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Google is probably the best thing to have happened to information dissemination since the Gutenberg Press.
Google is your friend when you need to find information on just about anything. However, only a few people maximize the full power available at their fingertips through Google search.
When most people use Google, they simply type in a few words, look through the first few pages, change the search words, and repeat the search until they find the information they seek. This post will make you a Jedi Knight in using Google to its fullest potential—and the best part is that it’s unbelievably easy to learn how to use Google.
Geeks may not really need to read this piece; I bet you know most of the tips already. However, it might be in your best interest to bookmark this page for Google sites tips and tricks. I bet that they’ll come in handy when you need to teach the new hire at work or your favorite cousin some advanced internet search techniques.
The tips on advanced search for Google provided in this article are based on experiential knowledge and some tips passed down through my network of Google search “geniuses”. I intentionally kept the descriptions on how to execute these cool Google searches minimal; the examples are enough to make the points clear.
These tips on how to get better search results on Google are by no means exhaustive. However, they are more than enough to save you valuable time when searching for information on Google. I hope you have as much fun reading and practicing the tips as I had writing them.
Someone interested in digital marketing will most likely type digital marketing into the search box. You should Google search exact string of words for explicit results by enclosing the search phrases within double quotes.
Example Search: “digital marketing”
You can exclude a word from Google search using the – sign before the word you want to exclude. Let’s assume you are interested in learning about digital marketing but you don’t want to be bombarded with content on promotions you can use the ‘–’ sign before ” promotions” to learn about digital marketing without being overwhelmed by content on promotion
Example Search: digital marketing – promotions
Google is designed to display search results for all the terms you specify in a search query. If you want the search results to show matching results for one of one or more terms, you should apply the OR operator.
Example Search: digital marketing OR promotions
(Pro Tip: the OR should be CAPITALIZED)
You can run a Google search to provide you with results for all the words in your search phrase even if the words are not arranged in the same order. Use the allintext operator before typing the words or phrases you want to search.
Example Search: allintext:Fremont electric car charging station
You can run Google search a website for text to locate places where one of your search word/phrases appears in the text of the page and other search words/phrase are present in other parts of the page such as the URL or title. You should type the first search phrase and use the intext: operator before typing in the other words.
Example search: LeBron James intext:Cleveland
You can ask Google to provide search results on webpages that have some words in the title (the words don’t necessarily have to follow a specific order). You’ll need to apply the allintitle: operator after the search words or phrases
Example search: allintitle:mortgage rates
You can run an advanced Google search to locate a website where one of your search word/phrase appears in the title of the page and other words/phrase are in other parts of the page such as the URL or title. You should type in the first search phrase, use the intitle: operator and type in the other words.
Example Search: search engine optimization intitle:beginners
Would you like to locate web pages that have your search query in their URL? I’ve got you covered. Use the allinurl: operator before you type in the search words/phrase
Example Search: allinurl: gold price
Would you love to search a preferred website for content on your search term or phrase? Here’s how to search website using Google, you can even use Google to search on sites that lack a built-in search tool. Use the site:abcsite.com modifier
Example Search: site:www.klickerinc.com “inbound marketing”
One of the simplest Google search engine tricks is to use Google to find new websites that might have similar content to a website you already know. Using the related:somesite.com modifier will uncover related sites
Example Search: related:upwork.com
Let’s assume that you are searching for websites that cite a Huffington Post article on their website. You can execute a search to deliver exact results by using the link: command, followed by the name of the Huffington Post page.
Example Search :link:Huffington post
The example above will give you a search result of all pages with a link to Huffington Post’s official website. You can get fewer and more pointed results by using a more specific URL.
You can run a search query to show results that include a word as well as results that include synonyms of the word. To get results that include hits for similar words, use the ~ before you type the word.
Example Search: “digital marketing” ~certification
This one is pretty simple – if you want to find the definition of a word, use the define: command instead of typing the word alone and hoping that Google will read your mind to give you its definition.
