Searching online no longer means typing random words into Google. If you want the best results, you’ll need to know the right keywords. The same is true for searching the information in WhatsApp Web (or Wa Web) chats. Of course, whether you’re a professional researcher, student or a business owner, knowing the right search terms can save you hours of scrolling through pages and get exactly what you’re looking for. This article looks at 10 keyword phrases to improve your search online and WhatsApp Web.
1. Use Quotation Marks for Exact Matches
Quotation marks are one of the most powerful ways to search using quotes on the web and within WA Web chats. If you use quotes to put your search phrase in quotes then the search engine or chat search will only return results with that exact phrase. So if you use “project deadline” the search engine will highlight every message or page containing the two words together. On WhatsApp Web this makes it very easy to find specific client messages or key dates quickly.
2. Try the “Site:” Operator for Web-Specific Results
If you are doing some research use site: operators to filter results to a particular website. For example: “site: wikipedia. org/artificial intelligence” just brings up webpages from Wikipedia. You can use this if you are doing some reports or looking for facts. You can even use this for WhatsApp Web searches: You can cross reference what you are saying in your chats with web sources that you have verified for accuracy.
3. Use “Filetype:” to Find Documents
Searched for downloadable resources? Just type in filetype: pdf or filetype: docx with your keyword. For example, “marketing strategy filetype: pdf” will only give you downloadable resources in PDF format. As soon as you find a resource you like you can send it directly to the team on Wa Web and make sure that your group collaboration runs smoothly.
4. Combine Keywords with AND/OR
Boolean operators like AND and OR are great for either narrowing or broadening searches. Example: typing “social media + growth” will return any result with both terms in it. The same applies for WhatsApp Web search if you are looking for more than one topic in a very long chat history. With Wa Web you can group conversations in a matter of seconds by using combinations of keywords.
5. Use the Minus Sign (-) to Exclude Words
If you are getting a lot of results that are not relevant: add a minus sign before words you want to exclude. For instance “apple – fruit” for Apple the company, not Apple the fruit. Similarly if you have many topics on your WhatsApp Web group: you can try a search for “meeting – birthday” so that only discussions of work will show up, and all other general chat messages will fall out of the sky on Wa Web.
6. Search by Date Range
Sometimes, you only want the most recent news reports. The date filter on Google or the built-in date filter in WhatsApp Web offer you a very fast way to skip conversation history and only see chats from last week, last month or even a specific range of dates. Especially in tracking updates of a project and not watching for old files that may be relevant or outdated.
7. Use Wildcards (*) for Flexible Results
The asterisk (*) is used to placeholder for words you don’t remember. So if you type in “best * tools” you may get results for “best SEO tools”, “best marketing tools” etc. On WhatsApp Web it works well when you remember part of a message, but not the entire phrase. With Wa Web you can do some experimentation with partial words and see which conversations you might have missed.
8. Use “Related:” to Discover Similar Sites
Typing “related: website. com” will show you websites that were related to the one you’re talking about. You can use this to find competitors, alternatives, or extra resources. You can also directly send these links via WhatsApp Web to your colleagues. With Wa Web you can use this for research-based discussions in a group chat or in an enterprise project.
9. Combine Searches with Location Keywords
If you are looking for an agency local business events or professionals, always enter your city/area in search fields. Such as ‘digital marketing agency Karachi’ and you will find results that apply to your location. You can then share those leads with your business partners through Wa Web or bookmark them when using WhatsApp Web on your desktop.
10. Use Advanced Search Filters
Many search engines and messaging platforms also offer advanced filters. At Google, you can filter on language, region, and time. On WhatsApp Web you can filter on unread messages, groups, or contacts. By using these features in conjunction with the Wa Web search bar you’ll be able to do your work faster and more efficiently.
Final Thoughts
Search skills are all about working smarter, not harder. Be it a search engine, WhatsApp Web or Wa Web, having the right keywords can make a big difference in the speed at which you can find what you are looking for. Start practicing these 10 strategies today, and you will save time, reduce stress, and improve productivity.