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Chapter 1 Using Google Effectively Special Features Search Predictions When you dash off a quick Google search, one of the first things you notice is that Google begins to add words to what you type in a menu that appears below the search box. This is handy when it suggests words that you were planning to type anyway, or when you need suggestions for how you might phrase your search. (If you don’t see any predictions, it’s possible that the word you are searching for is too new or not popular enough to generate predictions.) For example, if you type “solar powered air conditioner,” it shows these options (and more) in a menu below the search box: • solar powered air conditioner for rv • solar powered air conditioner for car • solar powered air conditioner for camping • solar powered air conditioner window unit • solar powered air conditioner unit • solar powered air conditioner diy • solar powered air conditioner apartment Google calls these “search predictions.” You might wonder how it generates these. According to Google’s documentation, they are based on three things: • What other people are searching for, including trending stories • The content of web pages indexed by Google