When we shop online, especially when we don’t have specific ideal goods to shop for, we usually use Google direct search engines for better suggestions. However, search engines don’t always give us the best results. Ads and sponsorships often pop up at the top of the page, which greatly influences our choices. How to search without being distracted by ubiquitous ads, and how to use search engines to help us get the best results when searching for shopping?
Gen Z consumers are answering that question by searching in other ways. Tiktok, YouTube and Twitter – though long seen as other kinds of apps – have all taken on the role of search. Their better visibility and convenience make them a better choice for searching when Gen Z is consuming.
Recently, many consumers found a better way to get rid of useless ads and sponsors. BGR indicates, “The next time you want to search for specific information or items from Google, try adding a scope, such as ‘Reddit’ in the search term. It can help you get more realistic reviews of products, and provide consumers with better guides when shopping online.”
Let’s take computers as an example. If you Google direct search “best computers” on Google, there will probably be 3-5 items of ads on the top of the pages, then come many kinds of guides from the media like Consumer Reports. However, if you add “Reddit” to the search term, the NO.1 result will be the rank of best laptops on Reddit. You can see the rank of computers of different kinds, laptop or desktop PC, for general, for work or for games.
Clearly, adding “Reddit” in the search terms makes results more reliable and efficient


As you can see, the results in the latter figure are more likely to provide users with higher-value information and items. Reviews written by real people are far more reliable than crude ads recommendations and provide a unique perspective beyond the larger media reviews.
You can get similar results by adding the names of other reviewing sites after the products you want to purchase such as “Quora”, “Hive” or “ProductHunt”, which will also lead you to real reviews and more reliable recommendations when consuming online.
A loyal user from Reddit explains why this happens, “The reviews from Reddit, Quora, and other reviewing sites are evaluated by actual users on the website and probably actual consumers who have bought and used that product. Views from consumers are more informative and useful to us, as we are consumers as well. We don’t need evaluations from a macro prospect.”
“Also, I think it costs more buying accounts for real users on reviewing sites like Reddit than just simply and directly making ads on the searching pages, which makes the results more convincing to normal consumers.”
A user from another reviewing site, Quora indicates similarly. However, she added that the reason why people tend to add searching terms instead of directly searching it inside the sights, “Their search functions are too inconvenient, (Google direct search) is much easier.”
Searching like this will help consumers get a list of brand names, however, reviewing sites doesn’t provide a way of buying them. Be careful when it actually costs!
Besides purchasing on the official sites, searching the brands on online coupon sites like Groupon, Slickdeals and CouponBirds can also be a good choice. When searching for the names of brands on those sites and getting ideal coupons and promo codes, it will straightly jump to their official websites for discounted purchases. You don’t have to worry about being scammed using the coupon sites above.
Using just one trick in your search can help you get more reasonable and reliable product reviews, as well as better prices and coupons. If you want a better online shopping experience, be sure to remember the product before searching for it!
Also read: 5 Free SEO Tools Proven to Elevate Performance of Small Businesses’ Websites