WR101 Adam Wickert

Pro tip: It is often easier to find the information you're looking for via Google rather than through using the search feature embedded on an organization's website.

• How? Type your search terms into the search box. Then, add site:[URL] to search within an organization's website. 
  • Example: counseling site:clackamas.edu
• Why? Google offers a better search engine with a more complex search algorithm.
• Beware of shady or untrustworthy websites. Check the organization's URL to make sure you are on the official organization's website.

Learn more Google search tips below.

We all use it - now let's learn to use it better! Improve your Googling skills to save time and make it easier to identify better sources of information.

Quotation marks

• 
• Use quotation marks around your search terms to search for the words in the exact order you would like, instead of separately.

intitle:

• 
• Use intitle: to retrieve webpages with your keywords in the title of the webpage

site:

• 
• Use site:. to retrieve webpages from URLs in the domain (.gov, .edu, .org) you specify.  

- (a hyphen or minus sign) 

• 
• Use - (a hyphen or minus sign) in front of words to exclude them from your search results.

OR

• 
  In the above example, Google will find results that include (election AND fraud) and (voter AND fraud).
• Use OR in between words to have either or both of the words included in your search results. OR must be capitalized. This is a good way to search for synonyms.

filetype:

• 
• Use filetype: to retrieve specific types of files (instead of html webpages). Works for finding most file types.

Combine strategies

• 
• Use several strategies at once for very specific results.