Google has spent over a decade fine tuning crafty tricks to help you search more efficiently. The question is: are you using Google to the best of your—and its—search abilities?
Instead of randomly typing a word or phrase, become a Power searcher and reduce the time to find relevant information. Did you know that even everyday information, like what time it is, becomes a power tool in Google Search? Follow these ten search tips to sail through the enormous waves of data over the internet and Search like a Pro :
1. Search by Site
Have you ever visited a Web site that had a built-in search function? Of course you have. Websites with 1000s of pages makes it very difficult to reach the specific information that you may be looking for. To simplify this, all you need to do is add the “site:_____” command to your Google search.
For Example: “Gaurav Oberoi” site:digitalacademyindia.com
Google will find every mention of that name at the domain name you picked.
2. Specific Products Search
Google Product Search is probably the fastest way to find a specific item you want to buy. You can also use it to search specific sites, such as Amazon (using the previous “site:” command).
For Example: “Blue socks” or “Blue socks” site:amazon.com
3. Exclude Keywords in the Search
If you want Google to exclude a word while searching the web page, use – (minus) before the search as shown below.
For Example : Ebooks -free
This example searches for the pages which has the word ebooks, and without the word free.
4. Include Synonym Keywords in Search
Instead of searching for only the given word, using ~ before the keyword you can instruct Google to search for web pages with the exact given word or the words which has same meaning.
For example: Piano ~tutorial
In the following example, giving ~tutorial also searches for keywords: guide, manual, reference etc.
5. Search an exact phrase, not each of the words separately
Use quotes to search for an exact word or set of words in a specific order, without normal improvements such as spelling corrections and synonyms. This option is handy when searching for song lyrics or a line from literature.
For Example: “Gangnam Style”
6. Calculator
This is one of the handiest uses of Google. Type in a quick calculation in the search box and get an answer. Normally for doing the metric conversions we will be using some online conversion websites or conversion softwares. Use the +, -, *, / symbols and parentheses on Google to do a simple equation.
7. Use Wildcard when not sure
Use an asterisk (*) within a query is like throwing a wildcard. Google treats the * as a placeholder for a word or more than one word.
For example, [“Google * my life“ ] tells Google to find pages containing a phrase that starts with “Google” followed by one or more words, followed by “my life.” Phrases that fit the bill include: “Google changed my life,” “Google runs my life,” and “Google is my life.”
For Example: [a * saved is a * earned]
8. Search for a Range
This little-known feature searches for a range of numbers. Separate numbers by two periods (with no spaces) to see results that contain numbers in a given range of things like dates, prices, and measurements.
For example: [ camera $50..$100]
Use only one number with the two periods to indicate an upper maximum or a lower minimum.
Eg. [world cup winners ..2000 ]
9. Search Based on File Type
Google Search is full of little helpful features. How many times would you have asked for materials (PDF, PPT, DOC) for a particular topic from a friend? Whether it is for knowledge, preparing a presentation, white-paper or for case studies, Google enables you to search specific filetypes like ppt, doc, pdf etc.
For example: internet marketing filetype:ppt
10. Google Advanced Search Page
If you are not able to remember some of the advanced search syntax mentioned in this article, then use the Google Advanced search page as shown below.