When looking up something on the internet, you can do three things.
You can use the Google search engine to find the answer, type a URL for an answer, or type your question into a search engine.
Among the three, typing a website’s URL into the search bar (now called Omnibox), or searching directly on a search engine is the most popular way of loading up a website.
However, popularity is not equivalent to superiority.
Which is the best way to load a website? Should you type in www.pinterest.com (or pinterest.com) into the address bar of your browser to access Pinterest?
Or should you input the keyword “Pinterest” into the Google browser’s Search bar?
Depending on your needs, scenarios, and other factors, using one way will prove more beneficial than the other.
We’ll go through everything you need to know below in this post about using the Search Google or type a URL!
You may be interested in: How to Drive Traffic to Your Website
Using Search Engines
Chrome provides internet users with two options.
You have the option to type in a keyword of your choice into the search bar and press “Enter” to see the results on the Search Engine Result Page (SERPs).
That, or you can input a website URL into the address bar and you will then be taken directly to the website’s page.
One advantage of using Search Google or type a URL is: if you can’t vividly remember the URL of a website or even an exact keyword, you can easily search for the related words you remember.
Read also: Best Keyword Research Tools for SEO
Inputting the direct website URL into the address bar can be a bit tedious and also squanders the transmission of information/data because you’ll need to go through the results page before having access to the site.
If you just need specific information from the particular website even though you know the full URL address, going through the search engine might be a better option.
Typing URL into Address Bar
URL parameters are query strings used to pass information about a search through a URL. Most queries in a URL start with a question mark and are used in different manners.
The prefixes www. And HTTP:// are optional.
Some websites even use shorter URLs that divert users to the principal or full URL when clicked, thereby allowing users to have access to the website without having to input long strings of words.
For example, instead of typing www.pinterest.com, you can type in pinterest.com into your address bar and will be taken to the website in no time.
URL Parameters
URL parameters (query strings or URL query parameters) are keywords or website elements present in a URL to organize, filter, and pass information about the website.
They are a way to pass information about the URL clicked itself.
A URL parameter can be identified by looking at the portion of the URL that comes after the question mark (?). They consist of a value and key which can be separated by the equal to (=) sign.
Multiple values can be separated by the (&) ampersand.
URL parameters are created automatically, however, with the Google Search Console, you can customize them. They solve a variety of issues such as:
- Searching through a whole website
- Tracking landing page conversions
- Enabling user identification
- Filtering items on online stores
- Displaying website versions (depending on the country or user language)
Google Search Parameters
Google Search parameters are a set of brief and logical commands.
They help users find related answers to their search queries and navigate out of difficult situations. Such situations might include:
- Identifying web indexing errors: Sometimes, Google spiders might not crawl to some pages on your website. You can use the operator’s website to check non-working and duplicate pages that should not be crawled.
- Looking for a file: Websites tend to gather a lot of data leading to lost posts from years back. The library of your website has to be cleaned once in a while to remove obsolete posts that shouldn’t be crawled.
- Looking for websites that accept sponsored or guest posts: Many websites show interest in accepting guest posts to make sure their website content is up to date. Choose a niche and input your request in the search bar: “become a contributor [niche]”, “guest posts for [niche] ” or, “become an author”.
- Looking for websites that provide backlinks: Find the websites that are in the same niche as you and request to publish stuff on their website. Input site: domain.com on your browser’s address bar to get an insight on the number of indexed pages, then input site: domain.com [niche] to find those relevant to your niche.
- Looking for websites with similar content: With this feature, you can check if other websites and online stores in your niche are duplicating the content of your website.
“Search Google or type in a URL” in Google Canary
Google Canary is a new and updated version of the Chrome Browser created by the Google team.
When you type the web address into the address bar and press enter, the full URL is buried on the top level of the address bar.
You can only see the site name while loading the website. This Google Chrome Canary Domain-only method has only one advantage: it shortens the web address.
