40 incredibly
useful things you didn’t know Google Search could do
Take your search game to the next level with these tools
that’ll save you time and help you get more done.
When you think about Google services, apps
such as Gmail, Docs, and Photos may be the first things that come to mind. I’d be willing to
wager, though, that the Google service you use more than any other is one you
rarely think about—because it’s woven so tightly into your life that it doesn’t
even feel like a service anymore. It just feels like a
utility, something that’s always there—like a faucet for metaphorical water.
I’m talking, of course, about Google Search,
the gateway to an endless-seeming array of answers and information. But these
days, Google Search can do a whole lot more than just look up simple queries.
In fact, if you know all of its hidden powers, Search can be a Swiss Army knife
that’s always within reach, even when you aren’t actively thinking about its
presence.
Browse through these 40 advanced
functions—and get ready to see Search in a whole new light.
USEFUL TOOLS
1. Need an impartial judge to help
make a decision? Try typing “random number generator” into Google. That’ll
bring up a tool that lets you specify a minimum and maximum number—for however
many choices you have, or even representing a specific set of values within a
spreadsheet—and then have the Google genie randomly pick a number within that
range.
For a more visual (although also more
limited) version of the same concept, type “spinner” into Google and then
switch the toggle at the top to “Number.” You can then create a wheel with
anywhere from two to 20 numbers and click it to spin and land on a random
digit. The Google Search number spinner will land on a random digit, with
anywhere from two to 20 options in place.
2. For even simpler decisions, let
Google flip a coin or roll a die for you by typing either
command into the search box.
3. Make Google serve as your personal
time-keeper by typing “timer” or “stopwatch” into a search box. You
can also launch right into a specific timer by typing “20 minute timer” (or
whatever amount of time you desire).
4. You probably know that Google can act as a
basic calculator, performing addition, subtraction, and so on—but did you know
it can also do all sorts of advanced mathematics? For instance, you
can have Google graph complicated equations like “cos(3x)+sin(x),
cos(7x)+sin(x)” by entering them directly into the search box. And you can fire
up a geometry calculator by searching for a specific query—”area of a circle,”
“formula for a triangle perimeter,” or “volume of a cylinder”—and then entering
in the values you know. Google’s geometry calculator can work with a variety of
advanced formulas.
5. Google has separate standalone calculators
that can figure out tips and monthly mortgage payments, too. Search
for “tip calculator” or “mortgage calculator” to give either a whirl.
6. The next time you need to convert
between units, try asking Google to do the heavy lifting for you. In
addition to handling currency and practically any measurement system,
Google can convert megabytes to gigabytes, Fahrenheit to Celsius, and days into
minutes or even seconds. You can explore all the possibilities by typing “unit
converter” into the search box and then looking through the dropdown menus that
appear—or you can perform most conversions directly by searching for the exact
changeover you want (e.g. “14.7 lbs to oz”).
7. Who among us hasn’t come across a
sprawling number and stared at it blankly while trying to figure out how to say
it aloud? Search for any number followed by “=english”—”53493439531=english,”
for example—and Google will spell out your number for you in
plain-English words.
8. Designers, take note: Searching for “color
picker” will pull up a simple tool that lets you select a color and find its
hex code, RGB value, CMYK value, and more—and easily convert from one
color code type to another.
The color picker tool is an easy way to find
color codes and convert among different code types.
9. You can also see an identifying
swatch for a specific color code by typing it into Google in almost
any form: “#fcef00,” “rgb(252, 239, 0),” “pantone 444 u,” and so on.
10. Get up-to-date info on any flight,
anytime, by typing the airline name or code and flight number directly into
Google.
11. Find your current IP
address in a snap by typing “IP address” into any Google prompt.
12. Google can measure your internet
speed and give you speedy results, regardless of whether you’re on
Wi-Fi or mobile data. Just type “speed test” into a search box and then click
the “Run Speed Test” button to get started.
