There is a lot of sophistication and precision behind Google's simple and fast loading exterior that the average Googler is not aware of. For the average Google user, searching for items on Google is simply typing in the search word and then pressing the famous "Google Search" button. While this is good, it is sometimes not efficient and is time consuming to find exactly what you are looking for on the web. The goal of this article is to enlighten the average user and even the advanced Google user of ways to produce more productive and precise results on Google using Upfuse. Upfuse is an example site and you can apply these same techniques for any site you choose.
For those of you who don't know what Upfuse is...Upfuse is an international, multi-lingual, social marketplace that allows you to buy, sell, share and vote items in your local community and around the globe. Upfuse is currently available in 11 different languages, 245 countries and more than 100 world currencies. You don't have to register to buy or sell your items on Upfuse.
Moving forward...
Trick #1 - Limit your search to only 1 site. To do this simply type in Google your search word and use site:upfuse.com. So for example, suppose you want to only find HDTVs for sale on Upfuse. Type in Google, hdtv site:upfuse.com and press "Google Search". The results will show only hdtv on Upfuse that is currently for sale.
Trick #2 - Search within a range of numbers. Suppose you want to find HDTVs for sale on Upfuse but you only wanted to find them within the price range of $700 and $1000. How will you do this? Simple. Type in Google, hdtv site:upfuse.com $700..$1000 and search. Notice we only used 2 periods and no spaces in between the prices. Also the number range works for dollar currencies only. So typing in British Pound or the Japanese Yen and other non-dollar currencies will not work even though Upfuse supports these currencies.
Trick #3 - Search only web page titles. So you want to search only by item titles. No problem. The allintitle query modifier does just the job. Ok so you want to find only GeForce 8800 GT Video Cards for sale on Upfuse. To do this, type in: allintitle: GeForce 8800 GT Video Card site:upfuse.com and search. The results will be fine tuned to only your keywords. This is a very precise search and may give you no results. If this happens, try using less words in your search. So using allintitle: GeForce 8800 GT Video Card site:upfuse.com may return no results but using allintitle: GeForce site:upfuse.com may return more results. How's that for precision?
Trick #4 - Search for similar items or synonyms. Use the tilde operator (~). For example, you're broke and want to find cheap HDTVs for sale on Upfuse. Use the tilde (~) and your word with no spaces in between. Fore example: ~cheap HDTV site:upfuse.com and google it. The generated results will also include similar words to "cheap"such as "affordable", "inexpensive", "low budget" and so on.
Trick #5 - Search for weather conditions. So a hottie just joined Upfuse and you want to strike up a conversation with her or him and you don't know what to say. Talk about the weather! To search for current weather conditions on Google, search weather new york ny and you will see the current weather condition in New York, NY along with a four day forecast of New York's weather. Nice work. Now the only problem is getting a favorable response from the person you just messaged; but that's out of the scope of this article. Just kidding! But seriously note the that weather search works for other major cities around the world also. So you want to find weather conditions in Paris, France, then all you do is search: weather paris france and you'll find the weather for Paris.
Trick #6 - Search by shipping tracking numbers. Tracking packages and shipping can also be done on Google. For instance, you just bought a new laptop on Upfuse and you're anxious to know where it currently is. The seller gave you Fedex tracking number 123456789012. Just do a Google search for: fedex 123456789012 and you can stay up to date with your laptop's itinerary. This also works for UPS and USPS. So using: ups 123456789012 or usps 123456789012 will work. Don't worry you'll get your laptop soon. Also, Upfuse has strict policy's in place that will ensure you get what you paid for.
Trick #7 - Search for the local time. This is handy when you are doing international trading on Upfuse with a person in a different country or time zone to you. Suppose you are in Shanghai, China and you bought an ipod from a seller in Miami, FL. Typing time miami fl into Google with give you the current time in Miami, FL. Note that you don't need to put the state "FL" into your Google search but this will be beneficial for accuracy. Searching time miami in Google also produces a result for Miami, MO. Also note that the local time search also works for all countries around the world. Search time trinidad or time germany and you will get the current times in Trinidad & Tobago and in Germany respectively.
Trick #8 - Convert between global currencies. The built-in Google currency conversion is handy for dealing with transactions between currencies different from yours. For example, you do a search on Upfuse for "ipod" and you see a bunch of results of items from different countries with currencies such as CRC or EUR. Don't be intimidated by the large numbers! In Google, just search 25000 CRC in USD and you will get $50.50 US Dollars. That's not a bad price for an ipod is it? All this time you thought the seller was selling the ipod for $25,000 US Dollars. Such a shame. Note that the currency for all items in your shopping cart on Upfuse is US Dollars so if you buy an item for 25,000 CRC it is dynamically converted to $50.50 US Dollars.
Trick #9 - Search for items within a certain date range. How do you search for items that was listed on Upfuse last week? Or last month? Good question. Answer: The date range query modifier. The date range search is very handy for finding fresh new content or if you want to avoid search results from current events and focus on historical content. To do a date range search, the format is daterange:startdate-enddate where "startdate" and "enddate" are Julian dates. So suppose you wanted to find all laptops listed on Upfuse since last month. Then do a Google search using the following: laptops site:upfuse.com daterange:2454597-2454627 and you will find all laptops on Upfuse listed within the last 30 days. Note that the Google date range search is based on the date that the web page is indexed by Google and not the date when the page was actually created. So a page that was created on 1st May may not be indexed by Google until 15th May. Also, a page may get indexed by Google multiple times. So a page that was indexed by Google on 15th May can get indexed again on May 30th and in your search results, you will see the item in your May 30th search and not in your May 15th search. Pretty complicated but worth it. The good news is there are some sites on the web that will automatically convert the Julian dates for you so you don't have to learn Julian date conversions.
Trick #10 - Translate between different languages. Since Upfuse is a multi-lingual marketplace, it is not common for you to get messages from people who don't speak your native language. You might get a message from a cutie saying as "Hola" or "Bonjour". Instead of being rude and ignoring them, just put the foreign word into Google's language tool and translate it. You may find out you have admirers and you didn't even know it!
Share the knowledge - you are now armed with knowledge that the average Google user does not know about and you are on your way to being a Google master...well hopefully. If you found this article interesting, then share it with your friends, blog it, bookmark it and refer back to it for later reference. Let your friends know about the power of Google and Upfuse.
Fred Bellamy is a Google fanatic and lover of new technologies and hot new sites such as http://www.upfuse.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fred_Bellamy
