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It might be unofficial, but it's the best online guide on how to use
Google I have ever seen. Pay it a visit.
|
Best tutorial on Google. Great for beginners as well as Internet
research specialists. It introduces all the functionality
and operators in Google in a very clear way and always with
examples.
|
Google strives to make it easy to find whatever you're seeking,
whether it's a web page, a news article, a definition, something to
buy, or text in a book. By understanding what appears on a results
page, you'll be better able to determine if a page includes the
information you're seeking or links to it.
After you enter a query, Google returns a results list ordered by what
it considers the items' relevance to your query, listing the best
match first. Sponsored links sometimes appear above to the right
of the search results.
In this course segment, you'll learn:
If you aren't interested in learning how Google creates the index and
the database of documents that it accesses when processing a query,
skip this description. I adapted the following overview from Chris
Sherman and Gary Price's wonderful description of How Search Engines
Work in Chapter 2 of The Invisible Web (CyberAge Books,
2001).
Google runs on a
distributed network of thousands of low-cost computers and can
therefore carry out fast parallel processing. Parallel processing is
a method of computation in which many calculations can be performed simultaneously, significantly speeding up data
processing.
Google has three distinct parts:
- Googlebot, a web crawler that finds and
fetches web pages.
- The indexer that sorts every word on
every page and stores the resulting index of words in a huge database.
- The query processor, which compares your search query to the
index and recommends the documents that it considers most relevant.
Let's take a closer look at each part.
Googlebot, Google's Web Crawler
Googlebot is Google's web crawling robot, which finds and retrieves
pages on the web and hands them off to the Google indexer. It's easy
to imagine Googlebot as a little spider scurrying across the strands
of cyberspace, but in reality Googlebot doesn't traverse the web at
all. It functions much like your web browser, by sending a request
to a web server for a web page, downloading the entire
page, then handing it off to Google's indexer.
Googlebot consists of many computers requesting and fetching pages
much more quickly than you can with your web browser. In fact,
Googlebot can request thousands of different pages simultaneously. To
avoid overwhelming web servers, or crowding out requests from human
users, Googlebot deliberately makes requests of each individual web
server more slowly than it's capable of doing.
Googlebot finds pages in two ways: through an add URL form, www.google.com/addurl.html,
and through finding links by crawling the web.
Unfortunately, spammers figured out how to create automated bots that
bombarded the add URL form with millions of URLs pointing to
commercial propaganda. Google rejects those URLs submitted through
its Add URL form that it suspects are trying to deceive users by
employing tactics such as including hidden text or links on a page,
stuffing a page with irrelevant words, cloaking (aka bait and
switch), using sneaky redirects, creating doorways, domains, or
sub-domains with substantially similar content, sending automated
queries to Google, and linking to bad neighbors.
So now the Add URL form also has a test: it displays some squiggly
letters designed to fool automated "letter-guessers";
it asks you to enter the letters you see — something like an
eye-chart test to stop spambots.
When Googlebot fetches a page, it culls all the links appearing on the
page and adds them to a queue for subsequent crawling. Googlebot
tends to encounter little spam because most web authors link only to
what they believe are high-quality pages.
By harvesting links from every page it encounters, Googlebot can
quickly build a list of links that can cover broad reaches of the web.
This technique, known as deep crawling, also allows Googlebot to probe
deep within individual sites. Because of their massive scale, deep
crawls can reach almost every page in the web. Because the web is
vast, this can take some time, so some pages may be crawled only once
a month.
Although its function is simple, Googlebot must be programmed to
handle several challenges. First, since Googlebot sends out
simultaneous requests for thousands of pages, the queue of "visit
soon" URLs must be constantly examined and compared with URLs
already in Google's index. Duplicates in the queue must be
eliminated to prevent Googlebot from fetching the same page again.
Googlebot must determine how often to revisit a page. On the
one hand, it's a waste of resources to re-index an unchanged page. On the
other hand, Google wants to re-index changed pages to deliver up-to-date
results.
To keep the index current, Google continuously recrawls popular
frequently changing web pages at a rate roughly proportional to how
often the pages change. Such crawls keep an index current and are
known as fresh crawls. Newspaper pages are
downloaded daily, pages with stock quotes are downloaded much more
frequently. Of course, fresh crawls return fewer pages than the deep
crawl. The combination of the two types of crawls allows Google to
both make efficient use of its resources and keep its index reasonably
current.
Google's Indexer
Googlebot gives the indexer the full text of the pages it
finds. These pages are stored in Google's index database.
This index is sorted
alphabetically by search term, with each index entry storing a list of
documents in which the term appears and the location within the text
where it occurs.
This data structure allows rapid access to documents that
contain user query terms.
