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34 views7 pages

New Rich Text Document

Uploaded by

Mido Mido
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Basic Google Search Tips and

Strategies
Some of these Google hacks are beginner level, but they are still some of the
most basic ways to get the right information.

1. Simple Google Search Tips


 Keep your searches simple. If you’re searching for a company but
don’t know its full name, enter as much as you know. Many search
queries don’t require advanced search operators or proper syntax.

 Refine the words you use. You may be thinking “find me a good
book,” but you’ll have better luck with “bestselling books.” Instead of
“stomach troubles,” realize that a medical site will probably say
“stomach disorders” or “abdominal pain.”

 Use as few words as possible. The more words you add, the
narrower your results may be. To begin a search, you want to cast a
wide net. “Super Bowl” will grab a lot of information, which you can
then refine by adding “champions” or “since 1990.”

2. Common Google Commands


 Exact phrase. Quotation marks around words will pull up that exact
phrase: “leap year”

 Exclude in search. A minus sign will exclude some information that


might otherwise be shown: board games -checkers
 Expand results. Use OR (yes, capitalized) if you’re trying to find
more than one term and would like one or both to be found: rhythm
OR blues

 Hashtag search. Explore social media hashtags:


#blackhistorymonth

 Ranges of numbers. Two periods will help search a range of


numbers: wireless earbuds $75..$150

 Wildcard search. An asterisk acts as a wildcard to let Google


Search fill in the word in a phrase: the devil * details

3. Deeper Search Terms


 Find page titles. Page titles can be searched by using “intitle:”
before the word or phrase. This one will search for titles with “texas”
in them, plus other stories with “snowstorm”: intitle:texas snowstorm

 Refine page title searches. Use “allintitle:” before the word or


phrase. This one will search only for pages that say “texas
snowstorm”: allintitle:texas snowstorm

 Search a cache. Find older versions of a page that may have been
changed by doing a “cache:” search: cache:whitehouse.gov

 Search for a page with specific words. An “inurl:” search finds


matching results within a url address: inurl:nursing

 Search inside a site. Get results inside a specific site, much like a
Google search, by using “site:” in the browser bar. Combine with
another term to find what you’re looking for: site:purdueglobal.edu
business
 Search specific file types. Look for .pdf, .docx, or .ppt files, for
example, with “filetype:” searches. The results will be restricted to
that file type: food safety filetype:pdf

 See similar websites. Search for websites similar to one you’re


familiar with by using “related:” in front of the address. For example,
this search won’t return Barnes & Noble results, but it will find similar
booksellers: related:barnesandnoble.com
Google sometimes changes how its search works. Find the latest search
techniques or changes in Google searches at Google Search Help.

Advanced Search and Other


Google Search Tools
Google offers several advanced search tools that a researcher might use to
find deeper information. Here are a few that are available.

4. Advanced Search
Google’s Advanced Search offers a wide range of parameters to use in your
search. Go to the Advanced Search page (you might want to bookmark it) to
search for a variety of words, exact words or phrases, and other
combinations. You’ll then be able to narrow your search by language, region,
last update, and more.

5. Google Books
Google Books offers previews and, in some cases, full texts of some books,
including free ebooks. Magazines and newspapers are also available. You’ll
also be able to narrow your search by publication dates.
6. Google Images
Google Images lets you upload or paste an image URL to find its origin and
other sizes of that image. It also gives you a view of visually similar images
and more information about your selected image. Advanced Image
Search works just like the Advanced Search for words and phrases.

7. Google News
Google News lets you search current news events. You can also set up
a personal library to watch for certain events and key phrases, which you’ll
then be alerted to.

8. Google Scholar
Google Scholar is an all-around search site for educational users. This site
can help you dig into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oxford
University, and scholarly journals such as the Journal of the American Medical
Association and The Lancet. Case law is also searchable at Google Scholar.

9. Google Trends
Find out what other people are searching for at Google Trends, which might
help you find information or spur ideas for your own research.

10. Public Data Explorer


Google’s Public Data Explorer, along with Dataset Search, offers reams of
data that might be useful in research papers. Find useful data from the World
Bank, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and others.
11. Voice Search
Using your computer’s microphone, you can speak your search into your
Search Bar after you click the microphone. This works especially well on
mobile devices.

Other Ways to Use Google Search


There are a variety of other things you can do in the Google Search Bar. Here
are some of the most useful.

12. Conversion
Find current conversion rates for money, or turn miles and pounds into
kilometers and kilograms, and vice versa. Type in “$5 USD to British Pound
Sterling” or “14 miles into kilometers,” for example.

13. Definitions
Use “Define: (word)” to get dictionary definitions. You can also search
synonyms and antonyms this way.

14. Flight Times


Check your flight times and any changes by adding your flight number. You’ll
get up-to-date information on times and terminal/gate information.
15. Math
From a simple addition problem to graphing an equation, plugging in numbers
can give you the results you need, including a 3D rendering. For example, try
searching for this equation in Google: (y*(-1)/sin(x).

16. Packages
Plug in your UPS or USPS tracking number in Search to find the status of
your package.

17. Stock Market


Find any stock price results by typing its ticker symbol into Search.

18. Sunrise and Sunset


This will tell you dawn and dusk in any area, simply by typing “sunrise” or
“sunset” and the location.

19. Time
Check your time with “Time (place)” wherever you are.

20. Weather
Search “Weather (ZIP Code)” to get up-to-date weather information. You also
can use city names.

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