6 Useful Google Search Tips

Google is the most used search engine and for many internet users, it acts as a liaison between them and the rest of the internet.  We all enter terms and phrases into the Google search bar on a daily basis and to a lot of people, just simply entering search terms is how you use Google.  However, some people may not realize that it is possible to further refine your Google search and get better results by using a series of text commands that can narrow the search in a number of ways.  These text commands help you find more specific results with information that is more directly relevant to what you are looking for. 

 

Here are some common Google search tricks to help you refine your searches.
• Exact Phrases: If you want to find web pages that contain your search phrase exactly as you entered it, put quotation marks around the phrase. Example: “Google search tips”
• Excluding Words: Some search terms may be so broad that they bring up a variety of unrelated results. You can exclude some of the results by including a second keyword with a (-) sign before the word.  For example, if you want information on the actual big bang theory and not the TV show, your search term should look like this: big bang theory –tv.
• Search within a Website: You can prompt Google to only search for results within a specific website by adding a colon and the URL of the website immediately after the search term.  Example: presidential candidates:huffingtonpost.com
• Searching for Exact Titles: You can prompt Google to search for web pages that have your entire search phrase in the title or part of your search phrase in the title by adding either allintitle: before the search phrase or intitle: in front of the portion of the phrase you want to be included in the title. Examples: allintitle: google search tricks;  google search intitle: tricks
• Searching for File Types: You can prompt Google to show results for a specific file type by entering filetype: and the suffix to determine which file type following your search phrase: Example: google search tricks filetype:pdf

• Searching for Words in URL: Google will return results with your specific search phrase incorporated into the URL’s if you enter allinurl: before the search phrase.  Example: allinurl: google search tricks
There are many more ways you can further refine your Google search to get more specific and relevant results.  The tips presented here are just the tip of the iceberg for the capabilities of Google search.  For a more complete list of Google search tricks and other tips, you can read the full blog on Proceed Innovative’s website.