Save Time With Google & Become A Search Ninja!

To help you get the most out of your search, we’ve prepared a few tips to make you a master “Googler.”
Google searches for all permutations of your search query by default. A search for “dresses in Norwich” will search for “dresses,” “Norwich” and the whole phrase. To avoid unwanted results, simply enclose your entire query within double quotation marks. This will instruct Google to only return results matching the entire phrase. You can also elect to exclude certain keywords using the minus(-) operator. The search query “stew recipes -beef” will return all pages with the keywords “stew” and “recipes” but will not return any that have the word “beef.”
At times, you may want to only search for pages on a particular website. For example, you may want to return results only from the site of The Times. You can accomplish this with the “site:” keyword. For example, the search “site:thetimes.com running” will list all pages from the New York Times that contain the word “running.” You can also exclude sites using the minus operator, similarly to how keywords are excluded. If we search for “finance -site:yahoo.com” we obtain all results relating to finance that are not from yahoo.com.
Google also has a number of “quick-answer” functions. With the right keywords Google can act as a calculator, a dictionary or even a currency converter. To calculate basic arithmetic, simply type your calculation into the search box. An example query of “40+5*3” will perform the calculation and display the result. If you need a word defined, just ask Google using the “define:” keyword. Typing in “define:word” will result in a brief definition of the word as well as a list of synonyms. You can also convert between units of measurement and currency using the “in” keyword. For example, the search query “10mi in km” will give the amount of kilometers in ten miles and the query “50USD in CAD” will provide the amount of Canadian dollars in 50 US dollars.
Travel-related queries is another area where Google can help. When planning a trip, add “flights” to the start of your search to get a list of flights between two cities, as in “flights Montreal New York.” You’ll be presented with a list of airlines and flights that service the route. On the other hand, if you’re waiting for a specific flight, simply type in your flight number to see if it is delayed or on time, like so: “American Airlines 4545.” The two local condition keywords, “time:” and “weather:” can also help by preparing you for arrival. Querying “time:orlando, fl” will give you the current time in Orlando, while “weather: orlando, fl” will provide a brief weather report for the next few days.
The tricks you’ve learned here can be real-life savers. The next time you forget what that odd-sounding word is, or how many gallons are in a liter, you’ll be amazed at how easily Google can tell you. If you remember these keywords, there won’t be any question you can’t answer or any page you can’t find; you will truly be a master “Googler.”