Smart ways to search Google

~Punch Nigeria. Wednesday, August 10, 2016.

To get the best out of Google search, here are a few techniques to apply:

Phrase search

If you want Google to return your search as a complete phrase, in the exact order and proximity that you typed it in as, then you'll need to surround it with quotes; i.e., "three blind mice."

When you use quotation marks around a phrase, you are telling the search engine to only bring back pages that include these search terms exactly how you typed them in-order, proximity, etc. For example: "Nobel Prize Winners 1987"

Negative search

Use the "-" symbol when you want Google to find pages that have one search word on them, but you need it to exclude other words commonly associated with that search word. This is commonly known as Boolean search which allows you to combine words and phrases using the words And, Or, Not and Near (otherwise known as Boolean search operators) to limit, widen, or define your search.

The Boolean search operators;

'And' is represented by the "+" symbol.

'Not' is represented by the "-" symbol.

'Or' is the default setting of any search engine. If you use 'Or,' all search engines will automatically return all the words you typed in.

Order of search

The order in which you type your search query affects your search results. For example, if you are looking for a great waffle recipe, typing in "waffle recipe" is different from typing in "recipe waffle".

Forced search

Google automatically excludes common words like "where", "how", "and", etc. because it tends to slow down your search. However, if you're looking for something that actually needs those words included, you can "force" Google to include them by using the addition sign +.

Site search

You can use Google to search within a site for content; for example, if you want to look inside 'About Web Search' for everything on "free movie downloads." Type site:websearch.about.com "free movie downloads" inside the Google search engine.

Number range search

For this search, just add two numbers, separated by two periods, with no spaces, into the search box along with your search terms. You can use this number range search to set ranges for everything from dates (Willie Mays 1950..1960) to weights (5000..10000 kg truck). However, be sure to specify a unit of measurement or some other indicator of what your number range represents.