40+ Best Google Search Tips, Tricks & Hacks for 2018 [Infographic]
Written for Zety by Christian Eilers.
Think you know all you need about Google? Think again. You might know how to make a basic search with Google, but that’s about it.
This list of Google Search tricks will advance your search and let you zero in on what you’re really looking for.
Whether you’re trying to get exactly what you need fast and effectively, or if you want to boost productivity, these tips and tricks are sure to make things easier for you at the office, at your desk, and even in your personal life.
For more stories and insights like this, visit the Zety blog.
Impressive, right? But hey — there’s even more!
Less known (but super useful!) Google Search Tips
1. Double Exclude
Search Command: brownie recipe -milk -eggs
Results Include: All pages that rank for brownie recipe except those that include milk or eggs.
You can mix and combine all of these Google Search commands to better refine your query.
Add a space and then another negative keyword to omit more than one. This example search will give you brownie recipes that include neither milk nor eggs.
2. The Boolean Search
Search Command: dog AND cat
Results Include: Pages that have both the words dog and cat
Search Command: dog OR cat
Results include: Pages that have either the word dog or cat
Use AND or OR (all caps) to perform a boolean search by sticking it between two other words. The pipe operator (|) is the same as using OR.
3. The Tilde to Thesaurize
Search command: ~large
Results Include: Pages that have words similar to large, such as big, great, massive, and others
The tilde symbol generally means approximately, about, or around in English, and placing one just before a search term will broaden your query to match. Note that synonym searches are the default now, so this is all but redundant.
4. Temperature, Weather & Forecast
Search Command: forecast/temperature/weather
Results Include: Your local weather and forecast summary
Search Command: forecast/temperature/weather 11106
Results Include: Weather and forecast summary for 11106
Weather, temperature, and forecast seem to provide the same, albeit convenient, rich card result.
5. Determine That Date
Search Command: easter
Results Include: The current year’s Easter date
You can easily use Google Search to remind you of an upcoming holiday, so you can plan accordingly. Note that if a holiday has just passed, it will show you that one — the current year’s date, rather than the future date.
8. Get Info on a Site
Search Command: info:nytimes.com
Results Include: A single-result SERP with just the homepage
This one used to be more helpful, but since Google has moved to zero-result SERPs, this particular Google command has lost some of its power. Still, you may find some use for it (and let me know if you do!).
9. Get Cached Version of a Site
Search Command: cache:djaunter.com
Results Include: The latest cached version of that specific URL from Google
Using cache: before a URL will immediately bring up the Google User Content cached version of that page. Note that it requires a specific URL per result, so it can include subfolders, child pages, and subdomains.
10. Investigate Company Information
Search Command: founder google
Results Include: Snippet with rich cards including founders of Google
Are you trying to know to whom to address a cover letter? Perhaps doing some competitor research?
Google Search gives rich card results for any of a number of searches. Just type in the position (CEO, CTO, etc.) followed by the company, and voila!
11. More Advanced Mathematics
Search Command: solve rhombus/triangle/rectangle/other shapes
Results Include: All shapes’ dimensions based on other input
We brought up Google’s impressive calculator functionality before, but Google can offer way more advanced mathematics. You can get the answers to geometry dimensions of several shapes, and you can solve for area, side, perimeter, diagonal, diagonal (p), diagonal (q), base, height, side, side (a), side ©, gamma, length, radius, diameter, and circumference!
13. Search Through Social Media
Search Command: bananas @twitter
Results Include: Twitter profiles, tweets, etc. that include bananas
If you’re in marketing, or you just wanna sift through all the noise, use the @ or # symbols to help you along. The @ will work with other social media platforms, such as Facebook.
14. Get Song Names and a List of Episodes
Search Command: songs by ed sheeran
Results Include: An interactive snippet with thumbnails of all songs (with dates) by Ed Sheeran
Search Command: game of thrones episodes
Results Include: An interactive snippet with thumbnails of all episodes (with dates) of GoT
Similar to the author’s book search, you can get the same snippet for show episodes and singer’s songs, as well.
15. Sports Scores & Overview
Search Command: yankees/NYY
Results Include: Latest scores, standings, and upcoming games
Use Google to get a detailed look at your favorite team. This rich card offering is really rich, including stats, scores per inning (baseball), upcoming games, news, division rankings, and more.
16. Earthquake
Search Command: earthquake
Results Include: USGS info showing the time, place, and magnitude of recent earthquakes.
Typing in earthquake give you United States Geological Survey information of recent earthquakes around the world. And, if it’s affecting you, quick access to safety advice!
17. Sunrise & Sunset
Search Command: sunrise/sunset
Results Include: Upcoming sunrise/sunset time in your locale
Search Command: sunrise/sunset in san francisco
Results Include: Upcoming sunrise time in specific city
Get the exact sunrise or sunset time in your city by simply searching for either word. If you want to know the sunrise or sunset for another city, just add that city to your query. Simple and effective!
Well, what did you think?
Hopefully, these Google Search hacks will help you lead a more productive work life.
Got any questions or comments? Perhaps some other helpful Google Search tips or tricks? Let us know in the comments below!
Written for Zety by Christian Eilers.
Originally published at zety.com on August 6, 2018.
