Most Useful Google Search Modifiers Everyone Should Use
Chances are, you use Google several times a day, from finding restaurants nearby to answering your everyday questions. And usually Google is pretty good at giving you what you want, even if you’ve typed the wrong phrase. But when it comes to using Google for research purposes, especially at work, there is probably room for improvement … and there are a few hidden tricks that might help you here.
Use quotes whenever you can
Looking for something specific like author name, long phrase, text, or idiom? Sometimes Google will show results that match a few words, but not the entire phrase. Use quotation marks around a phrase so that Google only shows results that match that phrase.
For example : iPad Air “4th generation”.
Use a dash to eliminate misleading words
Sometimes a particular word spoils the search results. If you don’t want results for a specific word, you can literally subtract it using a dash.
For example : canyon grand
Use Google Tabs to Find the Best Search Tool
It’s easy to forget, but Google is much more than just text search. There are Google Images, Maps and Google Books. Use the tabs at the top to switch between these modes.
Use a tilde to include common synonyms
Want to expand your search results? Use a tilde in front of a word to find results related to that term.
For example : coding ~ class (This way you will also see results for colleges, classes, courses, etc.)
Find the file type you want
This is especially useful when you are looking for documents on the Internet: enter a search phrase and then simply add “filetype: pdf” at the end to find PDFs. You can also find PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, and Excel sheets using this format.
For example : climate change report file type: ppt
Find quotes that link to a specific page
This is a confusing tip, but it can help you find pages that link to a specific page. For example, if you are looking for quotes for a college essay, simply use the “link:” format (insert link here) to find links.
For example : link: lifehacker.com
Use an asterisk for words you cannot remember
Sometimes you are looking for lyrics to a song, but you can’t remember a couple of words. An asterisk appears here. Google treats this as a wildcard or space and will give you search results based on the gaps in your knowledge.
For example : strawberry * forever
Find websites similar to what you are looking for
This is a search trick that everyone should know about: let’s say you’ve found a website you like and want to find more sites like that – you can just ask Google to do the hard work for you using a search for “related: (site url)” … term.
For example : related: boardgamegeek.com
Search for a specific site directly from Google
Usually the search function on websites is not very good. But since Google indexes web content anyway, you can use Google to reliably search websites. Use the term “site: (website link)” the next time you want to search a site.
For example : site: lifehacker.com
Find Results in Two Specific Locations
Looking to find results for two terms? For example, you are looking for TV shows from Netflix or Amazon Prime. You can do this using the pipe (vertical bar) symbol, which basically tells Google to choose between “or”.
For example : Netflix | basic
Search in a range of numbers
When you use Google for online research, narrowing down the results over a period of time can help you. You can use two dots to search between two numbers.
For example : academic research 1920-1935.