Identifying Search Engine Categories

Each search result is categorized into a variety of subjects. Being able to navigate to the different types of search results is an important skill to have when searching the internet. A browser has a small menu above the search results indicating these categories.

Lets say that you are put in charge of creating a sales flyer for Rowan Retail store. It is suggested you use graphic design to make the flyer stand out. This is the first time you have heard of graphic design and you wish to learn a little more about it. Using the Google search engine, you can conduct a search on graphic design.

First open a browser window by clicking on the desktop icon or the icon on the computer desktop’s taskbar, then type in www.google.com in the address bar and press the Enter (or Return) key on the keyboard.

In the Google search bar, type graphic design definition and press the Enter (or Return) key. The webpage displays the results of your search. Above the displayed search results there is a small menu bar with six choices.

Search results are defaulted to All which means that every type of category (i.e. images, news, videos, shopping, etc.) is listed in the search results displayed on the page. This menu is used when choosing to narrow a search by different categories. The More option when selected drops down a small menu with additional category options. Now let’s explore how these categories work.

Open First Web Search for All

With a browser window open and the Google search bar ready, type in retail development. Notice how the menu defaults to the All option. The page displays maps of retail stores, a book about retail development, and various other websites. Locate the first search result with an article or website and open the result by clicking on the left mouse button.

This opens the link to a webpage about the 2017 Global Retail Development Index which lists countries indicating their standing in the retail development business. If this fits the search you are looking for, you can continue to read through this article. Nice job!

Open First Web Search for News

Now we’ll to try a different category for search results by returning to the previous screen with search results for retail development. Click on the back button at the top of the browser. When the page returns to the results, click on News in the search category menu. The page will now refresh and appear with the latest news articles about retail development. Notice the blue bar under the word News. This is used to visually indicate which category is currently being displayed.

Now identify the first news search result and click with the left mouse button to open that news article.

The hyperlinked article webpage will now be displayed. In this case, the link opened an article in the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise news about the strong industrial and retail development this last year. You are now on your way to finding more news items that fit the search.

Open First Web Search for Video

Once again we’ll return to the previous screen with search results for retail development by clicking on the back button at the top of the browser. When the page returns to the results, click on Video in the search category menu. The page will now refresh and appear with the latest videos about retail development. Notice the blue bar is now under the word Video.

One more time, identify the first search result at the top of the list and click on the first link to open this video on the webpage.

This link navigates the webpage to a Huntington, West Virginia news channel website containing a video about plans for a retail development site. Some videos begin to play as soon as the webpage is loaded, but others like this video, will have a circle with an arrow in the center of the video. This play button must be clicked to start the video playing.

Often with videos there are commercials that play before the video content. Be sure to wait through the commercial (or click on a skip button if that appears) and then watch the content video.

Review

There are different ways that search results are categorized. Decide which type may be most relevant to the search you are conducting. If you are unsure which might be most effective, select a few different types and click on additional results to explore and learn. Take some time to experiment and become comfortable with finding results and exploring the focused categories on a search engine.

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