13. From your phone, type “bubble level” into
Google to load an on-demand level tool and make sure the
picture you’re hanging is perfectly straight.
Keep the toolbox in the closet and pull up a
bubble level right from Google Search on your phone.
14. Trying to stay on beat? Google
“metronome,” and the search site will give you a fully functional
metronome with a slider to start any beat-per-minute setting you need.
15. Search or browse through hundreds
of old print newspapers at Google’s hidden newspaper archive site. The selection is pretty hit-and-miss, but you just might find what
you’re after.
16. Hardly anyone knows it, but Google has a
system that allows you to save results from your searches and then
organize them into collections. From a browser, it works with images, jobs,
and places; after searching for any of those types of items, you’ll see small
bookmark icons alongside your results that can be clicked to save the
associated entities. If you have an Android phone, you can also save web pages
by pulling them up within the Google app and then looking for the bookmark icon in the upper-right corner
of the screen. Either way, you can find and sort your saved stuff by going
to google.com/collections or looking for the “Collections” option in the Google app on
Android (tucked away within the “More” menu).
ADVANCED INFORMATION
17. Find your next job on
Google by searching for “jobs near me” or something specific like “programming
jobs.” You can then narrow down the search as needed, find direct links to
apply to positions, and even turn on email alerts for worthwhile queries.
Google’s job search function pulls in
postings from all over the web and presents them in a centralized,
easy-to-follow manner.
18. Thinking about going back to school—or
maybe enrolling in college for the first time? Google can give you
oodles of useful info about any four-year college in the United States. All
you have to do is search for the school’s name, and you’ll get an interactive
box with facts about its average cost (before and after financial aid for any
income level) along with its acceptance rate, typical test scores, rankings,
and notable alumni.
19. Get the perfect recipe for any
meal by searching for the name of a dish from your mobile device.
Google will give you a scrolling list of choices and will even provide one-tap
commands for sending any set of instructions to a Google Assistant Smart Display connected to your account. (Bonus tip: You can search for drink
recipes in the same way—again, though, only on a mobile device for some
reason.)
20. Speaking of eating, you can Google any
individual ingredient to find detailed nutritional information about
the food. You can also search for specific nutritional queries—things like:
“How many calories are in avocados,” “How much fat is in an egg yolk,” or “How
much protein is in chickpeas.”
21. Figure out which streaming
service has the show or movie you want by searching for “watch”
followed by the program’s title. Google will give you a list of places where
you can find it—both as part of an active subscription and on an a-la-carte
purchasing basis.
22. Craving some variety with your
tried-and-true songs? Try searching for an artist name and song title
together—like “Michael Jackson Billie Jean,” for instance—and then, in the info
box that appears, click the “Other recordings of this song” header.
That’ll bring up an interactive list of artists who have covered your
favorite tune, complete with videos to watch each alternate version.
23. Fan of the sportsball? Search for the
name of a team or league to get real-time game scores and
detailed recaps of recent matchups.
LOCATION FIXATION
24. Avoid frustration and check on a
restaurant’s average wait time for any day and time before you head
out. Just search for the restaurant’s name, then look for the “Popular times”
section in the info box that appears. There, you can click a dropdown menu to
select any day and then scroll through a timeline to see the typical crowd
level and wait length for any given hour.
See how long
you’re likely to wait at a restaurant by using Google’s “Popular times” tool.
25. Generate a list of upcoming local
events by searching for “events near me” from your mobile device. Once
the info box is in front of you, you can jump ahead to other days or tap any
event to get additional info. If you’re looking for something specific, you can
also search for terms like “concerts near me,” “food festivals near me,” or
“conferences near me.”
26. Google has a whole host of ways it can
help you figure out the time in any location. Aside from being able to search
for “time” followed by the name of a place to see the current time in that
area, you can quickly perform time zone conversions by typing
in something like “time 2:00 p.m. India”—which would show you what time it’ll
be in your location when it’s 2:00 p.m. in India.
