{"id":340,"date":"2017-12-21T08:43:59","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T07:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dibz.me\/blog\/?p=340"},"modified":"2017-12-21T08:43:59","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T07:43:59","slug":"link-prospecting-with-google-search-parameters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/base.me\/insights\/link-prospecting-with-google-search-parameters\/","title":{"rendered":"Refine your Link Prospecting Efforts with Google Search Parameters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0With over <\/span>one billion and two hundred websites online now<\/span><\/a>, the Internet is rapidly transforming into an overcrowded place where people can basically find everything they need if they learn how to search. It\u2019s brimming with a huge quantity of information and services that could be of use to literally all types of searchers.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>SmartInsights<\/span><\/a>, Google now processes more than 4,464,000,000 searches per day worldwide, which is almost four and a half billion, to put it in words. <\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just Google alone. <\/span><\/p>\n

What about the other engines? What about Bing and Baidu?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The above-mentioned statistics underline modern society\u2019s dependence on the World Wide Web. The number of internet users is continuously increasing, at an unfathomable rate. But despite these impressive findings, things still aren\u2019t all that great for either engines or users.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of these recorded searches lead nowhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finding what and whom they\u2019re searching for via Google is still difficult for most users. Even for more experienced ones, when their queries are more specific. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even though the world’s most popular search engine is working hard on improving its search algorithm, the general public is still struggling with their searches. Personalization, location, customization, and depth of data has helped Google understand the basic intent of average users. But, despite these improvements, people still seem to be losing their ability to conduct advanced searches. <\/span><\/p>\n

Navigating the Web efficiently and effectively is critical for most business professions today. <\/span><\/p>\n

Especially for search marketers who do a lot of <\/span>link building<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Link building is a crucial part of every intelligent SEO strategy<\/a>. It\u2019s a continuous process that just cannot be avoided. If you want to drive some traffic to your site or improve its exposure in search – you\u2019ll need to create a lot of contextual backlinks to the site, relevant to your brand and business. <\/span><\/p>\n

Having in mind that the Internet is such a big place, you cannot just type in the words \u201cmarketing blog\u201d and expect the engine to provide an infinite and neatly organized list of all the relevant sites from which you could get links. Even though Google\u2019s <\/span>Hummingbird <\/span><\/a>update has helped a lot of users with complex searches, it\u2019s still not magic. If you want to succeed in this department, you need to do a lot of digging from various angles.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So What Can You Do?<\/span><\/h2>\n

First and foremost, you can automate the entire process by using a tool like Dibz. This prospecting utility can help you crawl the entire Web and find relevant prospects in record time, which you can later <\/span>implement in your growth strategy.<\/span><\/a> Secondly, you can actually learn how search works and what tricks can help you find specific results without being forced to dig through all the pages in Google\u2019s SERP for broader keywords.<\/span><\/p>\n

Google now has the ability to understand the context and provide power-searchers with exactly what they need from it. Becoming a power-searcher is of great importance for everyone who works in marketing because locating quality targets and following up on what your competitors are doing is the cornerstone of every successful digital marketing strategy. <\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming a power-searcher is not really that hard. All you need to do is learn how to successfully communicate the intent of your searches to the engine.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Types of Google Search Parameters<\/span><\/h2>\n

While most experienced prospectors are probably already comfortable with advanced search operators, there is yet another way you can specify your queries, ensuring you\u2019ll reach your desired results in as few steps as possible. <\/span>Details on the particular <\/span>You can find a list of Google Search parameters here<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> you can add to the search query string are to follow, <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>this <\/span>section\u00a0<\/span>post<\/span> is just supposed to illustrate how they can save you time; what syntax they use, and which can be combined.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we get into all of this, you might want to know what you stand to gain; what it is that you can do <\/span>this way\u00a0<\/span>by directly manipulating the Google search URL string<\/span> and <\/span>that <\/span>you couldn\u2019t<\/span> achieve<\/span> through advanced search, search tools, or operator enhanced queries. <\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is, it depends. <\/span><\/p>\n

Performing a search this way can be more complicated than simply relying on an advanced operator. Sure, it does come with its benefits, most of them having to do with instances when you have to perform a similar, operator modified search numerous times, with only slight variations, but it also has its drawbacks. <\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, you can\u2019t get Omnibox suggestions with a custom Google search engine. A lot of people rely on those suggestions for keyword or topic research – you provide a couple of terms and Google itself tells you what they are most commonly combined with, i.e. you get a general idea regarding the current popularity of queries containing them, as well as terms frequently accompanying them. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, if you begin typing \u201clink prospecting<\/strong>\u201d into the Omnibox, which is using a search engine you\u2019ve specified, you won\u2019t get the drop-down displaying popular related searches (in our case, link prospecting services<\/strong>, link prospecting tools<\/strong>, link prospecting methods<\/strong>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The only way to objectively assess whether taking the time to compose strings of this kind is worth it, is to actually try and do it for specific tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Example:<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

You need to search a particular site for a wide set of terms, and you only want results from the previous week. A combination of site:<\/code><\/strong> operator and an adjustment in the \u201cSearch tools\u201d section should get you what you need for one term, but if you need to do this often, you\u2019re likely to run into at least two problems:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n