10 Tricks to Make You Master Google Search

Google Search has always been a life savior for all of us in various ways, hasn’t it? If you ever need guidance to do something new but you have no one to help you out, what do you do? Google it! Simple as that! Google has information about almost everything in this world. Everyone knows about Google search but how many of us know how to properly find what we are looking for exactly? There is a hidden side of Google that only a few people take advantage of. When you discover the amazing things you can do with Google, you’ll be able to master Google search. You’ll be light years ahead of the people who don’t know about these kinds of stuff. So, without any further ado, let’s get right to learning 10 tricks to make you master Google search.

Use an asterisk “*” to find words or phrases you can’t remember

Let’s suppose, you have to say a particular saying to your friend, but you just cannot remember the exact words. Of course, Google it, but how? You don’t know the words to search for the exact saying. Worry not, one way to master Google search is to add an asterisk “*” instead of the word you don’t know from the phrase to find it. Google sees an * as a missing word and will fill it for you with the most relevant results. So, even if you forget a word in a phrase or saying, there would not be any problem finding it, not for you and not for Google.

Screenshot of using an asterisk instead of missing words.

Use an asterisk instead of missing words.

Search within websites using “site:”

If you have to search something within a particular website then you can use “site: websitename word”. It will show you the exact results that you want to find. For example, if you search “site: nepalbuzz.com Facebook”, it will bring up every page on NepalBuzz containing the word “Facebook”.

Sceenshot of searching within websites using "site:"

Search within websites using “site:”

Search for similar websites using “related: yourwebsite”

If you have a blog or a website that you really like and want to find other similar websites, then, all you have to do is type ‘related:’ in front of your favorite website. This will bring up all the websites related to your favorite one.

Screenshot of searching for similar websites using "related: favoritewebsite"

Search for similar websites.

Use a quotation to find the exact phrases

Searching a phrase in quotes will yield only pages with the exact words in the same order as what is in the quotes. This is one of the best ways to master Google search. This is especially useful if you are trying to find results containing a specific phrase. So, if you want to find things with exact words or phrases, just put the quotes around them. For example, you can search for “shining your kitchen sink” and the results would be:

Screenshot of using quotation to find the exact phrases

Use a quotation to find the exact phrases.

Exclude certain keywords using a hyphen “-“

You might want to eliminate results with certain words sometimes if you are trying to search for a term that’s generating a lot of results that aren’t of your interest. You can do so using the hyphen sign followed by the word. Here, the hyphen works as a minus. For example, you can search for “jaguar –car” and the Google search would show you results excluding the word car:

Screenshot of searching jaguar excluding car using a hyphen in front of car

Exclude certain keywords using a hyphen “-“

Search for exact images

Have you ever wondered where an image came from or was curious to find out similar images to yours? All you have to do is download the image you want to search for, go to images.google.com, click on the camera icon, and then upload your image or paste the image URL. Google will bring up all the related images, the same image in different sizes, and show the sources for the image.

screenshot of searching for exact images

Search for exact images.

Search for multiple words or topics at once

Have you ever been confused between something and could not think of any better option? In these situations, Google search seems to be the only help you can get. If you cannot remember something or you are confused about something, then you might want to use ‘or’ while searching it on Google. You can find some great help to know the exact thing you were looking for. For example, if you can’t remember which Jennifer acted in that one movie, search it with ‘or’ between their surnames.

Searching for Jennifer anniston or lawrence

Search for multiple words or topics at once.

Use “Define:” to find the exact meaning of slang words

This one is an awesome trick to master Google search. It especially comes in handy for those using the social networking sites more. It is because social media is the place where so many shortcuts and slangs are used. If you ever hear or see a slang word you don’t understand, just Google “Define: slangword”. For example, when you search “define: lil”:

Searching the slang word: lil

Find the exact meaning of slang words.

Filter search results using Google’s “Search Tools”

One of the most well-known ways to master Google search is their search tools dropdown. This dropdown can allow you to filter results by time, date, image size, color, type etc. It is an under-utilized way to narrow down your search results to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Screenshot of Search Tools on Google

Filter search results using Google’s “Search Tools”

Search for specific words in a title using “intitle:”

If you want to find articles with exact words in the title, you can search like “intitle: yourword”. Google will show you all the results possible with your word mentioned in the title. For example, if you want to search the titles including the word ‘kittens’, then search for “intitle: kittens”. The results in front of you will definitely satisfy you.

Screenshot of searching for “intitle: kittens”

Search for specific words in a title.

There you have it, 10 amazing tricks to master Google search. If you want more Google tricks, Google has an excellent help document that shows you the most advanced ways to use their platform. Now, get out there and start using your new-found magical search powers to take over the world! (Just Kidding) Or at least, to find better search results. Either way, we hope you found this article helpful. Let us know what you think about these amazing tricks through the comments section below.