Advanced Google Search

Go beyond the simple Google search and become a Google Power User!
This tutorial is created with a business student in mind, but may be useful to anyone.

General Search Tips

– Think about “who cares” to collect or produce information & start there.
– Review your results for ideas.
– Look for leads in references and footnotes/endnotes. Go to the original source.
– Build a list of synonyms and broader/narrower terms when searching.
– Use CTRL+F (or ⌘+F for Apple) to quickly find your search term on a web page or online document.
– Search again with different keywords. There is no one “best” strategy.
– Keep track of your research results and cite properly

Advanced Google Search

Want more relevant targeted results?

Use Advanced Google Search. Example: Find articles on marketing mistakes in China, but exclude stories about Coca-Cola.

Try It!

Search Operators

Get more search power in a simple Google box.

`` `` Exact phrase search

Use quotation marks when searching for the exact phrase.

OR Any or all of the words

Use OR (in caps) to expand your search to find pages that might use any or all of the words.

- Exclude words

Use the dash (without a space after) to exclude words from the search.

site: Search only a specified site/domain.

Must include colon, without a space after.

* Wild card

Use an asterisk (with a space before & after) for any unknown terms or missing words in a phrase.

filetype: Search a particular file extension

Search only specified file extensions/types – .pdf, .xls, .ppt, .doc, etc. (must include colon, without a space after)
Find reports, presentations, data, and more.

Full List of Search Operators.

View Example

Google Search Tips

Start broad, then filter your results. Look for filters in the header and on the left menu.
Ignore capitalization and punctuation (except Search Operators).
Word order matters.
Try auto-suggested searches.
Use relevant terms to find what you want:
- [Product name] market research report, market size, industry trends, outlook, overview, statistics

Logged into your Google account? Using Chrome as your browser? You may get additional search options and different results.
Search results are not always the same. Google constantly tweaks its search algorithm; search features are dropped and added with little or no notice.
For your eyes only: Google personalizes searches based on your search history. Control what you share with Google through privacy settings.
For more visit – Google Help.

Verbatim Search

Want to avoid “corrected” search suggestions from Google?

Run your search and select the Search tools and then Verbatim to find the exact phrase, specific spelling, an original page, and even uncover plagiarism.

Advanced Image Search

Want better results when searching for images? Use Advanced Image Search.

Google Images may include tables, graphs, and diagrams from presentations and market research reports where you can get useful information about industry trends, market size, and more.

Example: Find images on medical device industry.

Try It!

Images for Reuse

Need to find copyright-cleared images for presentations or other reuse?

1. Select usage rights, as noted above in Advanced Google Image Search, or
2. Run a Google Image search and select Search tools, then Usage rights, and filter accordingly.

Reverse Image Search

Already have an image and need to find similar images?
Want to know where it first appeared? Use Reverse Image Search.

Practice

Think you have the hang of this? Test yourself with the following practice questions. There are five questions. You might want to complete a Library Quick Search if you are unsure about how broad or narrow the topic is.

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