Top Tools to Make You a Search Guru

An easy-to-follow guide on the best-advanced search tools to help you become prolific when searching for something online

Searching for something online is more complicated than it would seem. Gone are the days of “googling” what you need to find and it staring back at you at the top of the page. In the modern world of search engine optimisation and paid ads, it can be an increasingly difficult task.

So, it is important to stay ahead with the best search tools to use for your searching.

We are refraining from recommending Google or advising you to find the latest news on Twitter. Two great methods, sure, but these are examples of standard searching that in no way would make you a search guru.

Let’s take you through the key areas of search engines and the best search tools that most people do not know about…

Privacy

Ah, how to keep your privacy online – a simple concept with extremely complex challenges.

One of the best private search tools out there is DuckDuckGo. Great for privacy, this is a search engine that does not track your searches nor do DuckDuckGo personalise your results. This seems like a basic want from searching, but it is interesting to learn that you can only experience this by using this particular search engine.

If you are still adamant on using Google but see the benefits of what DuckDuckGo offers, why not go incognito? Ctrl+Shift+N once you’ve opened Google.

Advanced Searches

Most search engines have a built-in ‘advanced search’ option. Even Facebook and Twitter have this. To coincide with the text you are searching for, advanced search tools offer custom filters to find what you are searching for.

For example, if you search ‘FIFA World Cup news’ – boom, 1,490,000,000 hits! So, what if you wanted to narrow this down?

Advanced searching will refine the results you receive from your search.

This is where we will recommend Google – Google Advanced Search to be specific.

Perhaps you are searching for a song that you know is called ‘Baby’. You know that it is not Justin Bieber’s hit that you need to find, so you can enter his name in the ‘none of these words’ filter. You may also know four words of the catchy chorus, to which you can type them into the ‘exact word or phrase’ filter.

Photo Searches

Anyone can find an image from Google images – we are going to delve deeper into the most helpful image search tools…

Flickr – this is a search tool that is especially ideal if you are searching for free stock photos to use.

A relatively new and fantastic search tool is the concept of reverse image searches. If you want to find the source of an image, or simply know what something is – instead of searching by text, you can search from the image itself.

TinEye is arguably the best reverse image search engine. They, as well as others, also combine an ‘advanced search’ option. Welcome to the 21st century!

This moves us on to the next search-guru tool for you to utilise…

Reverse Searches

Images aside, there are plenty more opportunities for performing reverse searches.

Ever received a phone call from a dodgy number and not known who just called? An example of a reverse search is to search the contact number to see who called.

Alternatively, you may need to get information about an address. Suppose you’re meeting someone for the first time at their place and need the proof that the person actually lives there, reverse address lookup is what you need.

You can perform these types of reverse search with Nuwber.

In addition, their research checks also provide contact and background information; public records, addresses, email addresses and more.

You can also reverse search email addresses or usernames.

There is not a special function within search engines to conduct this type of research, simply go ahead and do it…

Social Search

Social media search has been around since the advent of user-generated content.

A main purpose of social searching is to monitor and analyse what people say, and thus think – about a company, product or whatever it may be that you have searched for.

Google, as you expect at this point, have their own social search function – Google Social Searcher used to quickly find content generated by your family, friends and others in your social circle.

There are also plenty of other social search-specific engines for you to choose from.

Social Searcher would be a good place to start tracking mentions of your company or product in the social media and the internet.

Alternatively, you can try BuzzSumo to find what is shared and discover perfect influencers to spread your brand’s message.

Final Thoughts

Searching for something online is more complicated than it should be. We are sure you have thought the same at some point, right? To attain the best results from your searches – you need to use the right tools. It is also important to stay up-to-date with the latest search engine tools, as well as the latest technology trendsin general.