Web Wise: Nifty Google Tricks

According to the Online Publishers Association, today's Internet user spends nearly as much time searching for and reading content as he or she does with electronic communication and commerce combined. That's up 37 percent since 2003, and represents a complete shift in what we typically are doing when we're online.

Now, can you guess which search engine users turn to most? That's right; it's Google. But what does this have to do with you? Well, wouldn't you like to search the Internet faster and more efficiently?

I came across a couple of articles from Nitin Pai's TechTracer.com that have proved invaluable to me when I'm looking for something specific on the Web. I'd like to share these tips with you, courtesy of Mr. Pai:

• Search by type of file: Using Google, you can search the Web on a particular topic and retrieve content strictly by the type of file you specify, such as .doc, .ppt or .pdf. keyword(s) or phrase filetype:pdf (or ppt or doc)

• Search only educational institutions or universities: Want to look only at scholarly materials? Add this additional parameter to your search:
keyword(s) or phrase filetype:ppt site:edu

• Define any word: Who needs a dictionary when you have Google? define:bureaucracy

This also works with unfamiliar acronyms, phrases or jargon, and other abbreviations: define:SOA; define:Web 2.0; and define:LOL.

• Calculations: No need to search through your computer for that calculator function. 30 * 4.372

These are amusing, but our purpose here is to actually find something. Let's move on.

• Using allintitle: Everyone knows the trick of using quotes in your search, but here's how to kick it up a notch. You know specific words are in the title, but perhaps not necessarily the entire title. Try this: allintitle:transforming front counter

• Need a broader search? You can also use intitle to search for articles that have either "transforming," "front" or "counter" in their content - not all three in the title.
intitle:transforming front counter

• You know the site, just not the exact Web address: Search everything on a particular site.
"transforming front counter" site:autoinc.org

• Recent vs. old: Sometimes you're just not sure of the age of an article. Here's one way to ensure you get only the stories you are looking for. "transforming front counter" inurl:2008
You can also supercharge this search: allinurl:transforming front counter 2008

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Have you got any tricks we should know about? Send them in!

Do you have a question about ASA’s online features? Send it to me at angiek@ASAshop.org. Perhaps your question will appear in a future column!

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