The Google Drill

Sandeep Krishnamurthy

Google is an intrinsic part of our lives now.  You can be more productive at your job if you pick up some tricks on how to conduct certain searches more effectively. 

Spending a few minutes on this today can help you immensely on your job.

 

I will provide you with ten scenarios.  I want you to be able to handle them effectively on Google.  We will use the term "permission marketing" as the default search. 

Scroll to the bottom for answers.

 

(1)                    Do you know how to search for the exact phrase "permission marketing" on Google?

 

(2)                    Do you know how to search for powerpoint files on the Web that have the exact phrase "permission marketing"?

 

(3)                    Do you know how to search for information about the exact phrase "permission marketing" on .edu sites only? 

 

Can you repeat search #1 on (4) Google's Directory, (5) Google's Groups and (6) Google's Images?

 

(7)                    Repeat search # 1.  Look at the results closely.  Next to each result there are two terms- "Cached" and "Similar pages".  Click on these terms for the first few results.  Do you see any differences?

 

(8)                    Get a list of sites that link to my homepage.

 

(9)                    Search for a phone number on Google.  First use 425 352 5000.  What do you find? Now, try other numbers you know- e.g. your company's main phone #, your home phone # etc.  You could also try this one 425 352 5229.  Using parentheses for area code does not make a difference.

 

(10)                   Locate Google's page for Microsoft-related sites.  Searching for permission marketing may not be the best idea here.  I would suggest searching for "operating system".

 

ANSWERS

 

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