However, you can only get that option when you use the “Search Google or Type a URL option” in the right-hand subfield of your Google Chrome tab.
Search Google or Type a URL, Which is Better?
Which one should you use to load a website of your choice, search or enter website name?
The answer is simple: It depends if you know the full URL of the website you wish to access.
Let’s say the target website is onesearchpro.my, you can simply input the URL in the browser address bar and press “Enter” on your keyboard to enter the target page directly.
If you don’t remember a website URL or just want to look for information about a particular keyword online, you can input whatever keyword you want to use into the address bar.
Let’s say, you’re looking for a keyword research tools website, input the keyword “keyword research tools” search bar on your Chrome browser and press “Enter” on your keyboard.
You will be provided with a lot of websites on the search results page and you can continue to look through the website you want and have other options open as well.
Tips to Search Better: How to Better My Search on Google Chrome?
There are several ways to improve your Google searches; they save time and make you get more personalized search results.
- Apply the tabs: Two tabs manage your search results. One is the left-hand column which is a short-cut tool that provides you with easy access to your search history.
- Apply quotes: Instead of adding your website name or domain to build your SEO, you can add more quotes related to your keywords. They are also useful when you talk about different things in your content. Examples of such quotes include: “good SEO practices “Digital marketing for small businesses.” etc.
- Apply a hyphen to exclude words: Hyphens help eliminate words from the search results. You can also do the same for keywords. For example, the keyword “SEO tools -Ahrefs”. It would remove Ahrefs from the search results.
- Apply a colon to search a desired website: We often look for information about a document or specific keyword we need. By adding a colon to the search term, if a user searches and wants only information from the One Search Pro website, input site: onesearchpro.my into your search bar and press enter on your keyboard. This will bring you information from only that website.
- Apply the Asterisk Wildcard: Using the Asterisk Wildcard to a full URL allows you to search for related content to it. You can also use it to search for pages within a domain or site, and also find websites that are related to each other. With the * you can find websites that are related to others by inputting related topics, keywords, or titles.
- Apply important words: It’s important to use keywords that are closely related to your niche. Take the time to do keyword research and understand the search intent behind those keywords to rank for your website. Use specific keywords in the body of your website content, meta title, and meta description. Make sure the keywords are ones that effectively showcase what your website is for.
Frequently Asked Questions on Search Google
What is Google Custom Search?
The Google Custom Search helps you add custom search boxes on your site so users in need can use it to find what they’re looking for. Google Custom Search is public and free to use. The only downside to using the platform is the number of websites that will display on your website.
E-commerce platforms like Shopify and other website builders like Wix and WordPress, come with a default search bar.
Related: Easystore VS. Shopify
You can also manually copy and paste the code so it can be functional on your website. Here’s how to add the Google Custom Search engine to your website:
- Open the Google Custom Search Homepage.
- Type the URL of your website and click on the create option just below it.
- Your custom search engine is created and you can give it a name that you prefer.
- If you wish to add another website, click on ‘Add’ at the top.
- After creating a custom search engine for your website, click on the control panel and you’ll see a basic tab. You can add it to your website by clicking on ‘Get a code’, so you copy and paste the code in the website editor. Or you can copy the search engine ID and paste it under the Google Custom Search plugin.
- Refresh your website and the Google Custom Search engine would go live.
How to exclude a website from Google search results?
A Google Custom search helps and can be used to perform this function. Enter the website, input -URL: [ write URL here]. The search operator (-inurl) must appear before the search query to make it work properly.
Let’s say you want to remove content from a random website “googleme” in a search query. You would just input: google me -inurl:googleme.com.
Conclusion
Search or type web address on your browser? There you have it, the full information about the search algorithm of one of the most powerful search engines on the planet.
Even if you’re not a tech or search engine guru, you would be able to understand how to personalize search results to enjoy the benefits of your browser.
Which of the methods have you tried to search on your chrome browser before? Which do you prefer?
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