Getting to know Google and the methods that they use with their search engine is something that could be very important and even essential when it comes to your blog. There are many different tools that Google uses that can help you with your business and can be great help if you know exactly how to use them. There are many different things you can do but a great idea is to just start trying a few of them and see where it takes you.



One basic tool that not very many people know about is the OR option. A lot of times, you may end up doing three or four searches when you are trying to find something. With the OR option, you can do all of the on the same line. In between words or phrases, just type the words or in all capital letters. For example you could type: business blogs OR political blogs OR funny blogs, all in one line. This would do the three separate searches and combine them in one.

Another good tool from the Google Advanced search options is the link tool. If you type [link] into the search bar, this will give you a list of webpages that have a link to a certain page. For example, if you wanted to know how many other webpages have links to a site called yoursite.com you would type in [link:www.yoursite.com] and see what comes up. These are a bit case sensitive, so you need to type it the same way it is shown or else the results won't be the same.

Another common one is the related tool. If you are looking for sites that are somewhat related to another one but not necessarily the one you are looking at, this is the perfect tool. This is a great way to check out the competition of your blog or site. Just type in [related:www.yoursite.com] Then Google will generate a list of all other websites and blogs that are related to yours or have similar content. Keep in mind that this might change and so you can check as often as you would like.

One that is a bit more business related has to do with stocks. This is a simple and easy way to find out what is going on with your stocks. By typing in [stocks:] and then a list of the symbols of the stocks you are interested in, Google will link into a page that will should you the stock information for those. But remember that you need to type in the ticker symbols for the company, not just the company name.

There are many more tools than these few but you can find a whole list of them at Google's website. Remember that tools like these can save you time and get be a great help in evaluating the competition or for any of your other needs. Just keep using them and trying to find all the different ways that you can use them to your best advantage.