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Your Guide to Googling

Google has been helping us find answers for 25 years. Are you getting the best search results?

August 28, 2023
By Karen Grimaldos

As You Read, Think About: Why is it important to know how to find good search results?

How do you make slime? Where’s the world’s largest lake? If you’re like most people, there’s one thing you do when you have questions like these. Google it!

Google is turning 25 this year. The world’s most popular search engine has a lot to celebrate. Google receives and responds to billions of search requests every day. The company is also a huge success. It is worth more than $1 trillion.

A Google search is now quicker than ever. But finding reliable results can be tricky.

Searching for Answers

Before Google, most students found information in library books. Doing research for a project could take hours, days, or even weeks.

Things started to change in 1990. That’s when the world’s first search engine was invented.  

Google was launched in 1998 and made searching even easier. It provided faster and more relevant results than any other search engine. In just two years, Google became the world’s top search engine.

Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images

Larry Page (left) and Sergey Brin started Google in their garage in Menlo Park, California.

Be a Detective

These days, a Google search can turn up millions of websites. And, if you and your best friend searched the same term from different places, your results would not be the same. That’s because Google’s results are based on your search history, location, and settings.

So how can you make sure that you’re finding the most reliable information?

“Online searching is very much like detective work—you have to follow the trail,” says media expert Belinha De Abreu.

Google Like a Pro

A smart search strategy can help you find reliable sites and accurate information. Follow these tips, and ask a teacher or trusted adult if you need more help.

  1. Based on the article, why can two people use the same search terms and get different results?
  2. What is the section “Searching for Answers” mainly about?
  3. What are two facts you can learn from the sidebar, “Google Like a Pro”?
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