12 tips to make you a super searcher on Google

How did we ever live before Google. What once could take hours to search now takes seconds. Here is a list of tips everyone needs to be a super searcher on Google.
1. Know which links are ads, and which aren't. Until a couple of years ago, Google placed most of the paid advertised websites on the right side of search results. Then Google moved the paid ads to the top of search results. Now the only way to tell if a result is an ad is by looking for a tiny square box at the front of the result marked "AD." Skip the ads and burrow down lower on the front page to find non-advertised results.
2. Don't stay on the front page. Dig deeper. Many of us don't go past the first search results page. Good results are often deeper inside.
3. Always search before buying something or hiring someone. Use a company's name and location with key words: John Doe Plumbing of Carrollton, for example. Then test other keywords with that: complaints, reviews, scam. For products, try the manufacturer, the model number of the product, the name of the store where you may buy the item: Frigidaire model 39-A at Best Buy and complaints.
4. At the bottom of a Google page, you'll find a section headlined "Search terms related to ... " Those are the phrases others use to find answers to queries that are similar to yours.
5. Most of us use the "All" tab on Google because it's the first one listed. But don't forget to slide over and use "News" also. That search often brings up more recent information on the subject.
6. Go to the magic search box and type in the start of your query and see what choices pop up. The words that automatically fill in are indicative of what most people are asking.
7. To hide your identity from Google, use the private browser. In Chrome, it's called Incognito; in Safari, it's Private Window, and in Firefox, it's Private Browsing. When searching for personal health questions, for example, it's best to keep the most private questions as private as possible. It's still traceable, but it doesn't show up in your search history.
8. Use the minus symbol before a word to exclude that word from search results.
9. Pay attention to how you arrange your words. For instance, "dog chow" and "chow dog" bring up very different results.
10. Google loves to return Wikipedia results high, but Wikipedia is not a truly verified source. False information has been planted in Wikipedia. If you rely on Wikipedia, scroll down to the list of sources for that article.
11. Use a colon to search a particular website. For example: dallasnews.com: dave lieber watchdog column and property tax.
12. Finally, don't forget your human search engines, also known as librarians. They know how to find stuff better than almost anybody.