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Google search internet beginners tips

How to Search the Web

By Joe ·

The ability to search the web well is one of the most useful skills you can have with a phone or computer. Most people type a few words and scroll through results, but a few simple techniques can get you much better answers, much faster.

Here’s how to get the most out of Google.

On your phone, open your browser (Safari or Chrome) and tap the address bar at the top. Type what you’re looking for and tap Go or Search on the keyboard.

You don’t need to type full sentences. Google is good at understanding keywords:

  • Instead of: “What is the best way to remove a red wine stain from a carpet?”
  • Try: red wine carpet stain

Shorter, more specific terms usually give better results.

Getting better results

Be specific. The more specific your search, the more useful the results:

  • “chemist Hebden Bridge” rather than just “chemist”
  • “iphone not connecting to wifi fix” rather than “iphone problem”

Add a location when you’re looking for something nearby:

  • “dentist taking new NHS patients Hebden Bridge”
  • “walking group Calderdale”

Use quotes for exact phrases. If you want results containing a specific phrase, put it in speech marks:

  • “Wadsworth Community Association” will only show pages with those exact words

Add “site:” to search within a specific website. For example:

  • bbc.co.uk site:bbc.co.uk finds pages only on the BBC website
  • You can also just go to a website and use its own search box

Understanding the results

Google shows results in a specific order:

  1. Ads, labelled “Sponsored” at the top. These are paid placements, not necessarily the most relevant answers.
  2. Featured snippet, a boxed answer at the top that Google has extracted directly from a webpage. Often gives you the answer immediately.
  3. Organic results, the main list, ranked by relevance and quality.
  4. Local results, a map with nearby businesses, shown for location-based searches.

You don’t have to click the first result. Scan the descriptions and choose the one that looks most relevant.

Spotting trustworthy results

Not everything that comes up in Google is accurate. A few signs of a trustworthy source:

  • Government and NHS websites, addresses ending in .gov.uk or nhs.uk are authoritative for health and official information
  • Established organisations, the BBC, Which?, Citizens Advice, Age UK
  • Check the date, look for when an article was published. Older articles may contain outdated information, especially for health, prices, or technology

If you’re looking for health information, NHS.uk is usually the best place to start. For consumer advice, Which? (which.co.uk) and Citizens Advice (citizensadvice.org.uk) are reliable.

Searching for images

If you want to find a photo or image rather than a webpage, click the Images tab at the top of Google’s results page. Type what you’re looking for and Google shows matching images from around the web.

You can also search by image, useful if you want to find out what something is from a photo. In Chrome on a phone:

  1. Open Google Images (images.google.com)
  2. Tap the camera icon in the search bar
  3. Upload a photo or take one with your camera

Google will show you what it recognises in the image.

Other Google search tabs

At the top of most search results, you’ll see tabs:

  • All, the main web results
  • Images, photos and graphics
  • News, recent articles on the topic
  • Maps, local results on a map
  • Videos, video results (often from YouTube)

Tip for news: the News tab is useful for checking what’s currently happening, it shows recent articles sorted by date rather than general relevance.

When Google gives you the answer directly

For many everyday questions, Google gives you the answer without you needing to click anything:

  • “What’s the weather in Hebden Bridge?”, shows a forecast directly
  • “What’s 15% of £48?”, calculates it for you
  • “What time does Boots open?”, shows opening hours
  • “How do you spell ‘necessary’?”, shows the correct spelling

Just type your question naturally and Google often answers it immediately in the results.

Need help getting started online, or want to feel more confident with a phone or computer? Get in touch with Hebden Tech Tutors, we come to you.