27. Get a fast glance at the weather
for any city on any day by typing “weather” followed by the city
name—and then the day you’re interested in, if it’s anything other than today.
SEARCH SMARTS
28. Trying to reach a site that’s
temporarily down or permanently offline? Type “cache:” followed by the
site’s address directly into Google. That’ll take you to a recently saved
version of the site hosted on Google’s own servers.
29. You can search any site through
Google to find whatever you need: Simply type in the term you want
followed by “site:” and the URL—”site:fastcompany.com,” for example—and you’ll
get a list of results that’s practically guaranteed to be better than whatever
the site’s own internal search function would give you.
30. If you’re looking for information from a
specific time period, type in the term you want and then click or tap the
“Tools” menu at the top of the Google results page. Then you can limit
your search results to a particular time—if, say, you wanted to see stories
about Apple earnings from January 2018.
31. Google’s image search function has a
similarly useful option: After searching for an image, tap “Tools” at the top
of the results. You’ll be able to filter your image search to show only
results of a particular size or color—or only images that contain a face or
were created during a specific period of time.
Filter your image search to find exactly the
type of result you need.
32. Save yourself a bunch of clicks or taps
and tell Google to show more search results per page—without
forcing you to press that pesky “Next” or “More” button. Just hop over to this preferences page and move the slider under “Results per page” as high as you’d
like, then be sure to hit the blue “Save” button at the bottom of the screen.
Google warns that the higher the number, the slower your searches may be—but
realistically, as long as you’re on a reasonably speedy internet connection,
you aren’t likely to notice much difference.
33. On that same preferences page, you can
instruct Google to open every search result as a new tab by default.
If you find yourself opening links in new tabs more often than not, that can be
a very welcome change.
GETTING PERSONAL
34. Got a tracking number from the U.S.
Postal Service, UPS, or FedEx? Paste the number directly into Google Search.
It’ll give you a direct link to the latest update on your package’s
delivery.
35. Google Search can dig up info
from your own personal data, so long as you use services such as Gmail,
Google Calendar, and Google Photos. Try searching for “my trips,” “my flights,”
“my appointments,” “my reservations,” “my purchases,” “my bills,” or “my
photos.” With some of those, you can get even more specific: “my AT&T bills
from 2018,” “my photos from france,” “my photos from February 2016,” and so on.
As long as you have matching data in a compatible Google service, you’ll get
results right then and there.
Quickly find photos featuring a particular
time, place, subject, or event by searching directly in Google Search.
36. You can browse or search through
your own past Google searchesand even rediscover results you clicked while
signed into your account by visiting myactivity.google.com. Click the “Search” tab at the top
to narrow the results down only to Search (as opposed to also seeing your
activity from other Google products).
37. Want to erase the past—or maybe just part
of it? Hang onto this link. It makes it easy to wipe away your entire Google Search history,
should the urge ever arise, or to erase your last hour’s worth of
searches for a more limited reset.
JUST FOR FUN
38. The next time you need to calm down and
focus, type “breathing exercise” into any Google box. You’ll get a one-minute
guided breathing exercise to help recenter your brain.
39. If you need a serious break from productivity,
let Google entertain you with a hidden Search game:
- Search for “Atari Breakout,” then click on the
“Images” tab at the top of the screen to test your old-school skills.
- Search for “Zerg Rush” and fight off the falling O’s
before they erase the page.
- Search for “Google Pacman” and chomp away at those
pretty yellow pellets.
- Search for “Solitaire,” “Minesweeper,” “Tic Tac
Toe,” or “Snake” for some good old-fashioned fun.
40. Last but not least, take a trip
back in time by searching for “Google in 1998.” That’ll let you look
through one of Google’s earliest site designs, from the time of the company’s launch—and make you appreciate just how
far things have come.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90308480/40-incredibly-useful-things-you-didnt-know-google-search-could-do?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Fast%20Company%20Weekly&position=1&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=03012019
