Also Your Calculator

Don't think Google can't do math—because it can! Type in a mathematical expression and get the answer—immediately. Need to do quick addition? Want to know what to tip your pizza delivery person? How about calculating sales tax? Try these examples:

 Use the following operators in your expression: + - * / "% of" ^

 Example: 512 + 655

 Example: 19.99 + 15% of 19.99
 Example: 59.99 + 6.5% of 59.99

For the full listing of tips and tricks from Dharmesh Shah's post, click here: 12 Quick Tips To Search Google Like An Expert