To improve search performance, Google ignores (doesn't index) common
words called
stop words (such as
the,
is,
on,
or,
of,
how,
why, as well as certain single digits and single letters). Stop
words are so common that they do little to narrow a search, and
therefore they can safely be discarded. The indexer also ignores
some punctuation and multiple spaces, as well as converting all
letters to lowercase, to improve Google's performance.
Google's Query Processor
The query processor has several parts, including the user
interface (search box), the "engine" that evaluates queries and matches them
to relevant documents, and the results formatter.
PageRank is Google's
system for ranking web pages. A page with a higher PageRank is deemed
more important and is more likely to be listed above a page with a
lower PageRank.
Google considers over a hundred factors in computing a PageRank and
determining which documents are most relevant to a query, including
the popularity of the page, the position and size of the search terms
within the page, and the proximity of the search terms to one another
on the page. A patent application discusses other factors that Google
considers when ranking a page. Visit SEOmoz.org's
report for an interpretation of the concepts and the practical
applications contained in Google's patent application.
Google also applies machine-learning techniques to improve its
performance automatically by learning relationships and associations
within the stored data. For example, the spelling-correcting
system uses such techniques to figure out likely alternative
spellings. Google closely guards the formulas it uses to calculate
relevance; they're tweaked to improve quality and performance, and to
outwit the latest devious techniques used by spammers.
Indexing the full text of the web allows Google to go beyond simply
matching single search terms. Google gives more priority to pages
that have search terms near each other and in the same order as the
query. Google can also match multi-word phrases and sentences. Since
Google indexes HTML code in addition to the text on the page, users
can restrict searches on the basis of where query words appear, e.g.,
in the title, in the URL, in the body, and in links to the page,
options offered by the
Advanced-Search page and
search operators.
Let's see how Google
processes a query.
|
|
| 3.
The search results
are returned to the user in a fraction of a second. |
|
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1.
The web server
sends the query to the index servers. The content inside the index
servers is similar to the index in the back of a book--it tells
which pages contain the words that match any particular
query term. |
 |
2.
The query
travels to the doc servers, which actually retrieve the stored documents.
Snippets are generated to describe each search result. |
|
|
|
Copyright © 2003 Google Inc. Used with permission.
For more information on how Google works, take a look at the following articles.
The results page is filled with information and links, most of which
relate to your query.
-
Google Logo: Click on the Google logo to go to Google's
home page.
-
Statistics Bar: Describes your search, includes the
number of results on the current results page and an
estimate of the total number of results, as well as the time your
search took. For the sake of efficiency, Google estimates the
number of results; it would take considerably longer to compute
the exact number. This estimate is unreliable.
Every underlined term in the statistics bar is
linked to its dictionary
definition. Queries that are linked to just one
definition are followed by a definition link.
-
Tips: Sometimes Google displays a
tip in a box just below the statistics bar.
-
Search Results: Ordered by
relevance to your query, with the result that Google considers the
most relevant listed first. Consequently you are likely to find
what you're seeking quickly by looking at the results in the order
in which they appear. Google assesses relevance by considering
over a hundred factors, including how many other pages link to the
page, the positions of the search terms within the page, and the
proximity of the search terms to one another.
Below are descriptions of some search-result components. These
components appear in fonts of different colors on the result page
to make it easier to distinguish them from one another.
-
Page Title: (blue) The web page's
title, if the page has one, or its URL if the page has no title or
if Google has not indexed all of the page's content. Click on the
page title (e.g., The History of the Brassiere - Mary Phelps Jacob)
to display the corresponding
page.
-
Snippets: (black) Each search result
usually includes one or more short excerpts
of the text that matches your query with your search terms in
boldface type. Each distinct excerpt or snippet is separated
by an ellipsis (...). These snippets, which appear in a black
font, may provide you with
- The information you are seeking
- What you might find on the linked page
- Ideas of terms to use in your subsequent searches
When Google hasn't crawled a page, it doesn't include a snippet. A
page might not be crawled because its publisher requested no crawling,
or because the page was written in such a way that it was too
difficult to crawl.
-
URL of Result:
(green) Web address of the
search result. In the screen shot, the URL of the first result
is inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa042597.htm.
-
Size:
(green) The size of the text portion of the web page. It
is omitted for sites not yet indexed. In the screen shot,
"5k" means that the text portion of the web page is 5
kilobytes. One kilobyte is 1,024 (210) bytes. One byte typically holds one
character. In general, the average size of a word is six
characters. So each 1k of text is about 170 words. A page
containing 5K characters thus is about 850 words long.
