Perhaps the most useful thing that exists on the Internet right now is the Google Search. We rely on it most of the time we use our computers to search for something on the Internet. People of all walks of life can see it as a reliable source of information compared to its rivals Bing and Yahoo!

But do you know how to really get the most out of Google Search? Check out some of these Google Search tips that can make your Internet browsing life easier.

Use an asterisk if you’re not sure the exact word

Looking for a song that you liked the sound of, but you’re not one for instantly memorizing all the lyrics? That’s fine, because you can use the * symbol as a placeholder for words you’re not sure. So, to give the most obvious example in the world, typing in “I can’t get no *” will get Google to look for a word at the end of that phrase. And that world will, in all probably, be “satisfaction”, finding you the iconic Rolling Stones song.

Search exact phrases

If you’re looking for an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the keywords to view results containing that exact phrase. For example, “how to dual boot ubuntu and windows 10.”

Exclude a word

If your search terms contain a keyword with several meanings, you can exclude one of the meanings by adding a hyphen (-) before the keyword. For example, the “martian -book.”

Find pages that link to specific URLs

Type “link:” before a URL name, and you’ll be shown all the pages on Google that link to it. This is particularly useful for SEOs who are searching for backlinks to a specific page.

Perform calculations on Google Search

You can simply type in the equation and get the result instantly. You can use either the letter “x” or “*” as the multiply symbol on your PC, while “/” is the division symbol.

Convert between units

Whether it’s meters to centimeters, feet to yards, or liters to those obscure British gallons, Google has you covered. Just type convert followed by the numbers and units you want to use, and hit [Enter].

View flight schedules on Google

To find out flight schedules, simply use the keyword flight origin to destination. For example, “flight lagos to abuja.”

Translate from one language to another

You can either visit Google Translate to get your translation done or just use the “translate” keyword in Google to translate the text to another language.

Track your packages

If you’re based in the US, just enter your UPS, USPS or FedEx tracking number directly into Google to see tracking information about your package.

Use Google as a countdown timer

This is pretty handy. Just search “timer for x minutes” and Google will automatically start the countdown for you.

Search by file type

If you’re looking for a specific file on the Web, you can use the filetype: operator to specify the particular document type you’re searching for, and Google will restrict results to pages containing those document types.

Tags: tech tips

This entry was posted by Staff Writer on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 6:22:21 AM and is filed under Tech Tips & Tricks.