Search Example: define: cantankerous
Pro Tip: You can listen to how the word is pronounced if you click on the megaphone icon
Can you remember instances when a word seems to be on the tip of your tongue but you can’t just seem to recall it? The elusive word/words might be in a phrase, movie quote, song lyric, adage or whatever. You can conjure up a special brand of Google magic to locate the word using the asterisk* operator
Example Search: if * were horses
Sometimes, you’ll be interested in reading news articles from/on a specific location. Use the location: command to uncover Google News stories specific/related to that location
Example Search: Brexit fears:London
A basic Google search tends to lump together all file types to include text, video, and images in the result. However, if you want results displaying hits for a specific file type, the modifier filetype: will work wonders.
Example Search: “digital marketing” filetype:pdf
https://translate.google.com/ is a long and laborious route when you want to translate a word or phrase from one language to another. The faster route is to search translate [word] to [language].
Example Search: translate beautiful to Dutch
So, someone called you on your smartphone and you don’t seem to know the caller. Google can transform you into Sherlock Holmes to look up the owner of the phone number with Google’s phonebook feature.
Example Search: phonebook:615-123-1234
I used a fictional number in the example above; a real number will get you results
Still on being a modern day Sherlock Holmes, you can find the area code of a phone number by entering the three-digit area code in search.
Example Search: 615
This is the last one on Sherlock Holmes – you can find the zip code of an address by entering the other parts address in the search bar.
Example Search: 14 Wall St., New York City, NY
Not many people know this, but you can use special Google phrases to locate results containing a range of numbers. The X..Y modifier can help you locate data between the hypothetical X and Y numerical ranges. The search for numerical ranges is especially useful if you want search results to show data between years, prices, or other numbered queries.
Example Search: Grammy nominees 1995..2015
For investors or people with interest in finances, Google can provide you with a snapshot on a company’s stock if you search its ticker. You’ll get the current stock price and thumbnail charts.
Example Search: AAPL
The calculator app can help you solve basic maths problems. For faster results, you should use Google’s calculator right within the browser by typing the math problem into the search box.
Search Example: 23489 * 23.7
You don’t need to agonize over how much tip you should give when next you need to give a tip. A simple search for tip calculator will provide you with a web app to calculate the tip for the bill.
Search Example: tip calculator
If you need a timer and none is readily available, Google is your friend. Type in the amount of time you need and the word “timer” and Google will activate a countdown timer immediately.
Example Search: 35 min timer
A Google online stopwatch is just a few keystrokes away. Type “stopwatch” in search you’ll have a stopwatch that you can start whenever you are ready
Search example: stopwatch
The weather is a useful conservation starter and knowing the weather forecasts can help you plan your day. Type “weather” in search plus a location and Google will display quick weather forecast and stats for that place
Example Search: weather Fremont CA
Google can help you know when the sun will rise or when the sun will set in a location for the day. Type the word “Sunrise” or “Sunset” plus the location in the search bar
Search Example: sunset Newport
So you don’t want to go through the trouble of searching through an airline or booking agency’s website for flight statuses. Type in the airline and airplane number. Voila! You’ll get status and other helpful flight information.
Search Example: ba 179
You can run a Google search for the future games schedules and game scores of a sports team. Type the name of a team or two teams into the search bar and you can trust Google Sports to provide you with the score from the last games and their schedules for their future games.
Search Example: Arsenal FC
Here’s one of the innovative awesomeness of Google that foodies will appreciate. Google can help you compare two types of food to know the differences in their nutritional value, calories, and other related metrics.
Search Example: Spaghetti vs Rice
Which of the Google search tips do you like the most? Did I miss an awesome Google tip? I’d love you to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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About Kade Call
I’m Kade, and I’m all about the big picture. I love figuring out how to arrange your marketing chessboard with a killer strategy from start to finish. I help Klicker (and our clients) show up above the competition on Google, win the most attention from prospects, and not even break a sweat trying.