Large web pages are far less likely to be relevant to your query
than smaller pages. For the sake of efficiency, Google searches
only the first 101 kilobytes (approximately 17,000 words) of a
web page and the first 120 kilobytes of a pdf file. Assuming 15
words per line and 50 lines per page, Google searches the first
22 pages of a web page and the first 26 pages of a pdf file. If a page
is larger, Google will list the page as being 101 kilobytes or 120
kilobytes for a pdf file. This means that Google's results
won't reference any part of a web page beyond its first 101
kilobytes or any part of a pdf file beyond the first 120
kilobytes.
-
Date: (green) Sometimes
the date Google crawled a page
appears just after the size of the page. The date tells you
the freshness of Google's copy of the page. Dates are included
for pages that have recently had a fresh crawl.
-
Indented Result: When Google finds
multiple results from the same website, it lists the most
relevant result first with the second most relevant page from
that same site indented below it. In the screen shot, the
indented result and the one above it are both from the site
inventors.about.com.
Limiting the number of
results from a given site to two ensures that pages from one
site will not dominate your search results and that Google provides
pages from a variety of sites.
-
More Results: When there are more than two results from the same
site, access the remaining results from the "More results from..."
link.
When Google returns more than one page of results, you can view
subsequent pages by clicking either a page number or one of the "o"s in
the whimsical "Gooooogle" that appears below the last search
result on the page.
If you find yourself scrolling through pages of results, consider increasing the number of
results Google displays on each results page by changing your
global preferences (see the section Changing Your Global Preferences).
In practice, however, if pages of interest to you aren't within the first
10 results, consider refining your query instead of sifting through pages of
irrelevant results. To simplify such refinements, Google includes a search
box at the bottom of the page you can use to enter your refined query.
-
Sponsored Links: Your
results may include some clearly identified sponsored links
(advertisements) relevant to your search.
If any of your search terms appear in the ads,
Google displays them in boldface type.
-
Spelling Corrections,
Dictionary Definition,
Cached,
Similar Pages,
News,
Product Information,
Translation,
Book
results:
Your results may include these links, which are
described on the next few pages.
Here's another screen shot of the results page in case the one at
the top of this page scrolled off your screen.
For more on what's included on Google's results page, visit
www.google.com/help/interpret.html.
Google may include links to the following types of information above
or along side your results.
The shortcut links that often appear to the left of an icon are known as OneBox
results.
Not sure how to spell something? Don't worry, try
gessing or
speling any
way you can. In
just the first few months on the job, Google engineer Noam
Shazeer developed a spelling correction (suggestion) system
based on what other users have entered. The system
automatically checks whether you are using the most common
spelling of each word in your query.
(We used to suggest that you search Google for phonitick
spewling.
But so many Web pages added the same example that now — or,
at least, when we last checked — Google no longer treats
those "words" as incorrectly spelled!
Google's system doesn't match words against an actual dictionary;
it compares them to commonly-used words.)
Want to know the approximate value of a used car? Check out its
"Blue Book" value.
Notice that Google suggests the
correct spelling if you fail to type the final "e"
in "blue."
Since an alternative spelling is more common, Google asks: Did you mean:
blue
book. Click the suggested
spelling link to launch a new search on the "blue
book" spelling instead of the original "blu
book."
Google's checker is particularly good at recognizing
frequently made typos, misspellings, and misconceptions. It
analyzes all terms in your query to recognize what you most
likely intended to enter. For example, when you search for [
untied
stats ], the spelling checker suggests Did you mean:
"united
states",
although each individual word is spelled correctly.
Regardless of whether it suggests an alternative spelling,
Google returns results that match your query if
there are any. If there aren't any that match your query,
Google may offer an alternative spelling, search tips, and a
link to Google Answers. The last is
a service that provides assistance from expert online
researchers for a fee.
Google figures out possible misspellings and their likely
correct spellings by using words it finds while searching the
web and processing user queries. So, unlike many spelling
correctors, Google can suggest common spellings for:
- Proper nouns (names and places)
- Words that may not appear in a dictionary
People searching for Britney Spears have clearly found the
spelling checker useful, as it has corrected spellings of
her first name ranging from "Brittany" to
"Prietny." Visit www.google.com/jobs/britney.html
to see hundreds of other ways people have misspelled her name.
Be aware that the spelling checker isn't able to distinguish between a
variant spelling and a word or name that is spelled similarly. So,
before clicking on what Google suggests, check that it's what you intended.
For example, when looking up the San Francisco Bay Area web designer
Mistrale,
Google asks: Did you mean:
Mistral,
though I spelled the name correctly.
The first problem gives you practice in using Google's
spelling-correction system.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- On National Public Radio (NPR), you heard a researcher at
Stanford University whose name sounded like Jeff Naumberg and want
to send him email. What is Jeff's email address?
