We all know Google for being a simple search engine, which is why we use it. But looks can be deceiving. If you are a geek you probably know it is the most complex search engine, and if you aren’t a geek you probably don’t know most of the advanced search features you could be using to make your life easier. They aren’t too complex to learn, so why not give them a try.
I am not a Google genius, but throughout college here is a list of the Google search features I used. If you feel there are any others that I or anyone else should be using feel free to leave a comment.
Phonebook Listings: Don’t you hate it when you get a call from someone and you don’t know who it is? If you want to be a bit risky feel free and just call back and hope it isn’t and ex-girlfriend. If you want to play it safe you can use Google Phonebook search to find out information on that number.
Ex: Phonebook: 717-555-5555
**The example above may not work because it is not a real number.
Area Codes: I travel quite a bit and usually like to know what geographic region is represented by a specific area code. The only way I know how to do this is by using Google.
Ex: 818
Definitions: You may be smart, but if you aren’t you probably get stumbled by terms all the time. Instead of pulling out a dictionary, just use Google to figure out what they mean.
Ex: define:google bomb
Site Search: Some sites have terrible search features, especially man blogs like Techcrunch.com. Instead of using its site search, I use Google to search those sites.
Ex: site:techcrunch.com google
Specific Phrases: If you are looking for private student loans, you want private student loans and not home loans. To make sure you get relevant results, you can use quotes around the phrase you are looking to search on. That way all the results will be 100% relevant.
Ex: “private student loans“
Exclude Phrases: On the other hand you may be searching for generic apple recipes, but you don’t want any pie recipes. Instead of wasting your time by going through irrelevant results, you can use the minus feature.
Ex: apple recipe -pie
Or Search: I can’t always decide what to cook. Sometimes I feel like making a pizza or spaghetti. If you want search results on either of them you can get that in one search instead of having to do two separate ones.
Ex: pizza OR spaghetti
File Type: I am currently in college and I do a lot of PowerPoints. I usually like to look at similar PowerPoints before I start mine so that I do a good job. An easy way to find them or any other types of files is to do a file search.
Ex: filetype:ppt business
Stock Quotes: A lot of people use Yahoo and other services to look up stock quotes, but why not get all your stock information with ease. Just type in a stock quote in Google and you will instantly get the results you are looking for.
Ex: Aapl
Calculator: For you math whizzes out there you probably don’t need this, but a great way to do some quick math is through Google. If you want to find out how many times 4 goes into 98416 you can use Google.
Ex: 98416 / 4
These are just many of the unique ways I use Google and by no means does this list go over all the features that are in Google search. If you know of any more feel free to drop a comment below.
