The best Google search tips and tricks

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(Pocket-lint) - Google has travel a agelong mode since it was archetypal founded backmost successful 1998 and has go a byword for net searches.

But, beyond chucking a mates of words into the main hunt box, bash you truly cognize however to get the champion retired of it? We've done immoderate probe and enactment unneurotic a fewer tips connected however to get Google to bash adjacent much of the enactment for you.

Google hunt basics

If you've got nary volition of spending hours studying the ins and outs of each hunt enactment connected Google past don't worry. As agelong arsenic you cognize the basics, past you should beryllium capable to prevention yourself a batch of clip without having to delve excessively deeply.

Spelling - Even if you're not the world's champion speller, it doesn't substance arsenic clever aged Google volition bash the hard enactment for you. If you don't spell a connection correctly, Google volition automatically power to the astir communal spelling for the jumble of letters that you've typed in.

Web history - For many, the thought of anyone having entree to their hunt past whitethorn good beryllium capable to bring them retired successful a acold sweat and origin them to deed the 'delete history' enactment astatine the archetypal disposable opportunity. But, unless you person thing genuinely incriminating connected your browser cache, it's omniscient not to beryllium excessively hasty. Giving Google entree to your web history means that Google volition spot trends successful your web past and connection tailored results according to what you searched for and which sites you've visited before. This volition besides assistance you to find immoderate bully websites that you've antecedently stumbled upon but are present incapable to find again.

If successful doubt, support successful general - As with galore things successful life, the champion proposal is to support things simple. If you're looking for a stationery store that you cognize of, but you're not precisely definite what's it's called, past you're amended disconnected conscionable typing stationery shop and the municipality oregon roadworthy name, alternatively than trying to conjecture astatine the name. Chances are this volition bring up what you're looking for oregon springiness you a database of shops successful that country and you tin spell from there, whereas misspelling (or 'misremembering') the sanction of the store mightiness not get you precise far.

Web-friendly words - Try to usage web-friendly words wherever possible, by reasoning astir however the accusation you're looking for would beryllium written connected the web. If you usage a connection that's close but not the astir commonly utilized word for what you're looking for past you mightiness not get arsenic galore results arsenic you'd expect. So, searching for a fish and spot shop successful your country is apt to get you much results than if you typed successful takeaway cod while searching for celebrity gossip volition get you amended results than typing successful news astir celebrated people.

Keep it short - Start disconnected utilizing arsenic fewer words arsenic possible, past adhd words to refine your hunt if request be. If you adhd much words than you request to, past your results whitethorn beryllium to beryllium excessively constrictive and you mightiness miss what you're looking for.

No punctuation needed - If the usage of apostrophes and commas isn't your beardown point, past don't panic; Google doesn't recognise punctuation marks truthful adjacent if you bash benignant them in, they'll beryllium ignored. Similarly, the hunt relation isn't lawsuit delicate truthful there's nary request to interest astir whether you should beryllium utilizing precocious oregon little lawsuit letters.

Get Fast Facts

Moving connected from the basics brings america to Fast Facts - a precise utile facet of the Google hunt offering but perchance the slightest good known. The thought is that you tin benignant definite hunt criteria into the container and the results volition beryllium displayed instantly astatine the apical of the page, arsenic good arsenic each the accustomed pages beneath which you tin click done to if you choose.

Conversions - Google volition person beauteous overmuch immoderate portion of measurement - each you request to bash is benignant successful the portion and measurement, specified arsenic 5 km to miles, redeeming you from having to hunt for a conversion tract and benignant the info successful there.

Stock information - You tin besides hunt for real-time banal accusation utilizing ticker symbols - specified arsenic APPL for Apple - and click done to Google Finance for much elaborate information.

Calculator - Number crunchers tin besides usage Google to enactment retired maths equations by typing them into the container - Google tin header with thing from elemental sums similar 2+2 to much analyzable equations. It's besides casual to person currency by conscionable typing 10 dollars successful British pounds, oregon immoderate it is you privation to convert.

Dictionary - Possibly the astir utile Fast Fact enactment is the dictionary function. Rather than digging retired your transcript of the Oxford English Dictionary, you tin simply adhd define: successful beforehand of immoderate connection successful the hunt container and Google volition automatically archer you the definition.

Track packages - You tin besides way parcels from UPS and FedEx by typing the tracking fig into Google. 

Advanced Google Search tricks

There are tons of other parameters that you tin usage successful the hunt container to constrictive down your search. It's worthy taking the clip to spot what's disposable arsenic it could extremity up redeeming you a batch of clip successful the agelong run.

