Google uses a robot to crawl the web, searching for new pages and documents. When it has found one, it catalogs the web page and adds it to its index, which is a database. Then, through the search bar, we give Google instructions to retrieve web pages with a specific topic. It will retrieve all web pages relevant to the subject and rank them according to what it thinks provides you with the best information to satisfy your query. The ranking is done according to an algorithm.
Most website owners know that people who search the web do not go beyond the first page of Google (thus, they don’t go beyond the top 10 ranked websites on a query). They continuously try to guess Google’s algorithm and optimize their web pages to rank higher. They will use the services of Search Engine Optimizers to do this. Understanding how Google and optimization work will also help you navigate the web better.
In this section, we briefly touch upon Boolean operators and go in-depth on Search operators to help you retrieve the information you need.
Google’s search engine works by matching what you search for with “keywords” in online content. Using too many words in a Google search may limit results. To avoid this, identify “keywords” (and their synonyms) from your Research Criteria and conduct a Google search for these keywords.
This search technique involves the use of Boolean operators in (capital letters) with specific keywords. The three most basic Boolean operators are OR, AND, and NOT. Here’s an example:
For more information, take a look at this video.
You can also download a Boolean Operator Cheat Sheet here.
Boolean Operators are words (AND, OR, and NOT) and symbols (+, |, -) used to narrow or expand your search. This section explains these operators and teaches you where these operators are used on Google’s Advanced Search form.
Note: Make sure to do the exercises at the end of the lesson in sequential order. Then, read the answers by clicking on the arrow to expand the box!! The answers contain a portion of the lesson!
The video below explains the use of Boolean operators.
<aside> 📺 Watch the video to refresh your memory on how Boolean operators work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsiejD-WSSA
</aside>
Return to Advanced Research Techniques
Proceed to Google Advanced Searches