Google search features

Many of us use Google every day to search for websites that relate to our business, or are just of personal interest.

What you may not have yet discovered however is a host of other search features made available in Google’s eternal quest to become the world’s most sophisticated organiser of information.

Some of the more useful additional search features that we’ve been testing are:

• Definitions - By typing “define ” or “define:” before a search query, users can gain access to a list of online definitions for a particular term. Particularly useful for understanding buzz words like SEO, SEM, and pay-per-click which are crucial in this fast moving industry.

• Question & Answer - If you type in a fact based query such as “population of Australia” a direct answer will appear at the top of the search results. Great for finding quick stats when you don’t have time to sift through a number of pages.

• Site Search - A handy tool for finding results within a particular domain. Just type in a query as normal and follow it with “site:sampledomain.com” to restrict results to a particular website. For example, if you wanted to search for the term ‘blog’ within our site, the format would be “blog site:foundagency.com.au“.

• Who Links to you? - If you want to know who has created a link to your site, just type “link:yourURL” and receive a list of sites that link to yours. While this tool can be good for following up promised backlinks, we’ve found the lists it delivers are not always comprehensive.