The Google Search Guide: Search Modifiers (Part 2)

READ PART 1​

Search Modifiers - Part 1:

Search modifiers are things included in your search that tell the search engine exactly what to do. These modifiers are often overlooked by amatuer searchers, and can often result in very useful sites being lost in the folds of pages. Before searching, remember to have your intent. These modifiers will do you no good if you do not have your intent known and ready to be explored. Below is a list of common search modifiers for use in Google. (This list is copied from http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=136861)

• ("") - Double Quotations = These allow you to search for phrases. If the site does not contain the exact words in the exact combination displayed within the double quotations, you will not see it within your search results.
  
• (site:) - Search within site = This allows you to search a particular word or phrase within a predefined site. For instance, I could use: "Deacon Frost" site:sythe.org, and I would only get results from Sythe.org containing the phrase "Deacon Frost".
  
• (*) - Wildcard = This will allow you to broaden your search a bit as a wildcard would normally do. To take the example from the Google page: The query [ Obama voted * on the * bill ] will give you stories about different votes on different bills.
  
• (+) - Search as is = The plus sign allows you to search for a word exactly as you typed it without any interference. It is kind of like the double quotations, in this sense. Remember to not put a space after the modifier.
  
• (-) - Excluded Words = This allows you to narrow your search by selecting words you do not want in your results. For instance, you may be looking for Sythe, but you don't want any Runescape market stuff, so you would search Sythe -Runescape. Remember that there should not a space after the modifier.
  
• (OR) - The OR Operator = This kind of works like a wildcard, only a little more selective. Let's say you want to find a person, but do not know their last name for sure. So, for instance, say you know the two possible names, you could search like so: Beth Smith OR Cook would give you results for both names intermingled.

Search Modifiers - Conclusion

Combined with intent, search engine modifiers can play a very useful roll. They narrow down your results if used properly, and can sometimes give you exactly what you're looking for. I suggest using them frequently, as getting used to them does take some time. Remember, however, that a Search Modifier is only useful with a well thought-out intent.

READ PART 3​