Blogger! Pop Up Blockers! Page Rankings! Pornography! Images! Three Billion Web Pages! Free Toolbar!
Written: Jul 02 '03 (Updated Jan 19 '04)
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If you’ve used other search engines and weren’t satisfied with the results, then you need to Google it! In the past I was a dedicated Alta Vista user then an Epinions member turned me on to All The Web but after I found Google – I never went back to either. Google gave me better results, cleaner listings and the ability to refine the searches to my needs. But Google is more than just a search engine; it offers you the ability to search for images, groups, directories and news all based on the key word that you type in the search box. For me, a Lego fanatic, this is one of the best ways for me to get the latest Lego news, photos and hear about the different groups that are popping up. Sure I can use the main Google page to get these results but by using the smaller internal searches, I get better results without having to weed through the fluff.
How It Works
Go to the main page – www.google.com - and enter a word or phrase in the search box and click the button. You’ll be given the results based on how close the pages come to your request and if you misspell a word, it will always offer you suggestions. You can refine your searches, filter them to exclude foreign pages and which method you want to use to search [text, images, groups etc]. The search results will show the title of the page, the first few lines of the page, the URL, similar pages and the ability to access the cached version in case the main page or original page isn’t available.
Most Popular Searches
Google picks out the words and terms that best suit your needs but if you need to tweak the results you can do so at the Google page. Some of the most popular searches are Pamela Anderson, Harry Potter, Barbie, Metallica, tATu. Kazaa, MP3, WWE, NASCAR and Federal Do Not Call List. The most popular searches change depending on the number of requests for a word, phrase or string and you can refine your results by using “quotes” around a word or phrase. Using the Google toolbar you’ll be able to look and see which of the return searches are the most popular according to Google and when a page goes up or down on the list. I’ve used a lot of different search engines and Google gives me the best results within a search string or language and sorts them to my specifications.
Search Results
Here are a few examples of some not-so-popular words and phrases and what Google fetched for me ….
"bunny slippers" – 10,400 results
“edible underwear" – 6,060 results
"leather fetish" – 47,800 results
"liquid latex" – 26,700
"red light bulbs" – 746
"glow in the dark glasses" – 79
"robert deniro, naked" – 3
So, as you can see, chances are whatever you throw at Google, it will be able to find something that meets your request. By placing the “quotes” around words you will get results of just that word or phrase which could leave out some good links but you’ll always get the requests words or phrase highlighted on the return and visible with colored words when you view the cached link. You’ll be shown the number of results that Goggle found as well as the ability to view as many search results as you want per page and the amount of information that is displayed about each result.
I use Google a lot to check out reviews at Epinions to see if they are lifted / stolen / plagiarized from other sites. All it takes is a simple cut and paste of a sentence [up to twenty words] and Google does the rest. It’s pretty interesting to see the results, especially when someone claims that they write the review / reviews and Google tells you otherwise. One of the best was a reviewer that cut and pasted about 15 reviews in one day then emailed me after I NH’ed the reviews, left the links to the original and reported it to Epinions. “I wrote all those reviews you dumb [bleep] so get your [bleep] facts straight before you {bleep] accuse someone of [sleep] stealing reviews”. Funny thing is I went back through all the reviews and then left comments with the original authors names … and that was the last I heard from that person. Even if you aren’t using Google for this purpose, it does come in handy when you only know a line from a song but can’t think of the title or artist. Type in the sentence or phrase and Google will fetch the results. Same thing for passages from the Bible, books or movies. Whatever it is you’re looking for, there’s a good chance Google can help you find it.
