Contrary to common belief, Google’s infamous Web-Search is just one of the many searches Google has. In this article, I’ll go over some of the most powerful Google features, and some handy tricks. If you don’t use Google frequently, consider yourself an outsider! (Or a person who’s found another way…)

Google’s Image Search - images.google.com
This tool may very well be the most powerful tool that Google has to offer for webmasters and graphic designers. This search allows users to search through countless pages of graphics. The images are displayed on a clean and organized page and are previewed via thumbnails. The size of the original image is given below each thumbnail. Clicking on the thumbnails will bring up a framed page split in half between the image’s original page and a Google information pane.

Google Groups - groups.google.com
Though it’s displayed on all of Google’s search pages, its often overlooked. The groups search allows users to search Usenet discussion groups. This tool can prove to be outstanding in locating unique information about specific subjects.

Google News - news.google.com
Given to us on Google’s birthday not long ago, this is a dynamic summary of current news. Google constantly searches major news outlets and generates new pages frequently. The US version of the site has categories for World News, US News, Business, Science and Tech, Sports, Entertainment, and health. Google news is available in 10 nation specific variations.

Froogle Product Search – froogle.google.com
Just released from Google labs, this new search is Google’s entry into the booming market of online shopping. It searches through catalogs and websites to find products. A query of Froogle will pull up products’ pricing, pictures, and more.

Google Answers – answers.google.com
This is the only paid search service Google offers. Members submit questions, and attach a dollar amount they are willing to pay. The more money, the more detailed answer. The price can be anywhere from $2.50 to $200. A Google researcher then responds with an answer. Anybody may view previously answered questions. This is a good excuse to let somebody else do researching!

Google Catalogs – catalogs.google.com
Similar to the new Froogle, Google Catalogs searches through thousands of mail order catalogs to find products, rather than websites.

Google Directory – directory.google.com
Powered by none other than DMOZ, Google directory is a comprehensive listing of over 4,000,000 sites. Each one of which, was manually added to the list by over 62,000 screened editors. To directly access the DMOZ, visit http://dmoz.org.

Google Local – local.google.com
This search is actually a little scary. Type in a US location, a search term, and click go. It searches through phone books and uses MapQuest to find people or businesses, show a map of their location, and even give driving directions to it. It almost makes tracking down people a little to easy…

Google Special Searches
Google has special searches which will refine all returned documents to specific categories. The special search categories include US Government, Linux, BSD, Apple Macintosh, and Microsoft. In addition, users may search University websites. For all of these searches and more, see http://www.google.com/options/specialsearches.html.

Other hints and tricks
In a web search, use the following features:

Cached pages – view webpages as they were seen by Google’s spider. Example: cache:site.com

Calculator – Add up numbers! Use this by entering numbers as you would in a regular calculator. Multiplication is represented by the * symbol, and the / symbol is division. Example: 4*3

Definitions – Google will search a dictionary for a words definition.
Example: define dog.

Reverse Lookups – Have a call logged on caller ID, but there is no name? Type the number into Google and if found, a map and listing will be given for the phone number. Example: (123)456-7891

For a complete listing of Google’s Web Search Features, see http://www.google.com/help/features.html.

Though this article covered many of Google’s current features, many more exist and even more are in development. See the Google Labs. (http://labs.google.com) for some truly awe-inspiring new features. Check out the new voice search, personalized web search, and google sets!