Google Search is one of the most powerful — and popular — ways to find information online. According to HubSpot, the search engine averages more than 99,000 queries every second, equating to 8.5 billion searches daily and 2 trillion global searches yearly.
However, Google chooses and displays results based on an algorithm you’ll never see, which means it’s sometimes difficult to find specific information. On top of that, hundreds of similar websites could crowd out relevant content if your search query is too broad. So how do you save time, improve research accuracy, and get the most out of Google?
Try our Google hacks and tips to improve your search literacy skills and find the right information.
Basic Google Search Tips and Strategies
Even if you’ve been using Google confidently for years, it pays to brush up on basic tips that will make your searches faster, more accurate, and highly efficient.
Here are some Google tricks every student should know:
1. Simple Google Search Tips
- Keep your searches simple. If you’re searching for a company but don’t know its full name, enter as much as you know. Many search queries don’t require an advanced search term or command. You don’t even need to worry about proper syntax.
- Refine the words you use. You may be thinking, “Find me a good book,” but you may have better luck with “best-selling books.”
- Use as few words as possible. The more words you add, the narrower your results may be. To begin a search, you want to cast a wide net. “Professional football” will grab a likely overwhelming number of results, which you can refine by adding “champions” or “VIPs since 1990 list.”
- Filter search results when relevant. If you only want a certain type of result — such as images, videos, or news — you can select the relevant category using the clickable categories under the search bar.
2. Common Google Search Operators
- Exact phrase. Quotation marks around words in the search bar will pull up that exact phrase.
- Example: “leap year”
- Exclude in search. A minus sign will exclude some information that might otherwise be shown.
- Example: board games -checkers
- Expand results. Use OR (yes, capitalized) if you’re trying to find more than one term and would like one or both to be found.
- Example: rhythm OR blues
- Ranges of numbers. Two periods will help search a range of numbers.
- Example: wireless earbuds $75..$150
- Wildcard search. An asterisk acts as a wildcard to let Google Search fill in the word in a phrase.
- Example: the devil * details
3. How to Do a Deep Search on Google
- Find page titles. Page titles can be searched by using “intitle:” before the word or phrase. Add other words or phrases to the search query to bring up stories that may mention relevant information elsewhere in the content.
- Example: intitle:texas snowstorm
- Refine page title searches. Use “allintitle:” before the word or phrase to search only for pages with this term in the title.
- Example: allintitle:texas snowstorm
- Search a cache. Find older versions of a page that may have been changed by doing a “cache:” search.
- Example: cache:whitehouse.gov
- Search for a page with specific words. An “inurl:” search finds matching results within a URL address.
- Example: inurl:nursing
- Search inside a site. Get results inside a specific site, much like a Google search, by using “site:” in the browser bar. Combine with another term to find what you’re looking for.
- Example: site:purdueglobal.edu business
- Search specific file types. Look for .pdf, .docx, or .ppt files, for example, with “filetype:” searches. The results will be restricted to that file type.
- Example: food safety filetype:pdf
- See similar websites. Search for websites similar to one you’re familiar with by using “related:” in front of the address.
- Example: related:barnesandnoble.com
Advanced Search and Other Google Search Tools
If you want to find more specific information such as a particular statistic or scientific study, you may need an advanced Google hack. Here are a few to try out:
4. Advanced Search
Google’s Advanced Search offers a wide range of parameters to use in your search. Go to the Advanced Search page to search for a variety of words, exact words or phrases, and other combinations. You’ll then be able to narrow your search by language, region, last update, and more.
5. Google Books
Google Books offers previews and, in some cases, full texts of some books, including free ebooks. Magazines and newspapers are also available. In addition, you can narrow your search by publication dates.
6. Google Images
Google Images lets you upload or paste an image URL to find its origin and other sizes. Sometimes called a “reverse image search,” this approach can also give you a view of visually similar images, websites that include the original image, and more. Advanced Image Search works just like the Advanced Search for words and phrases.
7. Google News
Google News lets you search current news events. You can also set up a personal library with alerts for certain events and key phrases.
8. Google Scholar
Google Scholar is an all-around search site for educational users. This site can help you dig into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oxford University, and scholarly journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet. Case law is also searchable at Google Scholar.
9. Google Trends
Find out what other people are searching for at Google Trends, which might help you find information or spur ideas for your own research.
10. Public Data Explorer
Google’s Public Data Explorer, along with Dataset Search, offers reams of data that might be useful in research papers. Find useful data from the World Bank, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and others.
11. Voice Search
Click or tap the microphone button to enable voice search, which allows you to speak your query instead of typing it. This works especially well on mobile devices.
Other Ways to Use Google Search
There’s more to Google than finding the perfect search result. Try these other Google hacks for different kinds of projects:
12. Conversion
Find current conversion rates for money, measurements, and more. Type in “USD$5 to British Pound Sterling” or “14 miles into kilometers,” for example.
13. Definitions
Use “Define (word)” to get dictionary definitions. You can also search synonyms and antonyms this way.
14. Flight Times
Check your flight times and any changes by adding your flight number. You’ll get up-to-date information on times and terminal/gate information.
15. Math
From a simple addition problem to graphing an equation, plugging in numbers can give you the results you need, including a 3D rendering. For example, try searching for this equation in Google: (y*(-1)/sin(x).
16. Packages
Plug in your UPS or USPS tracking number in Search to find the status of your package.
17. Stock Market
Find any stock price results by typing its ticker symbol.
18. Sunrise and Sunset
This will tell you dawn and dusk in any area; simply type “sunrise” or “sunset” and the location.
19. Time
Check your time with “Time (place)” wherever you are.
20. Weather
Search “Weather (ZIP Code)” to get up-to-date weather information. You also can use city names.
21. Translation
Google Translate is a quick and easy way to switch between languages. You can type or speak directly into the tool, but you can also use it to translate whole websites, documents, or images. Just remember that it may not be perfect.
22. Additional Tools
Google is great for recommending or highlighting tools that can bolster your research, whether you’re looking for APA style citation solutions, guides on using Google Docs, AI chatbots, or just about anything else.
Google Search FAQs
It’s important to remember that Google, like any search engine, comes with certain rules and considerations. You should know what’s happening behind the scenes when you use Google Search:
How Does Google Choose Results?
Google uses a variety of tools to decide which results are most relevant based on your search term. These include policies against spam, harmful content, and highly personal information. This all comes together in a system called the algorithm, an interwoven set of rules that reads, ranks, and displays websites based on their content and intended audience.
Does Google Change?
Google occasionally updates its algorithm and structure. Find the latest search techniques, changes, and information at Google Search Help.
What Are the Parts of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP)?
When researching, remember that the SERP will show you different kinds of information:
- Featured snippet: This is a quick, succinct answer to your question, generally taken from a top-ranking site.
- AI overview: This feature summarizes information from across the web and may not always be 100% accurate.
- Sponsored results: Digital marketing and advertising experts sometimes pay to have websites, ads, or other content appear at the top of the SERPs.
- Forums: Google often shows forum discussions from sites like Reddit.
Are Google Searches Private?
You should know that Google and other parties may be able to see, share, and save your search history.
Can Google Search Tips Help You in Your Career?
Just like any other tool, the value of Google Search depends on how you use it. That means you can get more of the right information with less work if you’re using smart tips, tricks, and hacks. This isn’t just good news for your next research project or paper; it’s also an important step in becoming a more confident learner.
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