3.4 Google Searching by Domain (.edu, .gov)

Here is another key tip for getting better Google search results.

Domain Names

Major contributors of information to the Internet can generally be organized into 4 large categories, each of which uses a different ending in their "domain" name. Domain names are critically important for online researchers, as they quickly give you a significant hint about the origin, intent, and reliability of a website:

  • .gov = government agencies
  • .edu = educational and research institutions
  • .com = commercial enterprises 
  • .org = organizations (Warning: Anyone can get a .org domain, whether they are an organization or not!)

Google Searching by Domain

Since so much of the Web is commercial (.com), and commercial sites probably want to sell you something, it is handy to know how to restrict a search to educational institutions (.edu), organizations (.org), or government (.gov) sites, which may be more reliable sources of information.

The quickest way to limit a search to a particular domain is by typing the following after your search terms in Google:

  • site:edu to limit results to education sites
  • site:gov to limit results to government sites
  • site:org to limit results to organization sites

Example Google search for: global warming site:edu

Image: "to [browse] Links to an external site." by Shannon E Thomas Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Links to an external site.