How To: Use Google and Improve Search Results

We have all been there – searching through thousands of search results trying to find it is we were actually looking for when we began the search. However, what most people are unaware of is that Google ignores everything after the tenth word in a search query. How exactly can you narrow down the results or at least get what you’re looking for closer to the top of your search results? Well, you need to favor obscurity and use specific words that relate to what you’re looking for – this will really help. Not only should you do that, but you should also stay away from common words such as “and”, “or”, “the”, etc. You will also want to stay away from common phrases such as “The man”, “The lady”, and so on.

Another neat trick is to use something called wildcards while searching. For example, if you know the chorus of a song or even just parts of the chorus, but don’t know who sings it or the name of the song you can use Google to find out. See my example here, blink-182 – The Rock Show lyrics search. By placing a wildcard in the search query Google will then be able to match and find the best results for you as it did for me.

There are plenty more of these search tips and techniques that I would love to cover, but I’m curious as to what tips and techniques you use most frequently when searching? Leave a comment!