-
From Google's home page,
www.google.com, search for "french military victories" and
then click on the I'm Feeling Lucky button to see
Albino Blacksheep's parody of a Google spelling correction result.
Note: Though the page looks like a Google page, if you enter
another query in the search box, it will be processed by the hosting
site, listed in your browser's address box.
Want a definition for your search terms? It's just a
click away.
Google looks for dictionary definitions for your search terms. If
it finds any definitions, it shows those words as underlined
links or includes a definition link in the statistics bar section of the
results page (located below the search box showing your
query). Google is able to find definitions for acronyms,
colloquialisms, and slang, as well as words that you would
expect to find in a dictionary.
Click on the underlined terms or the definition link in the statistics
bar to link to their dictionary definition, which also may include
information on pronunciation, part of speech, etymology, and usage.
For example, learn what co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and
CEO Eric Schmidt mean when they say they run Google as a triumvirate
by clicking on the link triumvirate.
Phrases with idiomatic meanings that aren't necessarily
implied by the definitions of the individual words will be
linked to their dictionary definitions, e.g.,
"happy hour," "put off,"
"greasy spoon," and "raise the roof."
If Google doesn't find a definition for a term, try using
Google Glossary.
These problems give you practice in
finding dictionary definitions.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- According to the dictionary, what is an "urban legend"?
- Find the history of the word 'chivalry.' From which language does
it come and from what word?
- Does Google provide a link to dictionary for definitions of terms
in languages other than English?
- What does 'zeitgeist' mean? What's on the Google Zeitgeist page
www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html?
Google takes a snapshot of each page it examines and caches
(stores) that version as a back-up. The cached version is
what Google uses to judge if a page is a good match for your
query.
Practically every search result includes a Cached link. Clicking on that
link takes you to the Google cached version of that web page,
instead of the current version of the page. This is useful if
the original page is unavailable
because of:
- Internet congestion
- A down, overloaded, or just slow website
- The owner's recently removing the page from the Web
Sometimes you can access the cached version from a site that
otherwise require registration or a subscription.
Note: Since Google's servers are typically faster than
many web servers, you can often access a page's cached version
faster than the page itself.
If Google returns a link to a page that appears to have little
to do with your query, or if you can't find the information
you're seeking on the current version of the page, take a look
at the cached version.
Let's search for pages on the Google help basic search operators.
Click on the
Cached link to view Google's cached version of
the page with the query terms highlighted. The cached version
also indicates terms that appear only on links pointing to the
page and not on the page itself.
Note: Internet Explorer users may view a page with any word(s)
highlighted, not just search terms, by using the highlight feature
of the Google Toolbar, which is mentioned in Part III.
When Google displays the cached page, a header at the top serves
as a reminder that what you see isn't necessarily the most
recent version of the page.
The Cached link will be omitted for sites whose
owners have requested that Google remove the cached version or not
cache their content, as well as any sites Google hasn't indexed.
If the original page contains more than 101 kilobytes of text, the
cached version of the page will consist of the first 101 kbytes (120
kbytes for pdf files).
You can also retrieve Google's cached version of a page via the cache: search operator. For example, [ cache:www.pandemonia.com/flying/ ]
will show Google's cached version of Flight Diary in which Hamish
Reid documents what's involved in learning how to fly.
On the cached version of a page, Google will highlight terms in your
query that appear after the cache: search operator.
For example, in the snapshot of the page www.pandemonia.com/flying/,
Google highlights the terms "fly" and "diary" in
response to the query
[ cache:www.pandemonia.com/flying/
fly diary ].
Use the Wayback Machine
when you want to visit a version of a web page
that is older than Google's cached version.
These
problems give you practice accessing Google's cached version of a
page.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- After Nelson Blachman received
reprints of a paper he wrote for the June 2003 issue of The
Mathematical Scientist, he wanted to discover what other
sorts of papers appear in the same issue of this semiannual publication.
Find a table of contents for The Mathematical Scientist for Nelson.
- Compare the dates on the current page with the dates on the cached
version for the following organizations:
- CNN
- New York Times
- Linux Magazine
- North Texas Food Bank
Note: Google indexes a page (adds it to its index and caches it) frequently if the
page is popular (has a high PageRank) and if the page is
updated regularly. The new cached version replaces any previous
cached versions of the page.
-
Check the dates that the Wayback Machine archived versions of Google Guide.
Here's how to find results similar to another Google
search result.
Let's say you're interested in finding sites
similar to that of Consumer Reports.
First, search for their site.
Click on the Similar pages link that appears on the bottom
line for the Consumer Reports result.
