Google is not just a search engine with an extensive database, but a tool that can be optimized to enhance your search experience. Understanding how to maximize your search on Google can significantly improve the quality of your results. Google has been recognized as a top-tier search engine, receiving numerous accolades from reputable sources such as PC Magazine, Wired Readers Raves, PC World, Forbes Magazine, CNET, and the Webby Awards. This article will delve into the workings of Google, its database of sources, and how to conduct an effective search.
Google was established in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two Ph.D. candidates at Stanford University. Their goal was to create a powerful yet user-friendly platform for finding the most relevant answers to search queries. Google employs a complex text-matching technique to find pages that are both important and relevant. It not only returns pages containing all search terms by default (unless an OR operator is used), but it also considers the pages linking to that page. Google's proprietary page-ranking system, which partly depends on how often other sites link to that site, plays a significant role in ranking search results. This information was detailed in a Wall Street Journal article by Walter S. Mossberg titled "Search No Further: Google Is the Best Search Engine" published on March 1, 2001.
The search results provide a brief summary of each web page, featuring a short excerpt or snippet of the text matching the query with the search terms highlighted in boldface. Google also provides a link to a snapshot of that page, known as a "cached version", which Google saved when it first indexed the site. Google also offers a link to a list of similar sites, though they may not be exactly on target.
Google's database of sources was developed through an automated computerized search, based on directly indexing web pages through a full text analysis and on including additional pages through link analyses. It examines the text in and around hyperlinks, using this information to help define the pages which the links point to. If it finds that many pages point to the same site, using specific words to do so, Google presumes the site is relevant for those words, even if it hasn't visited that site. This link analysis enhances its search capability.
For instance, when Google reported a full-text index of 560 million URLs in June 2000, making it the largest search engine on the Web, its link data expanded its reach to another 500 million URLs or about 1 billion pages. This was reported by an article in Search Engine Watch: "Google Announces Largest Index" (from The Search Engine Report, July 5, 2000). As of November 2000, its reach was even larger, when it reported indexing 602 million pages and 1.2 billion pages through link data - more than double the size of any other search engine.
To illustrate the effectiveness of Google's search engine, let's consider a search for organizations involved with organizational behavior, more specifically with psychological profiling, a field within organizational behavior. The search was further narrowed down to programs these organizations offer in California. The search started broad and then became more focused. The search terms used were "organizational behavior", "organizations", "California", and "psychological profiling". Various combinations of these terms were used to narrow down the search.
The most targeted search in English only was as follows: "organization OR organizations" "'organizational behavior'" "psychological" "profiling" "workshops" OR "seminars" OR "conferences" OR "meetings" "California", which resulted in 111 listings (176 if California was dropped). The search results were then reviewed to pick out selected organizations which offered programs of interest.
While Google is an effective search tool, it does have some limitations. For instance, it is not possible to screen out pdf files or limit the search to more recent files after a certain date. Using specific years (i.e., 2000 or 2001) didn't work well. By contrast, using some of these words in Alta Vista resulted in a greater proportion of non-academic listings. However, Alta Vista also had some overlap in the listings with Google.
