10 tricks that will change the way you search on Google

Google is the most popular search engine in the world. However, did you know that there are special characters and words that you can include in your search to get better results? Try following the tricks on your next Google search to get more accurate results.

01. Use quotation marks (“”) to search for an exact word or phrase

If you put your search terms in double quotes, Google shows only the pages with that exact phrase that you put inside the quotes. For example, if you search “ancient city of polonnaruwa“, Google search results include only pages with the phrase ancient city of Polonnaruwa.

Alternatively, if you are a beginner, you can use this method to verify your writing by searching for parts of your sentences on Google. If your Google search returns some results, you will have an idea of ​​what you type.

02. Look for wildcards or unknown words (use * between quotes)

You can use asterisks

enclosed in quotes to specify unknown variables or words. Google will find the pages with results that have some words in the rhythm of the asterisks.

This is useful if you are trying to find specific phrases but cannot remember certain words in them. You can replace the words you don’t remember with asterisks and Google will find the missing words.

Also, you can improve your writing skills by studying the use of words in sentences by Googling them with the combination of asterisks and quotation marks.

03. Use the minus sign (-) to exclude results that contain a specific keyword.

If you want to exclude results that contain specific keywords, you can add the minus sign (-) in front of the keywords. For example, if you want to search for “what is the Internet” and you don’t want results with “Wikipedia”, you can search;

what is internet -Wikipedia

04. Search a specific websiteIf you want to search for something on a specific site, type “site:

“in front of the site or domain. For example, you can search;

“ancient city of Polonnaruwa” site: slplaces.com

05. Limit the time period

With Google search, you can specify the expected time period for your search results. After running the search, click on “tools” (below the search bar) and a new menu will appear below. Select / define the appropriate time period from the “Anytime” drop-down menu.

06. Search for file typesIf you want to search for a specific file type, add it to the end of the search with “Type of file:

“command. For example, if you want to search for” Excel for beginners “and you want results with PDF, you can search;

“Excel for beginners” file type: PDF

07. Find related sites

You can search for sites similar to sites by placing “related:” in front of the domain you already know. For example; You can search for sites similar to “tripadvisor.com” as shown below;

related: tripadvisor.com

08. Translate words and phrases into different languages

You can use Google search to translate words and phrases into different languages. For example, you can translate the word “wildcard” into Sinhalese by searching as shown below; translate wildcard to

Singhalese

09. Unit and currency conversions

You can use Google search for currency units and conversions. For example; The search term of 15 USD to LKR will convert 15 USD into Sri Lankan rupees. To convert 15 feet to meters, use 15 feet to m.

10. Search in titles

If you put “intitle:” in front of your search query, Google renders pages with the title that includes the word placed just after the “intitle:”.

If you use “allintitle:”, Google renders the pages with all the words after them.

For example;

intitle: WordPress CMS renders pages with the term “WordPress” in the titles

allintitle: WordPress CMS renders pages with both the terms “WordPress” and “CMS” in the titles

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