Google Search Tip #1: site operator

Many are not aware that Google has many advanced search operators to optimize the Google experience. Most people simply visit www.google.com, type in a single word or phrase and click search. For the next few weeks, I will feature an advanced search strategy in each new posting.

So let's get started...
Tip #1 is the site operator. This operator is great to use if you only want your hit results to come from a certain site.

Scenario #1:

Let's say you have just set up a gmail account. You are having some issues and want some assistance. As many of us are aware, there are many sites and forums around the world where people are discussing any topic imaginable...look at my blog as an example. We want to ensure that the information and help we receive is actually supported by Google. In this scenario, it would be useful to incorporate the site operator into our search.

The search might include the following:
gmail help site:www.google.com

Notice the first half of your search is the phrase one would normally conduct..."gmail help," but there is also an additional operator. The "site:www.google.com" part of the search asks google to only return results on the google domain, which ensures we get only results from their experts on their website. **Note: There is no space following the "site:" operator.

Scenario #2:

Let's say you are at the local coffee shop and overhear some bystanders discussing a story they saw about green jobs on CNN. You are interested in checking into green jobs, especially with the green aspect invloved with the stimulus package. How do you access this story? Using the site operator, you can search: "green jobs" site:cnn.com.

Take a moment to click on the images below. When you look at the results, notice all the website addresses (urls) are within the specified site. Notice that the cnn search also included adding an option for latest articles.

I hope this tip is helpful in your future online research. Happy Googling!!
:-) DW