If you’ve ever plugged a search into Google and wondered why the returned results are different than what you were hoping to see, you’re not alone. Even though search technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the last several years, search engines are still somewhat limited to what they are able to do, and they certainly haven’t evolved to being able to read the average searcher’s mind. Many searchers simply get used to being frustrated with their search results – and it definitely does not have to be that way.
To that end, it’s always useful to have a good grasp on some basic (and quite a few not so basic!) Google search commands that can help you find what you’re looking for quickly. From word definitions to math problems to searching within the text of a website, book, or magazine, these advanced Google search commands will help you quickly find what you’re looking for the next time you use the world’s most popular search engine to find something.
| Google Shortcut | Finds Pages That Have… |
| nokia phone | the words nokia and phone |
| sailing OR boating | either the word sailing or the word boating |
| “love me tender” | the exact phrase love me tender |
| printer -cartridge | the word printer but NOT the word cartridge |
| Toy Story +2 | movie title including the number 2 |
| ~auto | looks up the word auto and synonyms |
| define:serendipity | definitions of the word serendipity |
| how now * cow | the words how now cow separated by one or more words |
| + | addition; 978+456 |
| – | subtraction; 978-456 |
| * | multiplication; 978*456 |
| / | division; 978/456 |
| % of | percentage; 50% of 100 |
| ^ | raise to a power; 4^18 (4 to the eighteenth power) |
| old in new (conversion) | 45 celsius in Fahrenheit |
| site:(search only one website) | site:websearchsecrets.com “people search” |
| link:(find linked pages) | link:www.websearchsecrets.com |
| #…#(search within a number range) | nokia phone $200…$300 |
| daterange:(search within a specific date range) | bosnia daterange:200508-200510 |
| safesearch: (exclude adult content) | safesearch:breast cancer |
| info: (find info about a page) | info:www.websearchsecrets.com |
| related: (related pages) | related:www.websearchsecrets.com |
| cache: (view cached page) | cache:google.com |
| filetype:(restrict search to specific filetype) | zoology filetype:ppt |
| allintitle: (search for keywords in page title) | allintitle:”nike” running |
| inurl:(restrict search to page URLs) | inurl:chewbacca |
| site:.edu (specific domain search) | site:.edu, site:.gov, site:.org, etc. |
| site:country code (restrict search to country) | site:.br “rio de Janeiro” |
| intext:(search for keyword in body text) | intext:parlor |
| allintext: (return pages with all words specified in body text) | allintext:north pole |
| book(search book text) | book The Lord of the Rings |
| phonebook:(find a phone number) | phonebook:Google CA |
| bphonebook: (find business phone numbers) | bphonebook:Intel OR |
| rphonebook:(find residential phone numbers) | rphonebook:Joe Smith Seattle WA |
| movie:(search for showtimes) | movie:wallace and gromit 97110 |
| stocks:(get a stock quote) | stocks:ncesa |
| weather:(get local weather) | weather:97132 |
Once you have all of the above search commands mastered, you should see a marked increase in the quality of your search results. Of course, it’s always smart to experiment a little with how you frame your search query; after all, if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again (but just use a different search string!).
Most searches are not successful the very first time, but these advanced search tips can help you get where you need to go faster and more efficiently.
Like these advanced search tips and want to know even more how you can use Google to find what you’re looking for faster, better, and smarter? You’ll want to read Six Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Google, the Top Ten Google Search Tricks You Should Know About, or How to Google Your Way to Better Search Results. All of these articles will give you simple step by step instructions on how to make your Google searches more relevant.