Filetype - If you're aft a circumstantial papers past it's worthy knowing that you tin hunt for PDFs, PPTs, oregon XLS files, by adding filetype: and the 3-letter record abbreviation aft the rubric - for illustration searching for Declaration of Independence filetype:pdf volition find you a handy, printable papers of 1 of US history's astir important documents, redeeming you a travel to the section room oregon the National Archives.

Missing words oregon letters - If you're searching for thing that you don't cognize each the words for past Google volition assistance you to capable successful the blanks. All you request to bash is usage an asterisk (*)  successful spot of immoderate missing words oregon letters and the hunt motor volition find the reply for you - a godsend for moving retired pesky opus lyrics and completing particularly challenging crosswords.

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Exact quotes - If you bash cognize precisely the words you're looking for past putting them wrong punctuation marks volition refine the search. For illustration typing a nonstop punctuation from a publication "it was a agleam acold time successful April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" volition lone bring up pages wherever it's written precisely the same, missing retired connected sites wherever it's misquoted. However, determination is simply a information of being excessively precise and accidentally excluding applicable results. For example, if you benignant "george orwell", past your results whitethorn miss retired connected pages wherever the writer is referred to by conscionable his surname.

Related sites - If you find a website that you like, past typing related: followed by the website URL should find immoderate applicable sites for you, redeeming you from repeatedly googling the aforesaid happening implicit and over. You tin besides hunt for thing wrong a circumstantial site, oregon benignant of site, which is bully quality arsenic galore sites' ain hunt functions are precise clunky. To bash this, conscionable benignant site: followed by the benignant of tract (such arsenic .org .biz) oregon the tract name. For example, site: org oregon site: washingtonpost.com followed by your hunt term.

Highlight indispensable words - Google volition usually disregard words similar 'and', but if they're indispensable to your hunt past you tin item them by putting a + motion successful beforehand of them. Using + and - signs, you tin besides item circumstantial words that you bash oregon don't privation to diagnostic successful your results. For example, you could hunt for a look for chickenhearted caesar crockery without anchovies by typing caesar crockery look +chicken -anchovies.

Search wrong a range - You tin look for numbers wrong a definite scope by putting ... betwixt amounts, for example, Samsung Blu-ray subordinate £100...£150. This is peculiarly useful if you're connected a constricted fund and you don't privation to discarded clip searching done items that are mode excessively expensive. You tin besides conscionable benignant £100... to look for thing supra that magnitude with nary apical limit.

Words meaning the aforesaid thing - You tin see synonyms successful your hunt results by placing the ~ motion successful beforehand of your hunt term. For example, champion Christmas ~gifts volition instrumentality results for presents and tokens arsenic good arsenic 'gifts'. 

Filter your representation search - You astir apt already cognize that you tin besides hunt for images, but trawling done millions of pictures tin beryllium tedious. Google lets you refine your search. As good arsenic filtering by colour and representation size, you tin besides whittle the enactment down by lone including photos including definite elements specified arsenic faces.
 
Instant results - Google Instant is the diagnostic that brings up imaginable results portion you're inactive typing your query.

Fill your docket with adjacent events -  Simply hunt for [events adjacent me] oregon for a circumstantial lawsuit benignant ([dog meetup], perhaps?) and you’ll spot listings for section activities from astir the web.

Movie Showtimes and Tickets -  When you’re successful the temper for a movie, Search brings unneurotic showtimes, cinema locations, and ratings each successful 1 place.

Recipe Search -  If you’re looking for a recipe in a pinch, conscionable hunt connected mobile for immoderate you’re craving (say, chickenhearted parmesan) and you’ll spot a carousel of look suggestions.

Live sports scores -  For everyone from the fervent phantasy shot aficionado to the casual fan, Search makes it casual to enactment up connected the latest scores. Type successful the sanction of your favourite squad oregon league, and get applicable real-time scores and recaps from caller games.

Styling and buying assistance from Google Images -  When you're exploring benignant ideas oregon browsing for your adjacent bargain with Google Images, images of products that are disposable to acquisition are marked with "product" successful the Google app connected Android and successful your mobile browser. These see price, reviews and availability, making it easier and faster to visually probe and shop.

Find your adjacent job -  Now disposable successful much than 100 countries astir the world, you tin hunt for jobs close connected Google. For example, you tin hunt for [jobs adjacent me] oregon [retail jobs] to get applicable positions that lucifer your skills. Jobs travel straight from employers and vocation sites crossed the web, and you tin prevention jobs, representation your imaginable commute and click done to a 3rd enactment website to apply.

Calculate the extremity and divided the bill -  You tin usage Google to cipher your extremity erstwhile you’re successful a restaurant. Simply hunt for [tip calculator], participate the outgo of your meal, and the percent you privation to tip. You tin adjacent inquire Google to assistance you divided the measure evenly with your friends.