The link may be useful for finding more consumer resources, or
information on Consumer Reports' competitors.
You can also find similar pages by using the Page-Specific Search selector on
the Advanced
Search page or by using the related: search operator.
If you expect to search frequently for similar pages, you may want to
install a GoogleScout browser
button.
Note: The similar pages feature is most effective on pages that
are popular, i.e, that are linked to from many pages.
How does Google find similar pages?
By finding other sites listed on pages that link to the specified
page. Let's see how Google chooses sites similar to Google Guide. I
use the related: search operator,
which returns the same results as the Similar pages
link.
Now let's look at one of the sites that link to Google Guide, as it was
at the time we made the screen shot above. On the
Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries page,
www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/home/home5.htm (shown in the screen shot below),
Google Guide is listed near
the top of the page just after a link to
Google's Zeitgeist
page, www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html. The next three sites
listed as being similar to Google Guide (Metaspy, the MEL Internet
Myths and Hoaxes, and Web Characterization) are also listed on the MSU
page. Google automatically selected these sites by considering many
factors including the popularity of the pages containing links to
Google Guide, the positions, sizes, and proximities of other links to the
Google Guide link.
Another resource for similar results is the category link that may
appear just below the snippet or above your search results, which is
described next. If there isn't a category link, try using Google's Directory.
For more information about the Similar pages link,
visit www.google.com/help/features.html#related.
These problems give you practice in
using Google's Similar pages feature.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- Find a site that will get your name off mailing lists so that you receive
less commercial advertising mail. Click on the Similar pages link to
find other such sites.
- What sites are similar to the Internet Movie Database?
When Google finds current news relating to your query,
Google includes up to three headlines that link to news
stories above your search results. Why at most three? So as
not to push the web search results off the page.
Of course, since news by definition reports recent events, you'll see the most
recent headlines about the United Nations (if there are any recent
headlines, that is) when you enter the query
[ United
Nations ].
For more news stories or to browse the latest headlines,
visit Google News Search at news.google.com, which we
describe in Part III.
These problems give you practice in
searching for news headlines.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- Find the latest news about Google.
- Find the latest news on Iraq.
When Google finds products relevant to your query, above your
search results, you may find up to three links to items that merchants
list in
Froogle, Google's product search service.
These
problems give you practice in searching for products.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- Find denim jackets.
- Find cell phones (mobile phones).
Google converts all file types it searches to either HTML
or text (unless, of course, they already are in one of these formats).
Google searches a variety of file formats including
| File Format
| Suffix
| Description
|
| Adobe Acrobat PDF
| pdf
| A publishing format commonly used for product manuals and documents of all sorts.
|
| Adobe PostScript
| ps
| A printing format often used for academic papers.
|
| Hypertext Markup Language
| html or htm
| The primary language for web pages.
|
| Lotus 1-2-3
| wk1, wk2, wk3, wk4, wk5, wki, wks, or wku
| A spreadsheet format.
|
| Lotus WordPro
| lwp
| A word processing format.
|
| MacWrite
| mw
| A word processing format.
|
| Microsoft Excel
| xls
| A spreadsheet format.
|
| Microsoft PowerPoint
| ppt
| A format for presentations and slides.
|
| Microsoft Word
| doc
| A common word processing format.
|
| Microsoft Works
| wks, wps, or wdb
| A word processing format.
|
| Microsoft Write
| wri
| A Macintosh word processing format.
|
| Rich Text Format
| rtf
| A format used to exchange
documents between Microsoft Word and other formats.
|
| Plain Text
| ans or txt
| Ordinary text with no special formating.
|
Clicking on a link to a non-HTML file will launch the associated
program for reading the file, provided it's installed on your system.
If you can't
view the page in the native format — for instance, if you
don't have Adobe Acrobat on your computer, or if
you want faster access to the file — click on either the
"View as HTML" or "View as Text" link.
Note: Portions of some files converted to HTML or text
may be difficult to read.
You can use the Advanced Search form
or the filetype: search operator
to restrict your
results to a particular format.
For more information about file types that Google supports,
visit www.google.com/help/faq_filetypes.html.
These problems give you practice viewing files of
different types.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- Find a document with tips on job interviewing and salary
negotiation that is in PDF/Adobe Acrobat format. What differences in
the appearance of the document result from viewing it in its native
format, Adobe Acrobat versus HTML?
- Find a Power Point slide presentation on first aid and
choking. View the presentation as HTML.
-
Find pdf or Postscript documents and course notes on symplectic
geometry that are on university and other educational sites.
This problem was inspired by Julian Uschersohn.
As the web has spread across the world, more and more web
pages are available in languages other than English. Google
provides a translation link and language tools to enable you
to read pages written in unfamiliar languages.
