Google Search Tricks to Make Your Searches 10x
Faster and Better
Let’s face it, Google’s impressive search engine has almost all
the answers that you could possibly be looking for. You think of a query or
questions, and then you ‘just Google it.’
We spend on average four hours per week on Google searches.
Seems implausible? Think of all the times that you don’t quite get the search
result you want. You may make several different efforts at entering search
phrases. Not only that, but even if you enter the correct search phrase, you
may need to have scrolled through pages of listings before finding exactly what
you were looking for.
Your time is precious, don’t waste it with inefficient web
searches. I’m going to introduce to you several little-known Google search
tricks to supercharge your online searching!
1. Use the Exact
Phrase
If you’re looking for something specific, then make sure you
search by using the exact phrase. For example, if you’re looking to find out
Tom Cruise’s height, type in the exact phrase into the Google search bar as
follows: “Top Gun” This will instantly return only articles or
websites that contain that exact phrase. (Please note that the “___” is what
tells Google you’re only wanting exact phrase results.)
2. Exclude Terms
With Minus
This second tip is actually an extension of the first one.
Staying with Top Gun, let’s say your exact phrase search “Top Gun” brings
up dozens of articles that mention Tom Cruise. You could trim down the results
list by excluding the word Cruise.
To do this, you need to use the minus symbol before the word you
want to exclude. Here’s how it should look: “Top Gun” -Cruise
3. Say Hello to *
In Google searches, the asterisk (*) offers two clever
tricks.
Firstly, it can help Google find a missing word in a phrase or
quote. For example, try searching for this: Whether you *that you can,
or that you can’t, you are usually right I’ll leave you to discover
the missing word and author of this quote.
The second trick the asterisk can perform is to search all words
starting with a specific word. For instance, if you search: inst* This
will bring up not just results with the words inst in it, and
also variants such as instagram, institute and instructure.
4. Make OR Your
Search Friend
This tip is super easy to use, and is a bit like going into a
coffee shop and saying: “I don’t mind which cake I have, and I’m happy with
either chocolate OR lemon.” In the virtual world, if you are unsure of the best
search, or would like to do a multiple search at the same time, use the OR
function. Here’s an example of how it should look: Batman or Thor This
search will return results for both Batman and Thor. (Some results may be
separate, others may contain both searched terms.)
5. Use Synonym
Searches
I’m sure you’ve come across times when you can’t remember the
exact name of an establishment or website. Your initial searches fail to find
what you’re looking for. In cases like this, you might want to try a synonym
search. How does it work? Well, let’s say that you were looking for Cafe Days
in Haledon, New Jersey. But wait… you’re not sure if it’s Days or Daze? The
quickest way to resolve this is to type the following into the search
bar: Cafe Days Haledon ~Daze Google will immediately give you
the answer you’re looking for.
I’m guessing that you won’t have come across this search tip before.
However, it’s a super useful one to know about. For example, have you ever
wanted to quickly find a list of U.S. presidents between certain years? Google
can make this really easy for you. All you need to do is enter the following
search phrase: U.S. presidents 1950.. 2000 In this example,
the phrase will quickly return results showing all the U.S. presidents that
served between 1950 and 2000. Just to be clear, the “..” followed by a space is
what triggers this search function.
I personally use this handy search function a lot. It allows you
to find websites similar to other websites. This is best explained with an
example. Let’s say that you love going to National Geographic’s website, but
you’d also like to see what other similar websites are available. Here’s what
you need to type into the Google search bar: related:nationalgeographic.com This
search will instantly return a list of similar sites to National Geographic. As
I mentioned earlier, a super useful function.
Save Time and Frustration with Lightning-Fast Google Searches
You want to find your football team’s latest score.
You need advice on how to make a claim on your insurance.
You’d love to know just how high your favorite mountain is.
The list of possible searches is endless, but by using the seven
tips I recommend in this article, you’ll save yourself valuable time, energy
and headache.
Whether at work or at home, you’ll find yourself being able to
pinpoint information in super-quick time. You’ll also find yourself having a
new relationship with the internet. One where you are a confident and masterful
commander.
Leon Ho
https://www.lifehack.org/635007/google-search-tricks-that-will-get-your-desired-search-results-10x-faster
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