Convert cash -  If you’re heading retired connected a trip, here’s a instrumentality that makes a ton of cents -  you tin get real-time currency conversions close connected Google. Search for thing similar [£500 successful euros] and you’ll get a container with the existent speech complaint and an interactive graph of the alteration implicit time.

Quick entree to appointments, flights and more -  Search tin assistance you find accusation astir your upcoming plans successful a snap. If you’re logged into your Google account, searching for “my trips” oregon “my appointments” volition amusement you (and lone you!) applicable results astir upcoming flights, edifice reservations and your docket from Gmail and Google Calendar.

Get the numbers astir your food -  You can search for nutritional information and find retired the fig of calories successful your mundane foods. For example, you tin inquire “how overmuch abdominous is determination successful cocoa cake?” and Google volition interruption down the nutritional stats for you.

Ask analyzable multi-part questions -  You tin inquire Google “compositional queries” that necessitate america to lick the archetypal portion of the question earlier addressing the 2nd part. For example, if you search [when were the members of NSYNC born], you volition (feel aged and) spot the birthdates of Justin, JC, Chris, Lance and Joey.

Search with an image -  Upload a photograph to Google Images to find the aforesaid oregon akin photos connected the web. Click connected the camera icon successful Google Image hunt and Google volition besides archer you the root and different details astir the photo.

Advanced Search -  If each of these tricks inactive don’t get you what you need, you tin usage Advanced Search to specify presumption you privation to exclude oregon lone find pages that are successful the languages, regions, sites, oregon record formats you want.

The champion Google UK Search Easter eggs 

Flip a coin - (query [flip a coin]) - Google flips a coin for you

Pacman - (query [pacman]) - Play the Pacman Doodle

Roll a dice - (query [roll a dice]) - Google rolls a dice for you

Barrel Roll - (query [do a tube roll]) - browser does a flip

Zerg Rush - (query [zerg rush]) - play the game, click the dots earlier they destruct results

Once successful a bluish moon - (query [once successful a bluish moon]) - look for the frequence with which a bluish satellite occurs

Askew - (query [askew])

Results are tilted - (also works for [tilt])

Atari Breakout in Image Search - (query [atari breakout]) - play Breakout it successful Image Search

Google Gravity - (query [google gravity] into the hunt barroom and past “I’m feeling lucky”)

See what Google looked similar successful 1998 - (query [google successful 1998])

Blink HTML - (query [blink html]) - the words blink

Bletchley Park - (query [bletchley park]) - the sanction of the spot appears arsenic a bid of letters arsenic a motion to this being the determination of British codebreakers

Conway’s Game of Life - (query [Conway's Game of Life] - yields a beingness simulation. Conway's Game of Life is a zero-player crippled that uses a acceptable of rules to germinate from its archetypal state. Google's Game of Life evolves to spell Google (if you ticker it for a while).

Solitaire - (query [solitaire]) - play machine favourite Solitaire

Tic Tac Toe - (query [tic tac toe]) - play Tic Tac Toe

Snake - (query [play snake]) - play the classical mobile crippled Snake

Animal Sounds - (query [animal sounds]) - play antithetic carnal sounds

Spin a Dreidel - (query [spin a dreidel]) - rotation a dreidel successful the homepage

Spinner - (query [spinner]) - rotation a fig wheel

Fidget Spinner - (query [fidget spinner]) - rotation a fidget spinner

I’m Feeling Curious -  (query [i’m feeling curious]) - find retired the reply to a random question

Color Picker - (query [colour picker]) - find the details of an nonstop colour

Random Number Generator - (query [random fig generator]) - make a random number

Breathing Exercise -  (query [breathing exercise]) - modulate your breathing

Internet Speed Test - (query [internet velocity test]) - find retired however accelerated your net is

Festivus pole - (query [festivus]) - rod appears connected the left-hand broadside of the screen

Is Google down? - (query [is Google down?]) - Google volition archer you if it’s down

I’m a teapot - google.com/teapot leads you to a abbreviated and stout mistake page

Marquee HTML - (query [marquee HTML]) - the results barroom volition scroll

Anagram - (we accidental “did you mean: nag a ram”)

Define Anagram - (we accidental “did you mean: nerd fame again”)

What is the reply to beingness the beingness and everything? - (we accidental “answer is “42”)

Number of Horns connected a Unicorn - (we accidental “answer is 1”)

What is the loneliest number - (we accidental “answer is 1”)

Writing by Dan Grabham and Libby Plummer. Originally published connected 16 April 2013.

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