Google is very simple to use, but are you making the most of it?
Google searches on iPad
Most people know how to use Google. You visit the homepage enter in some search terms and boom: you get results.
However, there are a number of little tricks you can use to make sure you find what you are looking for as quickly as possible.
There
are even some not search-related tools that are incredibly useful, such
as a timer, and some silly ones that mess around with the way the page
appears.
Here's our run down of the best.
Search for an exact phrase
You can search for an exact phrase, like this
If you are looking for a precise phrase or quote,
put the words into quotation marks, for example "pug riding a unicorn".
You're welcome.
Find websites that are similar to one you like
If you have a favourite website and are looking for something similar, just type “related:” along with the website you know.
So if you like the Mirror.co.uk, you’d search “related:mirror.co.uk” and it will show you other news websites. So, er, the Telegraph is pretty close by the looks of it.
Find the meaning of words you don’t understand
Are you afraid of long words? Here's the word for it
Instead of looking for an online dictionary and then
entering in a word you don’t know, you can simply enter the word
straight into Google’s search bar, along with the command “define:”
So
if aren't sure what hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia means, you’d
put in “define: hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia” and you’ll find out
it means fear of long words. Seriously.
Convert metric to imperial and vice versa
Convert imperial to metric and vice versa
If you want to make a quick conversion between miles and
kilometres, just enter the search term “10 miles in km” and it will come
up with the answer. You can do the same for kilos and pounds, inches
and cm. The same works for currency conversions.
Search when you are missing words or letters
If you are trying to remember an actor but you can’t remember
his or her first name, this is the perfect tool for you. Just use the
asterisk as a wild card - that means you can swap any word or letter and
results containing all alternatives will be delivered. So if you search
for “actor * Johnson” it will search for actors with the second name
Johnson. But we only really care about Dakota at the moment.
Find out the time in another country
You can easily find the time in another country
Have a loved one in another time zone or need to
make a business call to somewhere far away? Find out what time it is by
entering the command “time:” followed by the country or city. It's
always time for a beer somewhere in the world.
Search within a website
If you know you remember an article about, say, pugs
on a specific website but can’t quite remember the title, just enter
“pugs site:bbc.co.uk” or any other variation involving keywords you are looking for and the website you want to search.
Set a timer
It’s pretty self-explanatory but if you need a
countdown, just enter in “set a timer for 10 seconds” (or 10 minutes or
10 hours) and Google will let you know when the time’s up with an alarm.
Good for people who waste a lot of time down internet rabbit holes.
Pointless but fun
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you
If you want to have fun with the search engine type “tilt” or “do a barrel roll” into the search bar.
Here is this handy operator developed by Daniel Russellwhich
comes in as a handy trick when you are googling stuff. It’s a handy
trick, particularly when you’re looking for combination of search terms
(containing two or more search keywords) when one dominates the results,
but you’re interested in the relationship between two query terms.
The AROUND(n) operator (used in
uppercase, as shown with n = a number) is an undocumented Google search
operator that will help you find documents where the distance between
two search terms is around ‘n’. The higher the number ‘n’ the less is
the proximity between the search words. Here’s an example:
A research query that says “hot springs” will mostly show search
results about geographical hot springs (because these two words are
maximized in use together than with separation between them).
However, if we modify the query to
look like “hot AROUND(5) springs,” you get results where the two terms
are written on the page in close proximity.
Also, note also that if Google is unable to find anything within the
limit (of ‘n’), it will just do regular ranking of the terms without the
AROUND coming into the application.
This operator is particularly helpful in long articles or long text,
for example searching Google books. It is also helpful for when
searching for quotes, speeches or a song that’s stuck in your head, but
you can only think of a few words from it.
Google’s wildcard search operator, represented by Asterisk (hot *
springs), may achieve similar results but with AROUND, you even get to
specify the distance between the two search terms. Note: Do remember to write AROUND in all CAPS, else it won’t work.
Did you like this bonus tip about Google search? Tell us in comments!
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Here is this handy operator developed by 
