5 steps to search online

Different web browsers have default search engines. Google and Bing are the most popular search engines.

If you use Google Chrome or Safari, Google is the default search engine. If you use Microsoft Edge, Bing is the default search engine.

If you want to know more about how search engines work, please read the How search engines work article.

In your web browser, there are two places you can start the search:

URL bar is where you type a web address or URL.

Search box is located at the top centre of the homepage when you open a new tab on your browser.

Sometimes your first search attempt may not answer your question. In this case, you can refine your search by adding more details. For example:

• Time and date: 2024 or September 2024
• Location: Australia or Victoria or VIC
• Description: Use adjectives to specify the information. For example, if you are looking to buy a laptop, you might add keywords like affordable, lightweight, and gaming, depending on what you are looking for.

The search result page shows you both ads and organic results:

• Ads are often located at the top or bottom of the search result page. They are marked with a small label "Ad" or "Sponsored".
• Organic results are results that are not paid for. They are listed based on their relevance to your query.

It is also important to make sure the quality of the search results is good. You can consider:

• Relevance: Does the result answer your question or provide information for what you’re looking for?
• Authority: Can you trust the website? Sometimes, you can tell by checking the URL. This article includes information on how to read URLs.
• Timeliness: When was the content published? Is the information up to date?
• Navigation: Is the website easy to navigate? Can you find any grammar of text errors? A clear and user-friendly website sometimes indicates it is more professional and reliable.

Advanced search operators are powerful tools that can help you refine your search queries and find exactly what you’re looking for more efficiently. Here are some key operators and how to use them:

• Quotation Marks (“”): Use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase. For example, searching for "climate change impact" will return results that include this exact phrase.
• Minus Sign (-): Use the minus sign to exclude certain words from your search. For instance, jaguar -car will show results about the animal or the software, excluding those about the car.
• Site:: Use the site: operator to search within a specific website. For example, site:bbc.com climate change will return results about climate change from the BBC website only.
• Filetype:: Use the filetype: operator to find specific types of files. For example, filetype:pdf climate change will return PDF documents related to climate change.
• Intitle:: Use the intitle: operator to find pages with specific words in the title. For example, intitle:climate change will return pages with “climate change” in the title.

By combining these operators, you can create highly specific search queries that save time and improve the relevance of your search results.

• Web browser: An application you can use to access websites, such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
• Search engine: A website tool that helps you find information on the internet by typing in keywords. Examples include Google or Bing.
• URL: Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It is the address of a specific web page.
• User-generated content: Original content created by users or customers.
• User interface:The design and layout of a webpage.
• Adjectives: Words you use to describe something.

GCF Global (How to search the web, Search suggestions, Refining your search, Content specific searches, Recognising ads)

How to search on Google

How to search on Microsoft Bing

End of article