{"id":12192,"date":"2021-10-12T16:36:39","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T13:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.travelpayouts.com\/en\/?p=12192"},"modified":"2025-07-23T17:10:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T14:10:15","slug":"how-to-better-research-for-your-blog-and-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelpayouts.com\/blog\/how-to-better-research-for-your-blog-and-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Better Research for Your Blog and Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Use Advanced Search Techniques<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes just typing the request into the search bar isn\u2019t enough. To find content for blogs, you\u2019ll have to use advanced search methods like Google search operators<\/a>. These are certain words or combinations that help you find relevant information on Google by omitting inappropriate data. The most helpful and commonly used are mentioned below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quotation Marks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To search for exact information, put the target words in quotation marks. Without these marks, Google will seek any word combinations, while the marks allow you to omit irrelevant data. You can also use quotation marks to see what already exists on the internet on the topic and come up with blog ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an example, type \u201cideas for a blog\u201d<\/em> into the search bar, and Google will immediately provide you with sources containing this concrete expression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google using quotation marks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By the way, you can add more quote marks to narrow down your search. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to narrow your search on Google with more quotation marks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Asterisk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This Google operator lets you perform research when you don\u2019t know the exact keywords or what to put into the search bar. By placing an asterisk (*), you command Google to seek any word or phrase that can match your request. Also, it can be used to find blog topics under a given theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, put \u201c*blog topic ideas\u201d<\/em> as shown on the screenshot, and the search engine will provide you with the results that may be relevant to your request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with asterisk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can even add more asterisks to make your search more precise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to make your search more precise with more asterisks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Site:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This method is handy in researching blogs or websites, especially if they don\u2019t have a search field. And you can do it right from a Google search – put the site operator, a colon and the website name. You can also add additional data that you want to find. For example, if you look for social media stats on Statista, type \u201csite:statista.com social media statistics\u201d<\/em>. Note that it\u2019s important not to put space between colon and website domain as in this case the command won\u2019t work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with the site operator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You may also use this search operator with quotation marks to specify your request<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with the site operator and quotation marks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Number Range<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you need some data within a certain period, you may command Google to find something that occurred between two periods<\/a>. This may be especially useful if you don\u2019t want to spend your time exploring various sources and need to look up specific data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, type \u201cKeanu Reeves Movies 1984..2021\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>if you need to research a blog post devoted to the actor\u2019s career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with number ranges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Related<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want to look for some alternatives<\/a> to a particular website or service, use this research operator. It\u2019s also helpful to conduct competitor analysis or search for influencers in your area. As an example, type \u201crelated:wordpress.com\u201d <\/em>and Google will provide you with websites that it considers as similar ones. Note that this command should be entered without a space between colon and domain website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with the related operator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This search operator is used when you need to find two terms at once. It may help look for statistics to compare or ideas for posts in social media. And basically, Google uses this search technique in its standard searches<\/a>. By way of illustrating, let\u2019s type \u201cInstagram AND Poparazzi AND Clubhouse\u201d<\/em>. And you\u2019ll see that Google provided you with the results that contain all three target words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with the AND operator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Or<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re not sure about the exact keyword to research a post idea, use OR to find one or another term. It may help to look up brand mentions and narrow down the research by itself. For example, you may look for \u201cAutumn OR Fall Songs\u201d, <\/em>if you plan to create a post with a collection of topical songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with the OR operator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hyphen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you need to remove some terms while researching, you may hyphen (-) to point out the unwanted term. By way of illustration, let\u2019s type \u201cwriter -profession\u201d<\/em>. In this case, Google will provide you with an online writing tool and also Ellie Goulding\u2019s song. If you put just \u201cwriter\u201d, you\u2019d see the meaning of the word and other related results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google using a hyphen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You may also check the plagiarism<\/a> in this way. Just put some part of your text in quotes and exclude your website. For example, let\u2019s type \u201cA writer is a person who uses written words in different styles and techniques to communicate ideas” -Wikipedia\u201d. <\/em>As you can see, this sentence appears in more than 9K results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to check the plagiarism on Google using a hyphen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tilde<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For cases in which you want to find synonyms of certain words, add tilde (~) before your keywords. This operator will also help you find particular words and even other options. For instance, you may put \u201c~great\u201d <\/em>(without a space) and Google will display the appropriate results according to the request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with a tilde<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Link<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This search operator is used to search for pages referring to the original source. Thus, you can find all the pages linking to a certain page, which can be especially useful when checking backlinks and analyzing competitors. Just type \u201clink:page address\u201d<\/em> and see which sites refer to this page, as in the example below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with the link operator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Filetype<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you need to search for a specific file, use this Google operator. It allows finding various documents in PDF, DOC, PPT, XLS, and TXT formats. And here\u2019s how it may be used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Type \u201csocial media statistics” filetype:pdf\u201d, <\/em>and Google will look through different websites mentioning the target words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Goole with the filetype operator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You may also use the \u201cext:\u201d operator. It works in a similar way as \u201cfiletype:pdf\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with the ext operator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Define<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To look up the meaning of a word or term, you may use \u201cdefine:\u201d Google modifier. The search engine is implemented with vocabulary, and it will display the result in a small window under the search bar. By way of illustration, let\u2019s type \u201cdefine: dystopia\u201d. <\/em>Here is what you will receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to search on Google with the define operator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This method may greatly save your time as you won\u2019t have to look up various search results to find out the meaning of the target word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filter Results by Date<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Apart from using Google search modifiers, you may also opt to Google filter results to research a blog post. It allows searching data in a particular period range (any time, past hour\/day\/week\/month\/year). To search for the results by date, press the \u201cTools\u201d<\/em> button, and then click on \u201cAny time\u201d.<\/em> You will see the drop-down menu with the possible selections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Press “Tools” under the search bar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Choose\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Choose a time range to filter the results<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Use Search Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You may also perform a search by Images, News, Videos, etc.<\/a>, under the Google search box. Choosing or switching between these tabs will allow you to specify the information you may need to find. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Search\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Search tools on Google under the search box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To look up the pictures, click on the \u201cImages\u201d<\/em> tab. You may also use the options above the pictures to narrow down your research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The “Images” tab under the search box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To search for the news, you may click on the \u201cNews\u201d<\/em> tab. Here you can also apply filters by time and relevance for a more precise search. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The “News” tab under the search box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To look up the videos, click on the \u201cVideos\u201d<\/em> tab. And here you may also filter the results by duration, time, quality, video types and sources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The “Videos” tab under the search box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"How\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
How to sort results under the “Video” tab under the search box on Google<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Use In-Built Search on Social Media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How do people find my blog? If it turns out that users often come upon your page via social media, make sure to properly analyze your audience, competitors, and niche in general. And, below, you will find out how to do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To search on Facebook<\/a>, go to the search box on the top of your page and start typing your request. For example, \u201clifehacks\u201d<\/em>. Applying different filters may provide you with various results depending on their types: <\/p>\n\n\n\n