Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • YouTube Videos
  • Top Categories
  • Subscribe via Email
  • Ask A Question
  • Meet Dave
  • Home
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help
  • How to Customize your Google Search Settings and Use Advanced Search

How to Customize your Google Search Settings and Use Advanced Search

July 16, 2022 / Dave Taylor / Google, Chrome & Gmail Help / 3 Comments

If you’ve just been using Google search by typing in a word or two, you’re missing out on a world of far more sophisticated queries. There are also lots of settings to change so you can customize your search experience too! Here’s how…

Everyone uses Google search. It’s hard to imagine the Web without the lightning fast search engine that can sift through billions of Web pages, images, shopping sites, and other content to produce a prioritized list of potential results for your query in less time than it takes to read this sentence. With its distinctive LEGO-inspired logo, it’s a ubiquitous part of the Internet. But few people realize it’s also something you can customize, and even fewer know how to build sophisticated queries that include date ranges, words to exclude, how to force exact phrase matches, and even numeric ranges within searches.

Google’s search team knows that learning a new (search) language can be difficult too – yet another thing to memorize – so there’s a hidden feature in search that makes creating these power queries a breeze. If you know where to find it! But more than anything, it’s things like SafeSearch and the number of results per page that are worth tweaking to match your own preferences. Let’s have a look…

GOOGLE SEARCH SETTINGS AND PREFERENCES

I’ll be demonstrating all of this within Google’s Chrome browser on a computer, but most all of these are also accessible through the Google search app on your mobile device (albeit in a slightly different location, depending on operating system). To start, here’s perhaps the most viewed page on the entire Internet:

google search settings preferences advanced - home screen

The link you want to click on is “Settings” on the lower right. Before we do, however, have a close look at all the different links on the edges of this screen; did you realize there’s a Google Store and that there’s information on advertising, business, and even a tutorial on how search works, just a click away? Worth exploring.

Click on “Settings” and a small menu pops up:

google search settings preferences advanced - settings menu

All useful info, but for our purposes, click on “Search settings“. You’ll move to a new screen that has a long list of settings and preferences, many of which are darn useful and a few of which are best left untouched. The two most important are at the top:

google search settings preferences advanced - settings safesearch results per page

If you have ever done searches – particularly Google Image Search queries – that have resulted in not-suitable-for-work results, even results that you found shocking, then enabling SafeSearch is a smart move. Or, conversely, if you’re fine seeing all sorts of adult content in addition to the regular results, leave it disabled, but know that you do have control over this setting.

The Results per page setting can be a game changer too if you’re someone who spends a lot of time searching and poring through the resultant matches. By default, Google shows 10 results per page, but you can adjust that up to even 100 results per page, making the query a smidge slower, but the resultant results page far more useful. I compromise and change it to ’20’.

Scroll down just a bit and you’ll see another useful setting:

google search settings preferences advanced - trending searches in suggestions

Ever started typing in a search query just to have suggestions appear that are bizarre or distracting? “Autocomplete with trending searches” lets you disable that feature if you prefer. I leave it enabled, personally, but if you’re easily distracted – SQUIRREL! – then changing this can help you stay on task.

google search settings preferences advanced - open in new windows

The next setting is about usability; enable “Open each selected result in a new browser window” and you’ll have lots of windows open, but you won’t lose the search results themselves when you click. I like to open in a new browser tab, actually, so I have learned to Command-click the results instead.

Google also saves your entire search history. Every query, forever. You can change this, however, by going into your account Search History settings. Click on “Manage” and it’ll open a new window that will let you fine tune your settings as desired.

If you make any changes, make sure to scroll to the very bottom and click on “Save“. Done. Google search preferences updated!

Now, from that same Settings menu on the home screen, choose “Advanced search“.

GOOGLE ADVANCED SEARCH

One of my favorite Google features is advanced search, because it really highlights just how powerful and sophisticated queries can be with the system. This is immediately obvious when you move to Advanced Search:

google search settings preferences advanced - advanced search 1

Want to look for Ford Mustang but skip any pages that contain the word “horse”? You can do that easily enough. Search for the exact phrase “Quincy Jones” and also include any of the numbers 1 through 10? You can do that too.

Scroll down just a bit and it’s the result filters that are really the big winner:

google search settings preferences advanced - filters and exclusions

You can filter results by language, region of publication, how recently the page was updated, a domain, and more. You can even tweak your SafeSearch settings for a specific query without changing your overall SafeSearch settings. PDF documents in Italian published in the last month? You can create that query. Specify that the search terms you’ve entered must appear in the title of the page? You can add that constraint too.

The more you use Advanced Search, the more you realize just how incredibly powerful Google’s search system really is. And if you closely examine the search result after an advanced search, you’ll see that everything you specify converts into specific constraints in the query itself, which means you can learn how to construct these advanced queries directly if you’re so inclined. Very cool.

Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about search and search results for a long time. While you’re visiting, please do check out my Google help area and SEO help and tips to up your search game! Thanks.

About the Author: Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the early days of the Internet. Author of over 20 technical books, he runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech help site. You can also find his gadget reviews on YouTube and chat with him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
advanced search, google search preferences, google search settings

3 comments on “How to Customize your Google Search Settings and Use Advanced Search”

  1. Ernest N. Wilcox Jr. says:
    September 22, 2022 at 8:54 am

    After reading this item, I configured my Google Search settings, then opened the Advanced Search so I could copy the URL to keep in a desktop shortcut. Now, when I want to perform an advanced search, I get there in a single click :). Thank you for posting this item

    Reply
  2. Mario says:
    July 30, 2022 at 8:34 am

    My home page “google advanced search” has become Dutch-speaking! It used to be in English but got captured by a Dutch “pirate”. In all the browsers that I use. Please tell me how to make my home page speak English again. The problem has something to do with the location: in the lower left corner of the page “Nederland” appears. TIA.

    Reply
    • Dave Taylor says:
      July 31, 2022 at 6:05 pm

      Are you running a VPN that’s using a Netherland relay, Mario?

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • What Is The Importance Of A Strong Password?
  • An Introduction to the New Microsoft Windows Copilot AI Sidebar
  • How to Set a Max Volume Limit on your Child’s iPhone
  • How To Try Out the AI-Powered Google Search Generative Experience (SGE)
  • How to Change Cover Screen Design on a Samsung Flip Phone

On Our YouTube Channel

Kensington Pro Fit Ergo TB450 Trackball -- REVIEW

FiiTii HiFiDots ANC TWS Earbuds -- DEMO & REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help (106)
  • Alexa, Kindle, and Nook Help (103)
  • Amazon, eBay, and Online Shopping Help (166)
  • Android Help (240)
  • Apple iPad Help (151)
  • Apple Watch & Smartwatch Help (56)
  • Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews (347)
  • Auto Tech Help (21)
  • Business Advice (201)
  • Chromebook & ChromeOS Help (47)
  • Computer & Internet Basics (796)
  • d) None of the Above (166)
  • Facebook Help (386)
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help (197)
  • HTML & Web Page Design (248)
  • Instagram & Threads Help (53)
  • iPhone & iOS Help (642)
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help (173)
  • LinkedIn Help (90)
  • Linux Help (178)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (90)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (932)
  • Most Popular (16)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (41)
  • PayPal Help (68)
  • Pinterest Help (54)
  • Reddit Help (21)
  • SEO & Marketing (82)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (102)
  • Trade Show News & Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (225)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows PC Help (979)
  • Wordpress Help (206)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (47)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (66)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2023 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy
x
x