9 Easy Tips for Using Google by Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #Authors

Is Google your friend? It can be. Here are tips on how to use the search engine. http://google.com Anything can be researched from the Google website. It's the world's biggest help menu.

Google Account

If you don't have a Google account, create one now. This will give you an email and much more. Once you create the Google account, set up your search preferences. I suggest opening new results in a new window (or tab). This way, when searching for an item, if you click a link, after you finish reading you can close the window and your search results will still be there. This saves you having to go back a page or six or twenty if you start clicking forward in your article. Be sure to save your preferences.

Search by Image

Click on the Images button and you can then drag an image to the search bar to search for a similar image. Try it with a book cover! You can also type in the name of an item to find images of it. Try typing in the name of a character in one of your books. You'll be surprised what you find.

Find Exact Matches

Type quotation marks around a phrase to find the exact match. "Bringer of Chaos" is the title of one of my books. Typing it this way will make sure the results put all the words together in that order.

Exclude or Include Words

Let's say you want to find the phrase "marketing tips" but don't want to read material written for entrepreneurs. Type "marketing tips" -entrepreneurs (using a hypen for the minus sign). Google will eliminate articles with that term from your search.

To include a specific word add a plus sign and then the word. Google will show you only items that include that word.

Search a Specific Website

This search is super handy for finding a specific reference on a large site. In the Google search bar, type: site:domain.com (where domain is the name of the site you choose). Example - site:kayellallen.com Do not put a space between site: and the domain name. Then type any word you choose to search for. Example - site:kayellallen.com Pietas would bring up all the references to my character Pietas on my site.

Get a Definition

Type Define: then the word you want defined. A box pops up at the top with a dictionary entry including a speaker that will let you hear the word pronounced.

Translate Text

Type translate in the search bar. At the top, a box pops up with Enter Text on one side and Translation on the other. Paste in the foreign word you want to define. Google will attempt to determine language for you, but you can also tell it what language you want. Paste in the text, and it will guess the language and pop up a small bit of text saying "translate from ___" and what it thinks is the language. Click the name of the language and another drop down menu appears above. You can choose from dozens of languages in the drop down.

There is a speaker icon as well. Click that to hear the word/s pronounced. Click the square in the translation box (next to the speaker icon). It will copy the translation for you. You can then paste it into a document or other site.

Search Different Types of Responses

After you enter an item to search and hit return, you'll see tabs appear at the top of the search screen. They are titled All, News, Images, Videos, Maps, More. Click those to see other aspects of your search.

Find Food

This is one of the most useful search tips and is handy for using on your phone. If you decide you want Mexican food but don't know the location of a place nearby, type: mexican food near me. You don't even need to put quotes around it. Google will show you the names of places and even include a map. This assumes you allow Google to know your location. Because I use Google Maps to navigate, this is true for me. It's handy for finding all sorts of places. If I get lost, I can just ask for directions.

Speak Up

On your phone or your computer, click the microphone icon and then ask your question. Very handy for searching when you get hungry --or lost-- while out and about.

Hear about Updates

Follow Google on Twitter for news and updates. https://twitter.com/google

Google Queen

People say I'm the Google Queen. I doubt that, but when people ask me a question, most of the time I can find the answer on Google. You can too, now that you know how to look.

Have any good tips for using a search engine? Leave a comment below. You are welcome to share this post with friends.

About Kayelle Allen

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com
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