What makes a good Googler?
Some people seem to be able to get better results out of Google than others. What are your strategies for getting what you want?
I like to do a lot of shopping and I find it requires a bit of patience. I will usually google what I’m looking for and add the term “prices.” This seems to get me closer to finding comparable prices. It is worth going five or six pages in because sometimes you find smaller places that don’t appear on the big pricegrabber type sites, but they have lower prices.
Another trick I’ve developed is to add “research” or “data” as search terms. This seems to get me to more serious (and useful) sources then I get without those search terms.
Do you have any helpful hints about how you use Google?
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12 Answers
For shopping I almost always turn to Amazon. They are the Walmart of the internet.
Here is a good list of neat search tricks to do.
I type out whatever first comes to mind, then use the results to refine my search. Yesterday, I typed “Employment agency to represent job seekers”. I quickly found the “applicant Employment agency” was more accurate.
Sometimes if I’m shopping for something in particular I’ll switch over to image search since I know any online store will have images but a lot of the junk that would come up in a basic google search won’t.
For shopping, I use Amazon or Google Shopping as a starting point.
For research or data, I use Google Scholar. And Google, but especially Google Scholar.
For getting the search terms right, this infographic might help.
I think @YARNLADY has hit nail on the head, the key to successful Google searching. It’s not just having the proper syntax, but having the right key words or search terms. I think that is the most important thing. Like her, I would start a search with what I want to look for and then narrow it down. A lot of times it takes a certain amount of googling just to find the proper and most accurate search terms for what it is you are looking for. After some googling I find out: Oh! What I’m looking for is called a “centrifuging whatsit” or that the idea that I’m trying to research is referred to as “interstitial whatchamacalliting”, or whatever, and then, armed with the more accurate and precise search terms or key words I can usually find what I’m looking for.
A major clue is having the right vocabulary to describe the thing you are after. I am a pretty decent searcher but I am also willing to make a variety of attempts using different terms to get at what I am seeking . . .
For shopping I like the site The Find. It really gives me good comparison shopping results and it doesn’t just come up with the most high traffic sites like Amazon. You can enter your location to find the item at a brick and mortar store or you can do both web and local. When I find something like a pair of shoes that I want to buy on one site I go to The Find to see if it is a good price or if I can get them for less somewhere else.
When I am looking for fabric and craft items I will put in a description on google and put the word dozen or yard. That will eliminate many sites that have pictures of things but are not selling the item. Often I do a text search and then an image search.
When buying books or movies I have favorite sites too. Google is not the best search engine for books. Half.com is good, as is Addall.com. I lost another name I used to go to but these 2 sites are supposed to be good. Honestly though, I haven’t tried them
http://inkmesh.com/
http://luzme.com/
@Blondesjon ha!!
I have yet to learn this skill. I always think that I am clear and concise in what I’m searching for, but I always have a hard time finding what it is that I want. There seems to be a trick that I’m missing.
@Aethelflaed Thanks for posting that graphic! I think that will help me quite a bit. I have bad google-fu.
@augustlan I’ve been waiting since I saw it a week ago for a question on Fluther to come along so that I could share it with people.
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