In our era of advanced technology and high-speed
Internet connections, you can find information on virtually anything.
In the space of just a few minutes, we can find recipes for the tastiest
pie or learn all about the theory of wave-particle duality.
But more often than not, we have to sift through a vast
body of knowledge to get the information we need, and this can take
hours rather than minutes. This is why Bright Side has
put together a list of the most effective methods for searching Google
to help you find the precious material you’re looking for in just
a couple of clicks.
1. Either this or that
Sometimes we’re not sure that we’ve correctly remembered
the information or the name we need to start our search. But this
doesn’t have to be a problem! Simply put in a few potential variations
of what you’re looking for, and separate them by typing the “|“ symbol.
Instead of this symbol you can also use ”or." Then it’s easy enough
to choose the result that makes the most sense.
2. Searching using synonyms
Our language is rich in synonyms. Sometimes this can
be very convenient when doing research online. If you need to find
websites on a given subject rather than those that include a specific
phrase, add the "~" symbol to your search.
For example, if you search for the term "healthy ~food"
you’ll get results about the principles of healthy eating, cooking
recipes, as well as healthy dining options.
3. Searching within websites
Sometimes you read an interesting article on a website
and find yourself subsequently wanting to share it with your friends
or simply reread it. The easiest way to find the desired piece
of information again is to search within the website. To do this, type
the address of the site, then a key word or entire phrase from the
article, and it should come up immediately.
4. The power of the asterisk
When our cunning memory decides to prevent us from
recalling that one key word, phrase, or number we need in order to find
what we’re looking for, you can turn to the powerful "*" symbol. Just
use this in the place of the word/phrase you can’t remember, and you
should be able to find the results you’re looking for.
5. When lots of words are missing
If it’s the lengthier half of the phrase you can’t
remember rather than a single key word, try writing out the first and
last words and putting “AROUND + (the approximate number of missing
words)“ between them. For example, ”I wandered AROUND(4) cloud."
6. Using a time frame
Sometimes we urgently need to acquaint ourselves with
events that occurred during a certain period of time. To do so, you can
add a time frame to your search query with the help of three dots
between the dates. For example, if we want to find out about scientific
discoveries during the 20th century, we can write:
7. Searching for a title or URL
To help find the key words and name of an article, type
“intitle:“ before the search term, without any spaces between them.
In order to find the words from a URL, use ”inurl:".
8. Finding similar websites
If you’ve found something you really like online and
want to find similar websites, type in "related:" and then the address
of the site, again without a space between them.
9. Whole phrases
Framing the search term within quotation marks is the
simplest and most effective way to find something specific and in the
exact order you typed it in.
For example, if you type in the words I’m picking up good vibrations
without quotation marks, the search engine will show the results where
these words appear in any order on a website, as opposed to the specific
order in which you typed them.
If, on the other hand, you type "I’m picking up good
vibrations" within quotation marks, you’ll get only those results where
these words appear only in the order you typed them in. This is a great
way to find the lyrics to a song when you only know one line from it.
10. Unimportant search words
To remove unimportant search words from your query,
simply write a minus symbol before each one. For example, if you want
to find a site about interesting books, but you aren’t looking to buy
them, you can write the following:
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