Skillful search with Google

It is not so crazy to think that there is information about it on the internet. Search engines such as Google make all this information findable. Google seems like a simple page with a search bar. But that search bar gives access to more than 1.83 billion websites worldwide. Whether you are looking for a bicycle repair shop in your hometown or background information about a holiday destination; Google will find it. The site works on the basis of keywords. Type in one or more words and Google will indicate on which sites those words are found. The more concrete and extensive the search terms, the better the result.

Start a search like this:

• Start an Internet program. Google works with all programs, so for example with Edge, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
• Go to www.google.nl
• The Google overview window opens. Enter a search term in the search field.
• Search suggestions appear as you type. You can click it, but you don’t have to.
• Didn’t click on a suggestion? Press the Enter key.
• Google shows a list of results. Below each link is a headline and a short description. Click on the heading to visit that site.
• If necessary, click the Back button of the Internet program to return to the search results. That button is usually a left arrow.

The search results page isn’t just a list of websites. Categories are also listed below the search bar. Which categories are listed here depends on the search query. Features include Images, Shopping, Maps, Videos, News, More, and Tools. Filters within the search results. For example, if you search for ‘Funny cat’, you can search for fun cat videos in the ‘Video’ category. By default ‘All’ is checked.

• Perform a search using the steps in the previous paragraph.
• Click on one of the categories and the list of results changes. For example, click Videos to see the videos found with Google.
• Click the Back button in the Internet program to return to the previous window.

Suppose you are not looking for a website at all, but an image. Then you can search for it directly, without having to do all the previous steps first.

• Go to www.google.nl
• Click on the top right Pictures.
• The search window changes slightly, under the Google logo is now the word ‘Images’. Enter one or more keywords.
• Click the blue button with the magnifying glass or press the Enter key.
• An overview of all found pictures opens. Click on the image to enlarge the image.
• The image is enlarged between the other search results. To the right of the image you have the option to visit the page, view the original image and view the image details.
• Click on the cross in the top left to close the image and return to the search results.

You can also search with advanced options. All kinds of conditions can be added to the search. For example specifying certain words that should not appear in the results. For example if you are looking for a Beatrix who is not the princess. Then you indicate that the term Beatrix should be searched, but that sites that mention the princess are excluded.

• Go to https://www.google.nl/advanced_search
• After ‘All these words’, type the search term.
• After ‘None of these words’, type the term that should not appear in the search results.
• Click on the blue button at the very bottom Advanced Search.
• A list of results opens. Below each link is a short description. Click on a heading to visit that site.
• If necessary, click the Back button in the browser to return to the search results.