To instantly improve your Google search results, use these quick and easy tricks that help you refine searches, find what you need faster, and filter out irrelevant information.
1. Use Quotation Marks (“ ”) for Exact Matches
- When searching for an exact phrase, put it in quotation marks. This forces Google to show only results with that exact phrase in the same order.
- Example: Instead of searching top pizza restaurants near me, search
"top pizza restaurants near me"
. This avoids results that mention these words separately.
- Example: Instead of searching top pizza restaurants near me, search
2. Use a Hyphen (-) to Exclude Words
- To exclude unwanted results that include certain words, use the hyphen before the word you don’t want to see.
- Example: Searching for best laptops but want to exclude Dell? Use
best laptops -Dell
.
- Example: Searching for best laptops but want to exclude Dell? Use
3. Use Site: to Search Within a Specific Website
- Limit your search results to a particular website using the
site:
operator.- Example: To find articles about healthy recipes on nytimes.com, search
healthy recipes site:nytimes.com
.
- Example: To find articles about healthy recipes on nytimes.com, search
4. Use OR for Multiple Search Terms
- Use
OR
(in capital letters) between terms to get results for either of the terms.- Example: If you’re looking for either iPhone 14 or iPhone 13, search
iPhone 14 OR iPhone 13
.
- Example: If you’re looking for either iPhone 14 or iPhone 13, search
5. Use Define: to Quickly Get Definitions
- Google gives you instant definitions when you type
define:
followed by the word.- Example:
define:serendipity
.
- Example:
6. Use the Asterisk (*) as a Wildcard
- The asterisk acts as a placeholder for unknown words. This is useful if you want to find variations of a phrase or complete a partial quote.
- Example: Search
* is the best medicine
to find results about phrases like laughter is the best medicine.
- Example: Search
7. Use Intitle: or Inurl: for Targeted Results
- To find pages with specific words in the title, use
intitle:
. For words in the URL, useinurl:
.- Example:
intitle:best smartphones 2024
will show results with “best smartphones 2024” in the title.
- Example:
8. Use Time-Based Filters
- After searching, use Google’s Tools option and filter results by time (e.g., past 24 hours, past week) for the most recent information.
Using these simple tricks can help you find what you’re looking for faster, making your searches more precise and efficient.
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