The Blog on Branding

Best Google Searches – Searching for Answers in All the Long Places

Search engines have become the number one place to go for answers to those burning questions. How do I treat erectile dysfunction? When is the Marine Corps Marathon? What is the meaning of life?

No, seriously. They were searched for 368,000; 33,100; and 201,000 times per month, respectively.

But we’re all busy people. (Well, most of us. You might not be if you’re reading this.) We want to type three words or less into Google and get exactly what we’re looking for. But this technique fails more often than it succeeds. I’m Feeling Lucky? Not so much.

“The three-words-or-less search technique often fails.”




While tedious, longer search queries have been on the rise. Read on to find out why.

• Why are longer searches more effective?
• Show me the numbers!
• How can I get the most out of my search?

Why are longer searches more effective?

It’s simple, really. Longer search terms mean more specific hits higher up in the search results. When you type in one word, you’re guaranteed to get hundreds of thousands of results organized by Google’s algorithm. But if you type in a longer phrase, Google will organize your search results based on all of the key words you typed in.

We all like examples, right? So, say you have a niece doing a report on which of Henry VIII’s wives were beheaded. If you’re like me, you might type in Henry VIII and hope for the best. I’m a busy girl, and while I’d want to impress my niece with my awesome knowledge, I probably wouldn’t think to expand my search. But when you type in “Henry VIII” on Google, the first hit is his Wikipedia article. (It’s Wikipedia’s world and we’re just living in it.) The second hit is a Tudor History website, which is helpful, but I don’t want to spend the time to navigate the website to find out which of his wives were beheaded. (Am I starting to sound lazy?) Not so helpful, Google.

OK, so I’m officially annoyed that Google can’t read my mind and give me exactly what I want from a two-word search. But I can’t fight Google (way too powerful!) so I cave in and expand my search to “Henry VIII’s wives.” The first hit this time is a page on the Tudor History website that lists each of his six wives’ dates of birth, dates of death, and how they died. Score! So now I know that Anne Boleyn and Kathryn Howard were beheaded. And because I added one more word to my search, I found out everything I needed to know in about 10 seconds. Yes, I actually timed it (10.7 seconds, to be exact).

“Thanks to my expanded search, I got my answer in 10.7 seconds flat.”




Basically, the best Google searches are the longer Google searches, because in the end, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of time and surfing energy. People have caught on to this trend and have started using more words in their searches. So jump on the bandwagon and expand those searches!

Show me the numbers!

Don’t believe that longer searches are becoming more popular? Well, you don’t have to take my word for it. Hitwise released a study in February 2009 that showed that 4- to 8-word searches and over grew as much as 20% last year. People have started to notice that the more search terms they use, the more exact their results will be.

“The proof is in the numbers.”




This isn’t to say that 1-, 2- and 3-word searches aren’t the most popular. In fact, they are. But last year, their popularity went down 3%, 5% and 1%, respectively. Like any progress, the move toward longer searches is slow-going. People still like to use quick 1-3 term searches, but they are also realizing that there is value in longer searches.

How can I get the most out of my search?

Okay, so now you know that longer searches are more effective. But how can you optimize those longer searches? There are several techniques to get the most out of your Google experience:

• Realize that Google is not a human (I hope this isn’t like telling you Santa Claus isn’t real).
  • Google organizes your search results based on the terms you use and how they match up to a webpage.
  • So “Which of Henry VIII’s wives had their heads cut off?” won’t return a lot of specific searches, while “Henry VIII’s wives beheaded” will.
• Choose descriptive words that will help Google understand what you’re looking for.
• Instead of “King of England” to find out about Henry VIII, type “Henry VIII.”

These tips seem like common sense, right?

Well, there are some more specific search tips out there for those of you who want to know the ins and outs of Google. For example, if you want to know how many Euros one American dollar is worth, type in “1 US dollar in Euros”. Voila – 1 US dollar is worth .743936914 Euros. Google does the conversion for you, no need to go to a website.

“Google is the lazy man’s dream.”




Also, Google images is a great tool to identify an unknown object or foreign word. Want to know what a narwhal is? Type it in to Google images and see for yourself!

Want another trick? If you’re looking for hits containing exact words in a specific order, put quotes around them. This tells Google to filter results based on exact matches to your wording.

There are a lot more tips where these came from. The best way to learn all of the tricks of Google-ing? That’s right – you even have to Google to find the best way to Google.

Google “best way to Google search,” and you’ll be a Google master in no time. May the force be with you.

Carrie Milford Carrie is an avid Googler with a love for long searches but gets frustrated when she can’t ask Google questions and have the answer magically appear. Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.