Many of us use Google as the starting point for doing a search on the internet.
If you’re like me, you have a standard routine: enter the word or words for your search, click on the search tab and then peruse the results.
A short time ago I started to look a bit more closely at many of the other clickable links and buttons on the Google search pages. It’s amazing what’s there!
In May (2009) Google introduced a new tool called the ‘Wonder Wheel.’ It can be used to help you narrow down your search by showing related search terms. The spokes of the wheel can give you more options which are relevant to your search and show others that you may not have thought about. If you like visual displays, you’ll love the wheel.
To find the Wonder Wheel, start at the Google home page (www.google.com) and type in something you’d like to search for. When the results come up, you’ll see a line in a shade of light blue just under the search box. The first word in this line is ‘Web’ and right after that is ‘Show options.’ Click on ‘Show options’ and the page will change to show a list of options in the left-hand column. Scroll down and under ‘Standard view’ you’ll see ‘Wonder Wheel.’ Click on that to see the wheel.
The center ‘hub’ of the wheel will be the term(s) you searched for. The spokes will contain relevant searches. Click on any one of those and a new wheel of relevant information will open up allowing you to narrow down and fine tune your search.
What do you think of the Wonder Wheel?
Comments
Wow. Neat. I wonder what criteria are used to determine relevant searches?
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