Google Search Tips
Become a a search ninja!
Millions of people use Google search every day. But many may not be using it to its full potential. Here are some tips and tricks to increase your Google search efficiency.
Use the tabs
The first tip is to use the tabs in Google search. Just underneath the search bar are tabs such as All, Maps, Web, Images, News, Shopping and More. By using these tabs, you can help define what kind of search you want as well as cut search time dramatically. If you need images, use the Image tab. If you are looking for a recent news article, use the News tab.
Search by date
Google will deliver search results that it thinks are most relevant, however they may date from some time ago and therefore be out of date. It’s possible to search for results from just the current year or maybe from a specific period of time. For example, if you search for Windows 10, when you see the results, click ‘Search Tools’ at the top, then from the ‘Any time’ drop down menu, select ‘Custom range. In the pop-up box enter a start and end date and Google will display only the results published within that timeframe.
Limit results to the UK
You may wish to search for places to visit in Washington. The most obvious results will suggest you take a tour of The White House or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, USA. However, if you wish to look for places to take the kids in Washington, Tyne and Wear, click on Tools and select ‘Country: the UK’ from the Any country dropdown menu.
Use a hyphen to exclude words
If you find yourself searching for a word with an ambiguous meaning, for example Mustang, you may get results for both the car and the horse. If you want information only on the horse, type in Mustang -cars. Using a hyphen tells the search engine to search for mustangs but to remove any results that have the word “car” in it.
Check a flight
Simply type in a flight number and Google will tell you when the flight is due to leave (or when it left) and when it will arrive and at which airport terminal.
Check the weather
Again, simply type in Wisbech Weather or March Weather to see the temperature, rainfall and wind expected in the next seven days.
Roll the dice
Finally, for a bit of fun, if you can’t find your dice when wanting to play a board game, type ‘roll a die’ into Google search bar and it will roll a virtual dice for you on the screen. Click ‘roll it’ to throw it again.