Google translates pages by computer. Machine translation is
difficult to do well and tends not to be as clear as human
translation. But it can give you the gist of what's written
or suggestions for translating something into another language.
Your results may include a "Translate this page"
link when a results page is written in a language different
from your interface language (as specified by your Google Preferences, which
is described in the next section). Your interface language
is the language in which Google displays messages and
labels, buttons, and tips on Google's home page and
results page. You can translate pages written
in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and
Spanish into another language from that set.
Google's Language Tools overcome
language barriers. Click on the "Language
Tools" link to the right of the search box on
Google's home page,
or visit www.google.com/language_tools,
or select the Language Tools menu option in the Google Toolbar (in
Part III, section Making Google Search Easier with
Google Tools) to:
- Search for pages written in specific languages
- Search for pages located in specific countries
- Use the Google interface in another language,
e.g., set Google's home page, messages and labels,
and buttons to
display in a specific language
- Visit Google's site in a specific country,
e.g.,
www.google.de in
Germany
- Translate any text or web page from a limited set
of languages including English, French, German, Italian,
Portuguese, or Spanish into another language in that set.
If you want to translate some text or a page into a language other
than those Google Language Translation Tool offers, check out Fagan Finder's Translation Wizard.
If you're interested in translating Google Guide, send email to
feedback(at)googleguide.com (replace "(at)" by "@") and review Erik Hoy's
advice for Google Guide
translators. The Danish
Google Guide, bibliotek.kk.dk/soeg_bestil_forny/googleguide,
is available through the Copenhagen Central Library's website. You
can find a Hebrew version of Google Guide at
www.googleguide.co.il/.
These problems give you practice with translating words,
pages, and results, and with finding pages in specific countries.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
-
Find out about municipal swimming pools that you can use when visiting Naples.
Hint: Find the Italian words for "municipal swimming pools Naples"
and then search for them on pages in Italy.
You can use your browser's Copy and Paste features to transfer the Italian
words from one screen to another.
- Find the name of the mayor of Montpellier, France, by searching
the city website montpellier.fr.
It may help to know the French word for "mayor."
- Translate "I wish to mail a package. Where is the nearest post
office? Thank you." into Spanish.
- Find listings or photos of old books at the national library of Spain.
Hint: Translate the two unrelated phrases "old books" and
"national library Spain" separately; otherwise, the translation
software may try to make them into a sentence (and add "noise" words).
- Restrict your search to France and search for pages in English on
the war in Iraq.
Whenever I run a new piece of software, ... I [first] ... look at the
program's 'preferences' panel. By clicking through the options, I
rapidly learn what a program can do and what its shortcomings are.
Google is no different. — Simson Garfinkel, Getting
More from Google, Technology Review, June 4, 2003
You can customize the way your search results appear by
configuring your Google global preferences, options that
apply across most Google search services. To change these
options, click on the Preferences
link, which is to the right of Google's search box,
or visit www.google.com/preferences.
From the Preferences page, specify your global preferences, including
- Interface Language:
the language in which Google will display tips,
messages, and buttons for you
- Search Language:
the language of the pages Google should search for you
- SafeSearch:
automatic filtering and blocking of web pages
with explicit sexual content
- Number of results: how many search results are to be displayed per page
- Results window: when enabled, clicking on the main link
(typically the page title) for a result will open the
corresponding page in a new window
When you set your preferences, Google stores your settings in a
"cookie" on the computer you are using. Google doesn't
associate that cookie with any other computer you use. So, if you want
Google to work similarly on all the computers you use, you will need
to set these preferences on each one of them.
There's more about cookies and other user information in the section
called Accounts and Cookies.
Interface Language
The set of languages in which you want to allow
messages and labels, text on buttons, and tips to be
displayed. Your choice of interface languages is
much larger than the "translate" set of
languages (those that can be translated into your interface
language) and includes relatively obscure languages, such
as Catalan, Maltese, Occitan, and Welsh, and frivolous
languages, such as Bork, bork, bork!, Esperanto, Hacker,
Interlingua, and Pig Latin.
If you set your interface language to Greek,
message and text on links, tabs, and buttons will be displayed in
Greek.
The interface language is configured on the Preferences page.
The pull-down menu allows you to choose from over 80
languages.
Note: If you don't find your preferred language in the list,
you can volunteer to translate Google's help information and search
interface into that language via the
Google In Your Language program.
If you select an interface language other than English, when using
Google Web search you will be given the option of searching the
entire web or just pages written in your interface language. For
example, with French as the interface language the search box looks
like this:
Note: Most non-English Google home pages have a "Google.com in English" link
in case you can't read the rest of the page.
