It’s part of your responsibility as a person with a vested interest in a website to look that website up every once in a while and see what comes up. You may be surprised.
Start with Google
You’re used to making Google.com keyword searches, and you have a particular way you do it, right? Here are a few more important ways to look yourself up:
“The Name of Your Organization” or “Specific String of Keywords”
Putting the actual name of your organization in quote marks will make Google search for that exact name or phrase. You may also want to search for any nicknames your organization has.
So the hospital might look up “Yale-New Haven Hospital,” “Yale Hospital,” “YNHH,” and maybe even “New Haven Hospital.” Google is pretty smart, though, so when you search “New Haven Hospital” it adds the “Yale-“ at the beginning.
This leads me to my next item:
Search minus a keyword
Use the minus sign to exclude irrelevant terms from your search results. So, in the example above, if I search [“New Haven Hospital” –Yale] I get an entirely new set of results. Interesting! I did not know I could buy this cool old postcard: http://www.cardcow.com/312821/new-haven-hospital-connecticut/
Search Sample: [George Bush –w]
(Were you looking for “George Bush, MD”? Well, now you’ve found him!)
Linkto:
This one is really important. If someone writes to you and sends you a link to “this old document that is still out there on the internet and it needs to be taken down” you can actually find out where the link to the document is still posted so that you can request people remove or update their links.
Also, you can find out who is linking to your site so you can send them a thank-you note.
Search Sample: [linkto:http://www.YOURURL.edu]
Show Search Tools
Now, within your search results, there are lots of selections on the side to filter your results (like if you are looking for a picture, you click “images”). You know this. But have you clicked “Show search tools” at the bottom of that list? Here are more ways to filter. You can search for items posted in the past 24 hours, for instance. I use this to look up NYT articles I read a week ago and can’t remember what they are titled.
You might use it if you decide to look up “diabetes latest research” every week but don’t want to plow through all the articles you’ve already read and just want to see what is new.
Advanced Search
If you think you’re ready, try the advanced google search.
Google Search on Yale.edu
Also, don’t forget to use these tips to look your site up on Yale.edu.
And here’s a Google Game
[Disclaimer: This is a nerd game, and I like it] Play the “how to” game. We all know about instant search now, right? This is where Google tries to not only predict what you are looking up as you type it, but also displays those search results as you are typing. So if you type “how to” into Google, you’ll see the top four things people are trying to find out how to do. Right now? It’s:
- How to tie a tie
- How to make out
- How to write a cover letter
- How to train your dragon
Fun, right? Try with any number of phrases like “Can I” and “will you” and “ten steps.”