Become an Expert Google Searcher in an Hour

Stephan SpencerCo-Author of The Art of SEO; Author of Google Power Search; Founder of Netconcepts

Who Am I?

• Author of Google Power Search &Co-author of The Art of SEO

• Founder of SEO agency Netconcepts• Sold Netconcepts to Covario in 2010• Lived in New Zealand for 8 yrs, returned to US in

2007• Invented GravityStream, a pay-for-performance SEO

technology (now Covario’s Organic Search Optimizer)• Now a free agent, developing an SEO coaching

program which will launch soonish

Googling for Answers

• But sometimes the answers are elusive– Knowledge workers spend 15-30% of their day

searching for information. More than half of their searches fail. (Source: IDC)

• Garbage In, Garbage Out– An unfocused search yields irrelevant search

results• The Key? Learn how to search smarter!

Pop Quiz!

• You want to find out how many women buy cars in the United States. What’s the best Google query to find out?– what is size of female car buying market– how many women buy cars in the u.s.– market size car buyer female u.s.– market size ~car ~buyer ~female u.s.– buy cars market female OR women

5 Keys to Smarter Searching

1. Cutting through the clutter2. Casting a wider net3. Mastering the Google interface4. Employing specialized search services5. Assembling your toolbox

1. Cutting Through the Clutter

• Exact phrases: “”• Don’t ask a question• Singular vs. plural• Word order• Boolean logic: -, +, (), OR, |• Search operators• Date based searching (“More search tools”)

Search Operators

filetype: Restrict results by file type extension (pdf, doc, xls, ppt)

site: Search a particular domain

intitle: & allintitle: Words must appear in title

inurl: & allinurl: Words must appear in URL

daterange: Pages added/updated within a date range (in Julian format)

define: Glossary definition

2. Casting a Wider Net

• Synonym operator (~)• Asterisk wildcard operator (*)• OR (|)• Number ranges (..)• related: operator

3. Mastering the Google Interface

© 2004 Stephan Spencer * Netconcepts *

www.netconcepts.com * sspencer@netconcepts.com

4. Employ Specialized Search Services

• Soople• Google Patent Search• Google Books• Google Scholar• Google Q&A (instant answers)

– The Google search box is a phonebook, a calculator, a measurement converter, a dictionary, a package tracker, an airline timetable, a street map atlas, and a stock ticker

5. Assembling Your Toolbox

• Download & install the Google Toolbar• Subscribe to Google Alerts• Set your Start Page• Buy a reference book on Google• Create a Google cheat sheet• Take the GoogleGuide.com tutorial

In Summary

1. Cut through the clutter2. Cast a wider net3. Master the Google interface4. Employ specialized search services5. Assemble your toolbox

Q&A

• What can you do tomorrow that will improve your searching prowess? Write down 3 things. Get ‘em done!

• To contact me: stephan@stephanspencer.com• To get a copy of this slide deck, email

admin@stephanspencer.com

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