Anyone that knows how to turn on a computer should know what Google’s home page looks like. There have been a few minor changes through the years, but the basics have been there since day one. Its design is simple, and functional; the main purpose of the page is to type in a few keywords to search for something of interest.

With the fast-paced growth of the internet, it can be reassuring to see that a page as well-known as Google.com has remained relatively unchanged. It can also make you wonder if its purpose, which was the status quo when it launched, is still useful given the emergence of new technologies and other new search methods.

Other Information Aggregators

Social Media Sites

The 2000′s have seen the rise of social media super-sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Using these tools, users can build platforms to find information they have deemed interesting. Users are able to log in to their section and view posts from others within their network to get access to information they didn’t even know they wanted. The user can control the size of their network, and thus has some control over the amount of information that they are exposed to. Other settings can be adjusted to further customize their portal(s).

RSS

If a website updates regularly, it’s likely that somewhere on the page is an RSS icon. Users are able to subscribe to feeds from that site to be notified automatically when something has been changed, without having to frantically hit the refresh button while obsessively anticipating the next update. This is particularly useful for sites with specific subject material. If a user is interested enough in the subject, they want to know anything new about it as soon as the information is released.

Advanced Search Options

Back to Google’s method of finding useful information for users. Even though the home page is fairly bare-boned with limited links, most people choose not to use anything but the search box and the "Google Search" button. Just to the right of the search box is a link titled "Advanced Search", and here is a basic explanation of what it does:

Find Web Pages that Have…

Here you’re able to type in keywords or phrases to specify your search. You can use different characters, (such as quotations or the plus sign) for different search queries.

But Don’t Show Pages That Have…

This will let Google know that you want keywords listed in this box to be excluded from your search result. This could be particularly useful if you are researching breast cancer, but want to make sure you don’t accidentally end up on a site that is not educational.

Need More Tools?

Here you can further customize your search results. You are able to specify the number of results per page, what language you want to search in, a file type you want (html, PDF, mp3, etc.), and search within a specific site.

Date, Usage Rights, Numeric Range, and More

If an even more specific search is desired, this section will give the options needed to get streamlined results. You can specify a certain date range, search by usage rights (useful for searching for software, you can search for freeware, shareware, or commercial products), search for keywords in certain sections of a site (title, body, etc.), search for results within specific geographic regions, enter a numeric range (years, monetary, etc.), and turn SafeSearch on or off to filter explicit material.

Date Filter

To me, this is the most useful advanced search option Google offers. As a web developer, I find myself looking to the internet several times a day to help with any questions that pop up with my current project. If my questions are related to web standards, a standard search is often misleading. Often the first several results will give me an answer that was considered standard, but has become deprecated over time. If the last update on a search result was back in 2002 for instance, it probably isn’t relevant any longer. But by searching using the same keywords but specifying results that were updated/changed within the last month or year, I find that the results are much more reliable.

Changes to Google Search

I already mentioned that Google’s home page and the function it serves has remained relatively unchanged for several years. Undoubtedly, the processes behind-the-scenes have changed many times. Google is always working to refine their search methods to remain at the top of the search engine market. It could be argued that social media tools are today’s biggest threat to Google’s core function, but it seems that Google is quietly working to respond to that threat as well.

So, what do you think about searching the internet via Google. Will we still be using Google for keyword searches in the future, or will the internet continue to evolve and provide a better solution?