This wikiHow teaches you the basics of doing a web search with Google, the world's largest search engine. If you've already learned how to perform a basic web search, also learn how to use custom search parameters, tools, or filters to get the best results.
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Method 1 of 3: Performing a Basic Web Search
Step 1. Start a web browser on your phone, computer or tablet
You can use any web browser to access Google, such as Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Mozilla Firefox. If your tablet or phone has the Google app installed (it's a colorful "G" icon in the app list), open the app to access Google without having to use a web browser.
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Android:
On a Samsung tablet or phone, tap the icon that says Internet or Samsung Internet. On other devices, tap Browser, Chrome, Web, or other similar text.
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iPads and iPhones:
Tap Safari (the compass-shaped icon) at the bottom of the home screen to launch the web browser.
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KaiOS:
Run Browser, which is the window used to access the internet.
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Macs:
This computer has the Safari browser installed. Click the compass-shaped icon on the Mac computer dock to launch it. The Safari icon is usually at the bottom of the screen.
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Windows 10:
This computer is equipped with the Microsoft Edge browser. To run it, click the Windows logo in the lower left corner, then click the Microsoft Edge icon in the menu.
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Windows 8 and earlier:
Use Internet Explorer to surf the web. It's a blue "e" icon in the Start menu.
Step 2. Type www.google.com into the address field
The address field is a long column located at the top of a web browser. On a tablet or phone, tap the address bar to bring up the keyboard and start typing. If using a computer, start typing by clicking the address bar.
- Skip to Step 4 if you are using Google apps on your tablet or phone.
- In some browsers, including Safari, Chrome, and KaiOS Browser, you can also type a search directly into the address field, without having to search for a Google site first. Other browsers may have included their own built-in search engine, such as Bing used in Microsoft Edge.
Step 3. Press Return or Enter.
On tablets and phones, tap Search, Go, or Enter. The Google home page will now appear in the browser you are using.
Step 4. Enter the word you want to search for in the search field
For example, if you are looking for a good restaurant in Malang, enter the keyword "best restaurant in Malang".
- You can search for single words (e.g. "communism", "Sumatra"), phrases ("growing avocados in pots", "best liquid soap"), questions ("what is the population of Surabaya?", "Who is the governor of West Papua? "), etc.
- If you prefer to say the word you want to search for, tap or click the microphone-shaped icon (or to launch the Search by Voice feature). Next, follow the on-screen instructions to give Google permission to access your microphone. After that, say what you want to find out loud.
Step 5. Click Google Search or tap the magnifying glass-shaped icon
By doing so, Google will search for the word/phrase you entered and display the search results.
Step 6. Tap or click the desired search result to view it
Click or tap the site, video, photo, or other information that you want to open in the browser. If you want to return to the list of search results, tap or click the back button in your browser (usually a left arrow in the upper left corner).
- Depending on the item you are looking for, the search results will be displayed in a different way. For example, when you search for a word that appears in the dictionary, you will find its definition and how to use it at the top of the search results. If you're looking for a specific place, maybe Google will show you a map.
- If what you are looking for is not on the first page, tap or click Next at the bottom to go to the next page. The most relevant search results are generally displayed on the first few pages of search results.
Step 7. Change the keyword to get another result
If the search results are not satisfactory, edit the keywords you entered in the empty fields at the top of the screen and try again. You can make the search more specific, or even broaden it if the results are too narrow.
- For example, instead of searching for "the best restaurant in Malang", try using the phrase "best soto tripe in Malang 2020".
- If you want better search results, take a look at the Get More Specific Search Results method.
Method 2 of 3: Getting More Specific Search Results
Step 1. Get more precise results using search engine operators
These operators are special characters that are understood by search engines to give more specific search results. Some examples you can use include:
- If there is a string of words that goes into a phrase, such as a quote or a specific object, place quotation marks (") to surround the word series so that Google searches for it exactly. This is perfect for when you have memorized a few lines of song lyrics and want to know the title.
- Add a minus (-) in front of the words you don't want included in your search. For example, if you want to search for " nano ", but don't want to search for iPod Nano, type nano -iPod as the keyword.
- Some common English words, such as " how " and " the ", will generally be ignored by the Google search engine. If you think it's important, add a plus (+) in front of the word.
- To search for social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter, place the symbol @ in front of keywords. For example @wikihow.
- If you only want to get search results on a specific site, add site: in front of the keyword. For example, to search for "Windows 10" on the Indonesian wikiHow site, write: site:id.wikihow.com "Windows 10".
