• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Technostarry

  • Home
  • Windows 8
  • Android
  • iOS
  • Web Apps
  • Web Browser
  • Hardware
  • About

Quick Tips to Search on Google More Effectively

March 4, 2012 by Saqib Leave a Comment

Google is the most popular search engine and displays most relevant search results. This is a powerful tool and you don’t need to read any how-to guide on using Google. Many people still use Google in its simplest form by just typing out their search term and hitting enter. If they don’t get proper search results, then they just enter another search term. If you want to use Google like a pro, then you’ll find search operators very useful. These search operators are like shortcuts that perform specific function and helps you get results exactly as the way you want it. Let’s take a look at some Google search tips using which you can the most out of this awesome search engine.

Google Search Tips

Before moving forward, let’s clear some basic facts:

  • In most cases, everything that you type matters.
  • Punctuation and special characters are ignored.
  • Search is case insensitive. This means that a search for [computer] will yield same results as compared to [Computer]

However, Google has further clarified that there may be some exceptions when the above rules are not applied.

Tips and Tricks to Search on Google

Search with Exact Words and Phrases

This one is the most common search trick. Whenever you want to search for the exact phrase, then just use double quotes around your search term. For example, “technology news”. This search will get you pages that have both the terms exactly as mentioned.

Word Definitions

Google can also help you with word definitions. You don’t need to even visit any website other than Google for this. To know definition about a particular word, use the following search trick:

define: numerology

search tricks

You’ll be able to see the result at the top of the page, without the need to navigating to any site.

Excluding a Particular Term/Word

The minus sign allows you to exclude a particular term or a word from the search results. For example you want to search for “mobile reviews” but don’t want results containing the term “Nokia”. In such a case, use below trick:

mobile reviews –nokia

Enter your search term, followed by minus sign to exclude that term.

Disable Google Instant

Google Instant has been around for quite sometime and may seem to be annoying for some users. This feature enables you to get results as you type. Many of you may not want this feature and want to disable or turn off Google Instant. To do this, open a search results page and you will see a small wrench icon in the top right side. Click on it and then on “Search settings”. From here, select “Never show Instant Results”.

disable google instant

Now Google won’t bother you showing results as you type. You’ll need to press the enter key to get the results.

Search a Particular Site Only

Sometimes the default search of a particular site may not work that great. Also on some sites the search bar is not visible or the search functionality is not integrated. In such a case you can use Google to search that specific site. The site: operator allows you to search for a certain keyword on any site you wish. For example, you want to find information about iPod Touch on Technostarry.

site:technostarry.com iPod Touch

This will show results only for one site (instead of searching on the whole web) and only for the search term that you have entered in the query.

Convert Currency

Did you know that Google has in-built currency converter? To convert currency, simply enter the conversion in the Google search box and the answer is displayed directly on results page. No need to navigate to any website to know the results. Take a look at below example on how to convert currency:

5USD to INR

Google currency converter

Follow the same format when you enter the currency details in Google.

Search for Specific File Types

The “filetype” operator helps you to search for files of only a specific file type. For example, you may want to search for only PDF files related to a specific subject.

filetype:pdf ubuntu

This will search for PDF files on the web, which are related to the subject “ubuntu”.

Search This or That

The default behavior of Google is to include all the terms specified in the search term. If you want to specifically allow either one of several words to match, you can use the “OR” operator. The “OR” should be in uppercase only.

Kindle OR Fire

Calculator

Who doesn’t use the handy calculator utility which is built-in OS. But just in case you want do a quick calculation, type the expression directly in Google. Below is an example:

2356 * 6

google calculator

You can also calculate by using other symbols like +,-,/,sqrt, etc.

Latest Stock Market Price

This is very simple, you just need to enter a valid ticker symbol when you enter the search term on Google. For example:

GOOG

stock market

This will present the latest price, open, high, low, thumbnail chart and other financial details.

Wildcard Operator

The * is a wildcard that is like fill in the blanks. If you include * within a query, it tells Google to try to treat the star as a placeholder for any unknown term and then find the best matches. For example:

Google *

This will present results about Google’s different products.

Search Results for a Specific Time Range

If you want to get results from only a specific time range, then this is also possible. For example:

linux mint 2008..2011

Instead of years, you can also search for prices or any other series of numbers. This will present results from only within that time period or range.

Map

Want to open a map quickly? Just type in the name of the place or U.S. zip code of that location and the word “map”.

Los Angeles map

This will return a map of the place that you’ve entered. Click on the map to open a larger version of Google Maps.

Keep it Simple

There’s no need to go advanced when you can do the job by entering a simple query or keyword. For example, if you’re looking for a particular company, then just enter its name. If you’re looking for some Chinese restaurant, then enter Chinese restaurant and the name of your town or zip code. There’s no need to use operators when you can keep it simple.

These tricks for Google will help you find out the most relevant information by using operators and perform specific actions like using Google as a calculator and a currency converter. You can also combine these search operators to further improve your search results. Try searching using these tips and search Google like an expert.

Filed Under: Web Tagged With: Google

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

STAY CONNECTED

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe now to get the latest updates from this blog right to your Inbox

Recent Posts

  • 6 Things to Remember Before Buying a Micro SD Card
  • 5 Best Android Stock Market Apps for India
  • Facebook App Alternatives for Android , and Why You Should Use Them
  • Kindle Oasis vs Voyage vs Paperwhite: Which one to Buy

Footer

Links

  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy

Books on cloud storage services:

  • Mastering OneDrive And Office Online
  • Mastering Google Drive and Docs (With Tips)
  • Mastering Dropbox with Useful Tips and Apps

Must Read Articles

  • How to Change Default Apps on Android
  • 6 Tips to Increase Battery Life on Android 4.4 KitKat Devices
  • How to Transfer Documents and Files to your Kindle
  • 5 Best Free Offline Dictionary Apps for Android

© Copyright 2016 Technostarry · All Rights Reserved ·