Searching for Customers II: Google

There is, literally, a world of information that can be found by the Google search engine. The problem is to unleash the information without overwhelming you. Thomasnet does a much better job of allowing you to control the information, but if you utilize Google properly, you can find anything.

Why Google rather than other search engines like Bing or Yahoo? The information returned from a Google search is much more accurate and you have much more control of the results than with any other search engine. So let's look at how we put a saddle and harness on the Google stallion.

When you type "google.com" into your browser, you get a page with a Google search field (along with, occasionally, a seasonal or historical specific Google animations).

Type the thing you want to search for. And here is where we all underestimate Google. Think of the question you want to ask--the full question, like "Who services air compressors in Vermont"

Google will respond with millions of results.

IMPORTANT: Click on "Search Tools" tab at the top of the window. Click on the "Any Time" tab and you'll have a choice of time frames for the search results, including customizing the time frame. I usually pick "Past Year". If you don't you'll get results that may be decades old about companies that have long since gone out of business.

Next to this tab is a tab called "All Results". Click on that and you have the option to have the search performed with the words you chose "verbatim" (exactly as written) or not. Choosing "All Results" will get you results about "air" or "compressors" as well as "air compressors".

Other tabs include "Web" which gives you all results with websites.

"Shopping" will give you sites that sell air compressors online.

"Images" will give you pictures of air compressors.

"News" will give you news about air compressors. If you couple that with limiting the time frame to "past month", you will get news about air compressors from the past month.

Under the tab "More", you can get videos on air compressors, books on air compressors and apps involving air compressors--like calculators.

I suspect that very few people realize what's available from a Google search.

Use the tabs to limit your searches to exactly what you're looking for.