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Google is arguably the most useful tool ever put on the internet. It gives every person with a connected device access to more information than exists in any library — on any subject, in any language, at any moment of the day or night. And it’s completely free.

Yet many first-time internet users either don’t know how to use it effectively, or feel uncertain about whether they’re doing it correctly. There is no incorrect way to search Google. But there are approaches that get you better results faster — and this article covers all of them.

What Google actually is

Google is a search engine — a tool that constantly crawls the internet, catalogues the contents of billions of web pages, and presents the most relevant results when you type a question or phrase.

Think of Google as the world’s most efficient librarian. You walk up to the desk, describe what you’re looking for, and within a fraction of a second the librarian returns with a ranked list of the best sources available. You don’t need to know where the information lives. You just need to know how to ask.

The remarkable thing is that you don’t need to ask perfectly. Google understands natural language — ordinary words the way you’d say them to another person. You don’t need special commands, technical language, or perfect spelling.

Getting to Google

On a computer, open Chrome and either:

• Type google.co.za in the address bar and press Enter, or
• Simply click in the address bar, type your search, and press Enter — Chrome searches Google automatically

On a phone, open Chrome and tap the search bar. On most Android phones there is also a Google search bar directly on the home screen — a long white bar that says “Search” or shows the Google logo.

How to type a search

Type what you want to know in plain, natural language. Press Enter or tap the search icon. That’s it.

Some examples of perfectly good searches:

• load shedding schedule cape town today
• how do I check my Vodacom data balance
• nearest Home Affairs office to Kuils River
• what time does Pick n Pay close today
• how to make bobotie
• SASSA SRD grant application
• symptoms of high blood pressure

Notice that these are written the way you’d say them — no special formatting, no complicated phrasing. Google handles the rest.

You don’t need to ask as a question. Both of these searches return the same results:

• how do I renew my ID
• renew ID South Africa

Type whichever feels more natural to you.

Reading the search results page

After pressing Enter, Google displays a page of results. Understanding what you’re looking at helps you find the right information quickly.

Ads

At the very top of the results — and sometimes at the bottom — you may see results marked with a small bold label that says Sponsored or Ad. These are paid advertisements — companies have paid Google to appear at the top for certain searches.

Ads are not necessarily bad or untrustworthy — but they are paid placements, not Google’s recommendation of the best result. For most searches, the results below the ads are more useful. Learn to look past the first one or two results if they’re marked as ads.

Organic results

Below the ads are the organic results — pages Google has ranked as most relevant to your search based on their content and credibility. These are listed in order of relevance, with what Google considers the most useful result at the top.

Each result shows:

• The page title in blue — tap or click this to open the page
• The web address in green or grey below the title — shows you which website it’s from
• A short description — a snippet of text from the page summarising what it contains

Featured snippets

For many questions — particularly factual ones — Google extracts a direct answer and displays it in a box at the very top of the results, above everything else. This is called a featured snippet.

For example, searching how many ml in a cup returns the answer directly without you needing to click anything. These snippets are extremely useful for simple factual questions.

The Knowledge Panel

Searches for well-known organisations, places or public figures often show a panel on the right side of the screen (or at the top on mobile) with key facts — opening hours, phone numbers, addresses, ratings. This information comes from Google’s own database and is usually reliable and current.

Refining your search — getting better results

If your first search doesn’t return what you need, here are simple ways to get better results:

Add more specific words. If flu treatment doesn’t give you what you want, try flu treatment for adults South Africa or flu treatment without medication.

Add a location. Google often detects your location automatically, but adding it explicitly helps — pharmacy open now Bellville rather than just pharmacy open now.

Add the current year. For topics that change over time — regulations, prices, procedures — adding the year ensures you get current information: SASSA grant amount 2025 rather than just SASSA grant amount.

Use “near me.” Searching petrol station near me or ATM near me prompts Google to use your location and show the closest options on a map. This works best when your phone’s location services are switched on.

Search a specific website. If you want to find something on a particular website, type site: followed by the web address and your search term. For example: site:sassa.gov.za grant application searches only within the SASSA website.

Google Maps — finding places and getting directions

When your search involves a place — a business, clinic, government office, or physical address — Google often displays a map directly in the results. You can also go directly to maps by searching google maps or opening the Google Maps app.

Google Maps allows you to:

• Find any address or business by name
• See its location on a map
• Get turn-by-turn directions from your current location — walking, driving or using public transport
• Check opening hours, phone numbers and reviews
• See photos of the location so you know what to look for when you arrive

To get directions:

1. Search for the place you want to go
2. Tap or click Directions
3. Your starting point is usually your current location — confirm or change it
4. Choose your transport mode — car, walking, or public transport
5. Tap the route that suits you
6. Follow the step-by-step directions

Google Maps works offline too — if you download your area in advance over Wi-Fi, the maps are available even without an internet connection. Useful for travelling to unfamiliar areas where signal may be unreliable.

Google Images — searching for pictures

At the top of any Google results page you’ll see tabs — All, Images, News, Videos and others. Clicking Images switches to a visual search — showing photographs and illustrations related to your search rather than text pages.

This is useful for:

• Seeing what something looks like — a plant, a rash, a part of a computer
• Finding reference images for a project
• Checking whether a photo of a person or place matches what you expect

Google Translate — breaking language barriers

South Africa has eleven official languages — and the internet has content in hundreds more. Google Translate, accessible at translate.google.com or through the Google Translate app, translates text between languages instantly and for free.

It handles all eleven official South African languages including Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa and Sesotho. You can type text to translate, paste a web address to translate an entire webpage, or — in the app — point your camera at printed text and see it translated in real time on your screen.

Not everything on Google is true

This is important enough to state clearly: Google searches the internet and ranks results by relevance and credibility — but it cannot guarantee that everything it returns is accurate.

Anyone can publish a website. Anyone can write an article claiming anything. Google does its best to surface credible sources but it is not infallible, and misinformation does appear in search results.

Habits that help:

Check the source. Look at the web address of the result. A medical question answered by health.gov.za or mayoclinic.org is more credible than the same answer from a random blog. A financial question answered by your bank’s official website is more reliable than an anonymous forum post.

Check more than one result. If three independent sources say the same thing, it’s likely true. If only one source makes a claim and others contradict it, be cautious.

Be especially careful with health and financial information. These are the areas where inaccurate information causes the most harm. For serious health concerns, Google can point you in the right direction — but a qualified professional’s advice always takes precedence.

Recognise sensational headlines. If a result’s title seems designed to shock or outrage — “You won’t believe what this common food does to your heart” — approach with healthy scepticism. Credible sources use straightforward, descriptive headlines.

Useful Google searches every South African should know

Save these or take a screenshot — they’re worth having:

What you need	Search to use
Load-shedding schedule	eskom load shedding schedule [your area]
SASSA grant status	SASSA SRD status check
Home Affairs appointment	home affairs online booking
SARS eFiling	SARS eFiling login
Data balance check	[your network] data balance USSD code
Nearest police station	police station near me
Emergency numbers	South Africa emergency numbers
Exchange rate	USD to ZAR today or rand dollar exchange rate
Weather	weather [your city] today
Pharmacy open now	pharmacy open now [your area]

Try this now

Open Google and search for the weather in your area right now — type weather followed by your town or suburb name. Look at the result. Notice how Google displays the answer directly without you needing to click anything. Then try searching nearest pharmacy and see whether Google shows you a map with options. You’ve just used two of the most practically useful Google features in one go — and neither required you to type a perfect question.

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