Browsers vs. Search Engines Explained

Yes this is lowbrow, but I feel it is necessary for many folks and could also be used as a spring board into possibly further search enlightenment. Initially we need to look at some of the lingo involved and how it relates to your search. Heres a quick rundown.

• Browser – The thing/button/app/program on your work computer/smartphone/laptop that renders the URL/Domain/Website that you are interested in seeing.
• Examples of major browsers: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, AOL Explorer, Yahoo Browser, Google Chrome, Opera, Camino.

I think many people are confused by the relationship of browser development company to search engine provider and understandably so as several companies dabble in both. You can Google yourself with Firefox but you better not be caught Internet Exploring yourself on Safari… So with that nonsense here’s some breakdown on basic URL structure and search engines.

• If you know the URL (www.website.com) of your site you can always directly enter that address, anything else is a search
• All browsers have a URL field on the toolbar and many have search functionality built into them or alongside for convenience
• Google.com is a website that allows you to employ their search engine, while you are Googling this is not considered a browser
• AOL.com is a website that provides a search engine, Yahoo.com is a website that provides a search engine as is duckduckgo.com

So now that you have a basic understanding of the difference between browsers and search engines its time to explore how to take advantage of them.

Google Advanced Search Shortcuts
Make your Google searches even more efficient with these advanced Google search shortcuts. The following advanced search commands will help you narrow your searches, dig deeper into previously hidden content, and retrieve information quickly. Ten Things You Didn’t Know Google Could Do | The Top Ten Most Useful Google Services | Top Ten Google Search Tricks | Google Quiz | Advanced Google Search Tips, Services, and Tools Google Shortcut Finds Pages That Have… nokia phone the words nokia and phone sailing OR boating either the word sailing or the word boating “love me tender” the exact phrase love me tender printer -cartridge the word printer but NOT the word cartridge Toy Story +2 movie title including the number 2 ~auto looks up the word auto and synonyms define:serendipity definitions of the word serendipity how now * cow the words how now cow separated by one or more words + addition; 978+456 – subtraction; 978-456 * multiplication; 978*456 / division; 978/456 % of percentage; 50% of 100 ^ raise to a power; 4^18 (4 to the eighteenth power) old in new (conversion) 45 celsius in Fahrenheit site:(search only one website) site:websearch.about.com “invisible web” link:(find linked pages) link:www.lifehacker.com #…#(search within a number range) nokia phone $200…$300 daterange:(search within specific date range) bosnia daterange:200508-200510 safesearch: (exclude adult content) safesearch:breast cancer info: (find info about a page) info:www.websearch.about.com related: (related pages) related:www.websearch.about.com cache: (view cached page) cache:google.com filetype:(restrict search to specific filetype) zoology filetype:ppt allintitle: (search for keywords in page title) allintitle:”nike” running inurl:(restrict search to page URLs) inurl:chewbacca site:.edu (specific domain search) site:.edu, site:.gov, site:.org, etc. site:country code (restrict search to country) site:.br “rio de Janeiro” intext:(search for keyword in body text) intext:parlor allintext: (return pages with all words specified in body text) allintext:north pole book(search book text) book The Lord of the Rings phonebook:(find a phone number) phonebook:Google CA bphonebook: (find business phone numbers) bphonebook:Intel OR rphonebook:(find residential phone numbers) rphonebook:Joe Smith Seattle WA movie:(search for showtimes) movie:wallace and gromit 97110 stocks:(get a stock quote) stocks:ncesa weather:(get local weather) weather:97132

Querys explained.

Query Fragment