More Google Tips

A search for “What is the Who” is going to get results about the English rock band. Search instead for “What is a Who” and you see top results around the whimsical characters in Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who!”


Word order matters. Leave common terms in the correct order. Typing “blue sky” yields very different results from “sky blue.” it is better to ask, “What is the average length of an octopus” rather than “Is the average length of an octopus 21 inches?" and you may see search results "confirming" 21 inches? Maybe other sources also got it wrong. When you include the answer in a search query, you bias results, which may not be correct.

Add a minus sign to that same search along with the thing you want to eliminate from your results. So you might type “kitchen remodeling -stainless” to leave out stainless steel. Or “kitchen remodeling -stainless -granite” to knock out both stainless and granite images. The spacing between the thing you are searching for and the thing you are excluding is important – the search will not exclude the words without a space before the minus.

Google does not recognize uppercase or lowercase letters and punctuation. But pay attention to characters such as “$”,” %” and “+” which do make a big difference.

You are searching for a specific quote, but one of the words slips your mind. Put an asterisk in its place. "Four score and * years ago."

Google Tip

Most of us usually look for one search term at a time; first, we look for "ohio," then we look for "history of aviation."

If you are not quite sure what you are looking for, Google can combine searches. Just add your search terms and separate them by "and or", such as ohio and or history of aviation.

More Google Tips

Either this or that is effective if you are not exactly sure of the information you are searching. Put in a few potential variations of what you are looking for, and separate them by typing the “|“ symbol. You can also use "or". Then it is easy to choose the result that makes the most sense. For instance, "Chuck or Tom".

If you need to find websites on a given subject rather than those that include a specific phrase, add the "~" symbol to your search. For example, if you search for the term "healthy ~food" you will get results about the principles of healthy eating, cooking recipes, as well as healthy dining options.

Sometimes you read an interesting article on a website and find yourself subsequently wanting to share it with your friends or simply reread it. The easiest way to find the desired piece of information again is to search within the website. To do this, type the address of the site, then a key word or entire phrase from the article, and it should come up immediately. For instance try shubsthoughts Google (no " marks).

If you found something you really like online and want to find similar websites, type in "related:" and then the address of the site, without a space between them. For example try related:twitter.com.

If you type in the words i love you without quotation marks, Google will show the results where these words appear in any order on a website. However, if you type "i love you" within quotation marks, you will get only those results where these words appear in the order you typed them. This is a great way to find lyrics to a song when you might just remember one line from it.

Quick Google Tip

If you want to watch a show, but do not know where to find it, you can search the word “watch” followed by the name of the show in Google and it will show you all the sites and service from which it is available.

Still More Google Tips

Quick translate is good for menus or short phrases
Type: “translate [words] [language]”. Examples:


translate read carefully french
translate coq au vin english
translate good afternoon spanish

Another tip, great if you are not sure of your company and want to be disturbed.

Type: “set timer to [time]”. Example: “set timer to 5 minutes”
Type: “set timer for [time]”. Example: “set timer for 19:00”

Google Trends

You can search for any term and check changes over time, or by region, or by country and see how it is gaining or losing interest. You can check what parts of the world are interested currently. Once you enter a search term, you can set a variety of criteria underneath it.

Use the first box to set the region of search. You can choose Worldwide to see everywhere or drill it down to specific regions of a country. For instance, under United States, you can select a state like Virginia to see only information for that area.

At the top of the results page, click Compare to add another topic. You can compare up to five terms. As you add more, you will see them color-coded throughout the page. The region breakdown shows you which areas search most for what topics, and the breakdown among them. It is an interesting way to see what people think of competing topics.


I tried bacon, then I compared it to Clinton. As you would expect, bacon is still popular and very much more popular than Clinton. Fun diversion. Go to LINK and try it.

Four Google Tips

If you are searching and want to eliminate a word, put a minus - sign before it as in "cowboys -dallas" (without the quotes). It will get you the information about cowboys, but very few results about the football team.

Use an asterisk * to search and find the word you cannot remember, such as the "* of march" (without the quotes) returns results for the ides of March.

Looking for pictures, type in your search then click images on the top row. It will load your page with (mostly related) pictures. If you want animated pictures, click on search tools and choose "animated pictures".

The Google tool I use most is to filter by time. After you type in your search, click Tools, click "Anytime", then choose the time period. Many sites become outdated over time, and it is important to get the latest information. At the very least, choose "Past Year" for more recent information.

Google Tips

Use an asterisk within quotes to specify unknown or variable words. Searching a phrase in quotes with an asterisk replacing a word will search all variations of that phrase. It is helpful if you cannot remember an entire phrase "imagine all the * living for today", or if you are trying to find all forms of an expression "* is thicker than water".
Compare foods using "vs." Type in "rice vs. quinoa," for example, and you will receive side-by-side comparisons of the nutritional facts.
Use "DEFINE:" to learn the meaning of words. Try "DEFINE: mortgage." For words that appear in the dictionary, you will be able to see etymology, a graph of its use over time, and the definition. It may also define slang words or acronyms.
Type "give me a love quote" or whatever topic you need a quote for.

Use "lyrics" in your search to have Google deliver lyrics of songs for you.