So you are looking for something. It might be a photo. It might be a video. It might be information, a new t-shirt, or a source for your English essay. You, of course, go to Google first. You type in your search, let’s say ‘Dogs in Tuxes’, and hit enter. Boom- you’ve got three million hits. But where do you start?
Before you get overwhelmed and give up, or just start clicking randomly, take a minute. What, exactly, are you looking for? Do you want to post a funny picture to your Facebook account? Do you want to watch a video of a dog at a wedding? Do you want a tuxedo for your dog to wear? Whatever it is you’re searching for, Google has tools to make it easier.
When you search with Google, have you ever noticed the bar at the top left of the page? The one that starts out with Web highlighted? Got it? Okay, now here comes the fun part. The first tab after Web is Images. Click in Images if you want photos or drawings of the dog. Not what you want?
Try the next tab, Videos. Here you get YouTube, Hulu and other video sources from across the web. Not excited by the drooling bulldog? Okay, continue to the next tab. Maps will show the nearest dog clothing stores, News will give you info about the next dog show, and Shopping will scour the web, looking for that perfect doggie penguin suit.
Oh, wait a minute; your thesis is on human behavior as it relates to dogs? And you need some citations?
Try the pull-down menu. By hitting the More tab, you’ll get a plethora of other tools. There you are- Scholar! Here you’ll find out where dogs in tuxes have been discussed in science articles, cited by doctors, and studied by psychologists. You can also search for blogs devoted entirely to dogs with the Blog tab. Or find out how much the average person spends on a doggie suit with the Finance tab.
Any way you go about it, the simple tab bar at the top of Google’s page is a great way to refine your search. Knowing what you’re looking for is the hard part. Finding it with Google is easy.
This is a guest post from Laura Backes, she enjoys writing about all kinds of subjects and also topics related to internet providers in my area. You can reach her at: laurabackes8@gmail.com.