- If you want to search for items within a certain price range, you can use this syntax: guitar $200..$300. In this example, your search results will return guitars priced between $200 and $300.
Step 2. Select the desired type of search results
Depending on what you're looking for, there's an option to show only certain types of search results, such as videos, images, or news articles, using the options at the top of the search results page. How to do it:
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Tap or click Images which is at the top of the search results if you only want to show images that match what you're looking for.
Check out this wikiHow article if you want to know how to Google an image upside down
- Tap or click Videos if you want to show videos that are on various sites (like YouTube), that match your keywords.
- Tap or click News to bring up news articles published in major news sources that match your keywords.
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Tap or click Books to display a list of books that match what you are looking for.
Check out the wikiHow article for more information on how to use Google's book search feature
- You can also use other options, such as Maps (map), Flights (flight), and Finance (finance) along with what you are looking for. For example, when entering an address, you can click Maps to display it on the map, or Flights if you want to plan a trip to that place.
Step 3. Show search results in a certain time range
To show search results only for the last 24 hours, last year, or any other time period, do the steps below:
- choose Tools or Search Tools. On the computer, there is a link Tools at the top of the page, above the results. If you're using a tablet or phone, you may need to swipe left on the link bar above the search results (it says ALL, NEWS, VIDEOS, and IMAGES), and tap SEARCH TOOLS at the end of the blade.
- Tap or click menu Any Time.
- Replace it with another time duration. The search results page will reload and display the results in the selected time range.
- Tap or click clear located at the top of the page to remove the time filter.
Step 4. Select a filter when searching for photos or videos
When searching for photos or videos, use filters to set things like quality, duration, size, and so on:
- choose Tools or Search Tools at the top of video or image search results. This will bring up several menus.
- When searching for a video, use the drop-down menu at the top of the page to select the duration (length of the video), the source (such as Facebook or YouTube), or whether you only want to search for videos that have subtitles (subtitled or subtitles).
- When searching for photos, use the drop-down menu at the top to specify the size, type, color, and usage rights of the photo.
- If you want to do a more specific image search, try using the Advanced Google Image Finder feature.
Method 3 of 3: Performing an Advanced Search
Step 1. Use https://www.google.com/advanced_search to get the most accurate search results
Google's Advanced Search page allows you to set various search parameters in one form. This page can be accessed through a browser on a computer, tablet or mobile phone.
Step 2. Enter keywords in the "Find pages with" section
It's at the top of the form. All boxes do not have to be filled in, you only need to fill in the boxes that are considered important for the search.
- In " all these words ", enter all the words that are considered important in the search. The search results will only show all the words you entered in this box.
- In " this exact word or phrase ", type the exact phrase or sentence that you want. Search results only return sites that contain the phrase or sentence you entered.
- Use the " any of these words " option if you want the search results to contain a specific word OR another word.
- In the " none of these words " field, type any words that you don't want to appear on the search results page.
- In the "numbers ranging from" field, type the range of numbers you want to appear in the search results. This option is usually used to find the size or price of an item.
Step 3. Narrow down the search results at the bottom
Now you can set various filter options for search results. Again, you don't have to select all of the options-you just need to select the options you need to narrow your search.
- Use " Language " to specify the language of the content that will appear in the search results.
- Use " Region " to display pages from a specific area or country.
- You can use the " Last Update " menu to specify the "age" of the page you want to appear in search results.
- Enter the site address in the blank " Site or domain " if you only want to search specific websites.
- In the empty "Terms appearing" field, specify where your keywords appear on a page, whether in the page title or in the article.
- Use " SafeSearch " to choose whether search results also show adult content.
- The " File Type " menu is used to select a file format, such as PDF and Microsoft Word DOC files.
- Use " Usage rights " to filter search results by license status.
Step 4. Click the blue button that says Advanced Search located at the bottom of the form
Now the search results will be displayed according to the filter you set.
Tips
- The same keyword may give different (albeit similar) results if used on different days.
- Many browsers have a built-in search box that you can use to browse Google or other search engines. If this happens, you can directly enter keywords in the box without having to go to the search engine's web page.
- You can adjust your preferences for Google search using the Preferences link next to the Google search box.
- We recommend that you sign in to your Google account first so that you can access all the features of Google's search and internet tools in full.
- Choose your keywords well - choose a word or combination of words that is unique to the topic you want to search for so you can get results related only to the topic you want.