Google Toolbar
If you are a person that uses search bars on a regular basis, the Google Toolbar is a great way to improve your productivity, eliminate the number of windows you have open and store recent searches. The toolbar downloads in about a minute and docks right in your Internet Explore or web browser. I am not sure how this works for AOL users or if they can even use this with AOL, but anyone with a cable connect should have no problem using the toolbar. Some of the great features are page ranking where you can see how popular a page is according to Google’s requests and searches. These are ranked on a scale of 1 through 10 with some of the most popular sites being Yahoo [8 out of 10], CNN [9 out of 10] and AOL [8 out of 10]. The Page Info module allows you to translate pages, find pages that are similar and access cached snapshots of the page. The last feature is great when you want to see revisions on a page or a site is down for maintenance and you need to access it anyway.
The toolbar also allows you to instantly to go to the Google News page to get the latest breaking news and access other parts of the site. This section has everything from news and current events to entertainment and sports updates. Having the toolbar eliminates having to go to the Google page and navigate to the news section saving you a few clicks along the way. You can customize the toolbar to open searches into a new window, access the Google groups and images sections and go to the Google Web Directory. The toolbar is free and doesn’t cost you a single penny to use it [unless you use Google Answer wish is a paid service]. I’ve never had an issue with it freezing my computer or crashing it and it only takes one click to clear the Google search history.
The only system requirements are that you have to have Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 or XP and a Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later version installed on your computer. You can check out the toolbar perks here: toolbar.google.com and download yours today for free.
Toolbar 2.0
If the normal features aren’t enough or you just want more from Google, you can download the new 2.0 toolbar that allows you to auto fill pages, add pages via the Blogger program to your own website instantly, block pop up advertisements and more. All of these features and more are available with the 2.0 version but it isn’t a bump free ride. This is still in a testing phase so you might encounter a few small issues. When you first download it you’ll get some pop up boxes helping to tweak your personal toolbar and have it work best for you. You will also be told that pages you visit will be sent back to Google for their page ranking service however no personal information will be sent, just the URL’s that you visit.
Advertise With Google
If you are a business you can set up an account with Google to have your pages listed with search results. Sometimes this isn’t necessary, if your pages are popular or in demand chances are Google will eventually add them when their spider crawls your page but if you want guaranteed listings, you can opt for a pay-per-click account. This means you only pay when someone clicks on your link and you have the ability to set a certain number of clicks per day or week so you’ll never get zapped with a huge fee or charge. If you are a small business, this is a great way to advertise without going broke in the process. For larger companies, Google offers you the ability to see how much activity there is on your pages, which ones are the hottest, higher rankings on results and side bar ads.
Things To Know
Google will search for anything – sex, money, insurance rates, area codes, toys, shopping sites and even names. If you want to see what others have been looking at, you can check the last fifteen to twenty searches through the drop down box and see exactly where your spouse or lover has been. Sure that seems a little tricky but hey – if they don’t erase the Google search trail – it’s their fault. You can search for long lost friends, who has the best price on a vacation package or cruise or what the hottest television show is in Brazil. With Google, anything is possible. But with all the good, there are a few bads to consider. First off, you will get spoiled with Google so you might not want to use any other search engine.
The Bottom Line
For me, Google is the best option when searching the web. The toolbar allows me to search from a page, have search results highlighted when I choose to view the cached version [great for catching plagiarized reviews] and give me what I want in the way of results – not what’s most popular according to other users. If you are someone that wants the latest news, best results and easiest search features, Google is the way to go! Regardless of your web experience or user knowledge, this search engine is easy to use, has the quickest searches and allows you the most options when doing refined searches.
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Pop Up Blocker Updates
07-08-03 - 463 pop ups blocked
07-18-03 - 1,018 pop ups blocked
07-23-03 - 1,558 pop ups blocked
07-28-03 - 1,968 pop ups blocked
08-05-03 - 2,370 pop ups blocked
08-11-03 - 2,660 pop ups blocked
08-23-03 - 3,492 pop ups blocked
09-13-03 - 4,015 pop ups blocked
10-06-03 - 5,302 pop ups blocked
10-28-03 - 6,344 pop ups blocked
11-21-03 - 7,401 pop ups blocked
01-04-04 - 9,004 pop ups blocked
01-19-04 10,012 pop ups blocked
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