Smart search — Use Google search efficiently (UI/UX)

Google is almost used by everyone who has access to the internet. Google changed the way we live, information is just one search away. We can almost get any information on Google today from the meaning of a word to any product you want to buy instantly. But Google has more!, yes.. Google has more to offer just by using a few more keywords in your search query. You can refine your google search and get the exact results you are looking for just by adding some keywords. Some of these tricks are put together as Google scholar advanced search, But there are few more handy keywords which will make your search a lot easier.

When you want to download a book through Google, you probably end up visiting so many sites and be tired of finding it. What if you can find the book on your first search result if it exists on the internet ? feels like a wow or a lie ? . It is possible by just a search like this on Google “ [book name] filetype:pdf “. Yes, it’s that easy to find a book, Google operators!. Even though I know about them, I don’t use them often because of the combinations of the operators are pretty tough to remember. So I took this as a chance to design an interface to use Google operators easily. Let’s dive in!

01 PROBLEM

Problem statement

Google operators can be used to refine search results as per user needs, but it is not being used widely because it contains many keywords.

Objective

Create a solution to encourage people to use google operators on their daily life.

Analysis

On research I couldn’t find any applications or websites making use of it except the advanced search in Google. Only few people are even aware of this feature, even then they themselves did not use them much because of its complicated nature. Keywords such as “In the URL” , “All in title” takes time to be understood to be used as per user’s need.

Most people use their mobile phones to make quick searches. So an application with a simple interface to play with these operators would be a good solution to encourage people to use advanced search.

User persona

02 STRATEGY

Findings

• Users find it hard to understand the use of the operator.

• Even people known as Google-Fu struggle to use them in their daily search.

• There are close to 10 operators which could be used for common searches by everyone on their day to day searches.

• Google can refine the results based on file types, but limited to some extensions.

• Queries need to be in a hierarchy to prevent the search from failing.

Outcomes

• A clean and simple form based interface to enter the query would make it easy for the user.

• One line hints about each operator should be available when the user types the query.

• A detailed information of all operators and their usage should also be available for the user.

• List only the operators and file types that are supported, to prevent a failed search.

03 SCOPE

• Get input from the user.

• Provide hints on every field.

• Create the query according to the search hierarchy.

• Forward the query to external browser to bring the search results.

04 STRUCTURE

Wireframe

05 SURFACE

Icons

Fonts

App Icons

To keep the application familiar with the users, I added some iconic Google colors to represent that the app is related to Google search.

Screens

Screenshots

Impact

This is a small application with just two screens, however I enjoyed the problem solving involved in it. Within a few days we got 500+ downloads and 4.8 star user rating.