Search Language
By default, Google Web search includes all pages on the Web. You
can choose to restrict your searches to those pages written in
the languages of your choice by setting the search language.
If you want to restrict results to a single language for a few
queries, consider using Google's Advanced Search page.
SafeSearch Filtering
Google's SafeSearch filters out sites with pornography and explicit
sexual content. Moderate filtering, the default, is set to exclude
most explicit images from Google Image search results but not Google
Web search or other Google search services.
Google's philosophy is to filter no more than necessary, i.e., as
little as possible. Google considered adding the capability to filter
other controversial content besides pornography, e.g., hate speech,
anarchy, bomb making, etc. But these are much more difficult
to filter automatically. For example, if you try to filter hate
speech, you may filter out sites that discuss hate speech.
Number of Results
The most important setting, located near the bottom of the page, is
"Number of Results." By default, Google returns just 10
results for a search. Since Google's search algorithms are so
accurate, this default saves Google both computer resources and
downloading time. But I always increase the default to 100. Although such
searches take a little longer to download (especially over a dial-up
connection), getting back 100 results saves me time when I'm searching
for anything out-of-the-ordinary; it's much faster to scroll through a
Web page than to manually click through 10 pages of intermediate
results. — Simson Garfinkel, Getting
More from Google, Technology Review, June 4, 2003 (MIT's Alumni
magazine)
You can increase the number of results displayed per page to 20, 30,
50, or 100. The more results displayed per page, the more likely you
are to find what you want on the first page of results. The downside
is that the more results per page, the more slowly the page loads. How
much more time it takes depends on your connection to the Internet.
The Number-of-Results setting applies to Google's Web, Groups, News,
Froogle,
and Directory search services. It does not apply to Images and Answers.
New Results Window
After you set the Results Window option on the Preferences page,
when you click on the main link (typically the page title) for a
result, Google will open the corresponding page in a new window.
You can display the contents of the associated page in a new window in
Internet Explorer by holding down the SHIFT key
while you click on the link or pressing the right button and selecting
"Open a New Window" after clicking on the link. In Firefox
or Netscape, simply click your mouse's middle button on the link that
you wish to display in a new window (this can be configured in the
browser's Preferences or Options section).
Cookies and their Effect on Preferences
Google stores your preferences with a cookie in your computer.
Among other things, this means:
- If you use more than one computer, you'll need to set your Google
preferences on each one.
- If your browser is set to deny cookies, your preferences can't be
saved.
- If you use "cleanup" software that removes cookies, it may
remove your Google preferences.
So, if Google seems to "forget" your preferences settings,
look into what's happening with your cookies.
As of this writing, the Mozilla and Firefox web browsers have especially
flexible cookie management — including site-by-site cookie preferences
and a scrollable list of all saved cookies.
These problems give you practice in changing
preferences. After you've changed your preferences, run a couple of
searches.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- Change your preferences to display 20 results per page.
- Change your preferences to use strict filtering, i.e., filter
both explicit text and explicit sexual content.
- Set your preferences to open search results in a new browser
window.
- Configure your preferences to suit your needs.
- If you would like to have more than one set of preferences on
your computer, e.g., one of searching French language sites and to
search all sites, then find tools for enabling you to specify more
than one set of preferences using more than one cookie.
(For instance, the Mozilla browser allows you to have multiple
"profiles," each with its own set of cookies.
You can also install more than one type of browser on the same
computer.
Both of these methods let you have more than one "identity"
at the same time on the same computer.)
Some search engines sell their search results, in addition to showing
ads. A sold result means that a link to the buyer's page is put at or
near the top of the results page, just as if the search engine thought it
was one of the best results. Usually, there is no indication that the page's
result location was bought and paid for.
Google never sells its search results. If a web page appears
in Google's search results, it's because Google thought it was a relevant
result for your search, not because someone paid Google to put it there.
Google's approach to ads is similar to its approach to search
results: the ads must deliver useful links, or the ads are removed.
- Ads must be relevant to your search.
- Ads must not intrude, distract, or annoy (no pop-up or flashy ads).
- Sponsored links are clearly identified and kept separate from search results.
- At most, two sponsored links appear above Google's
search results.
You can distinguish ads by their format and
the label "Sponsored Link." Ads contain a title, a short
description, and a web address (URL).
Advertisers decide which queries their ads should match, and then
Google decides on placement, i.e., which ads to show and in what
order. Google determines placement by an auction; the auction not
only considers what the advertiser will pay for the ad, but also its
click-through rate, i.e., how often users click on the ad. If users
often click on an ad, Google will likely place the ad higher up on the
results page. If the click-through rate of an ad falls below a
certain level, indicating an ad isn't relevant to the query, Google
removes the ad.
For the most part, you'll find advertisements pertinent to your
query. However, Google's automatic matching to words on a page
sometimes places an ad inappropriately. For example, in September of
2003, adjacent to a New York Post article about a gruesome murder in
which the victim's body parts were stashed in a suitcase, Google
listed an ad for suitcases. Since that incident, Google has improved
its filters and automatically pulls ads from pages with disturbing
content. So Google is unlikely to make another faux pas on
a par with this one.
Some web pages display ads provided by Google's AdSense service.
The hosting website and Google share the amount an advertiser pays
when a user clicks on an ad, which varies between US$0.01 and
US$50.00. Web publishers typically place Google AdSense ads near the
top, on the right, or on the left side of a page to catch your
attention. We've included such an ad at the top of this page.
For why Google sells advertising and not search results, visit
www.google.com/honestresults.html.
For more information on Google's advertising programs, visit
www.google.com/ads/.
For what to do if you find a pop-up ad on Google, visit
www.google.com/help/nopopupads.html.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
-
How many sponsored links (ads)
appear on the first search-results page with the answer to the
following questions?
-
Where can you stay in central London at a moderate price?
- What's going on with NASA's Mars Exploration Program?
-
Click on several interesting sounding Adsense ads.
- If you have a website, sign up for an AdWords account so that you
can purchase ads to bring users to your site.
- If you have a website, sign up for an AdSense account so that you
can generate revenue from advertising on your site.
Google's web-page-ranking system, PageRank, tends to give
priority to better respected and trusted information. Well-respected
sites link to other well-respected sites. This linking boosts the
PageRank of high-quality sites. Consequently, more accurate pages are
typically listed before sites that include unreliable and erroneous
material.
(The various
browser toolbars can show you the
PageRank of the page you're currently browsing.)
Nevertheless, evaluate carefully whatever you find on the web
since anyone can
- Create pages
- Exchange ideas
- Copy, falsify, or omit information intentionally or
accidentally
Many people publish pages to get you to buy something or accept a
point of view. Google makes no effort to discover or eliminate
unreliable and erroneous material. It's up to you to cultivate the
habit of healthy skepticism. When evaluating the credibility of a
page, consider the following
AAOCC (Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Currency, Coverage)
criteria and questions, which are adapted from www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENGI/eval_criteria.html.
Authority
- Who are the authors? Are they qualified? Are they credible?
- With whom are they affiliated? Do their affiliations affect their credibility?
- Who is the publisher? What is the publisher's reputation?
Accuracy
- Is the information accurate? Is it reliable and error-free?
- Are the interpretations and implications reasonable?
- Is there evidence to support conclusions? Is the evidence verifiable?
- Do the authors properly list their sources, references or
citations with dates, page numbers or web addresses, etc.?
Objectivity
- What is the purpose? What do the authors want to accomplish?
- Does this purpose affect the presentation?
- Is there an implicit or explicit bias?
- Is the information fact, opinion, spoof, or satirical?
Currency
- Is the information current? Is it still valid?
- When was the site last updated?
- Is the site well-maintained? Are there any broken links?
Coverage
- Is the information relevant to your topic and assignment?
- What is the intended audience?
- Is the material presented at an appropriate level?
- Is the information complete? Is it unique?
Search for [ evaluate
web pages ] or [ hints
evaluate credibility web pages ]
to find resources on how to evaluate the veracity of pages
you view.
For a printable form with most of the questions that you will
probably want to ask, visit www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/EvalForm.pdf.
If you're unable to view PDF files, you can get a free PDF viewer from
Adobe by visiting www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
For more information on evaluating what you find, visit
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html.
Find documents on the web that provide the answers to the
following questions. What's your level of comfort with the referring
site(s) and why?
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page in the Appendix.
- Is it true that if you touch a cold halogen light bulb
with clean fingers, you will shorten its lifespan?
- Are 75% of Americans chronically dehydrated? Find opposing points of view.
- Are you less likely to get dental cavities if you drink fluoridated water?
- Is clumping kitty litter a major health hazard to cats?
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of a flu (influenza) shot?
- Does microwaving food in plastic containers or plastic
cling wrap release harmful chemicals into the food? Check whether
this is an urban legend.
Want more experience assessing the authenticity and integrity
of some websites? Try the exercises listed on
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/EvaluateWhy.html.
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For Google tips, tricks, & how Google works, visit
Google Guide at classic.GoogleGuide.com.
By Nancy Blachman and Jerry Peek who aren't Google employees. For
permission to copy
& create derivative works, visit
Google Guide's Creative Commons License webpage.
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