Google Search Tricks
Cool Tricks and Tips to Improve Your Google Search Experience. Your source of information for the most updated Google web search basic, advanced and specialized operators, complete with examples. Learn how to make use of Google to find what you want on the web, fast.
Articles
Links for 2010-11-19 [del.icio.us]
2010-11-20 02:00:00
Ski Location and Vacation Plan Information on the Most Popular Ski Locations for Planning a Perfect Winter Vacation!
2010-11-20 02:00:00
Ski Location and Vacation Plan Information on the Most Popular Ski Locations for Planning a Perfect Winter Vacation!
phonebook, rphonebook Google Operators
2009-10-22 09:25:00
The phonebook operatorThe phonebook operator is a specialized Google operator for searching public residential phone numbers by a person's name. It cannot be used with other operators or search terms.Example: phonebook:santa clausUse the adjacent map link on the search results to view the location on Google Maps. The phonebook operator was originally more flexible when it was first introduced. It allowed users to search for names and narrow results by adding in the residential or business area of the person you are looking for. It was also made to combine a search within both residential and business phone book listings instead of using the rphonebook and the obsolete bphonebook operator separately. Unfortunately, Google has revised this operator such that you can only search by names now.
2009-10-22 09:25:00
The phonebook operatorThe phonebook operator is a specialized Google operator for searching public residential phone numbers by a person's name. It cannot be used with other operators or search terms.Example: phonebook:santa clausUse the adjacent map link on the search results to view the location on Google Maps. The phonebook operator was originally more flexible when it was first introduced. It allowed users to search for names and narrow results by adding in the residential or business area of the person you are looking for. It was also made to combine a search within both residential and business phone book listings instead of using the rphonebook and the obsolete bphonebook operator separately. Unfortunately, Google has revised this operator such that you can only search by names now.
define Google Operator
2009-10-17 07:39:00
Use the define operator to list definitions of the submitted word(s). Examples: define:lolUnlike other operators, Google does not expand the search term(s). You have to enter the search term(s) with the exact spelling of the word(s) as intended. As such, this operator frequently shows no results when multiple words are used. Examples: define:rain cats and dogsdefine:raining cats and dogsdefine:rained cats and dogsDefinitions of some symbols and nothing will display unpredictable results. Examples of unpredictable results: define:!define:The define operator cannot be used with other operators.
2009-10-17 07:39:00
Use the define operator to list definitions of the submitted word(s). Examples: define:lolUnlike other operators, Google does not expand the search term(s). You have to enter the search term(s) with the exact spelling of the word(s) as intended. As such, this operator frequently shows no results when multiple words are used. Examples: define:rain cats and dogsdefine:raining cats and dogsdefine:rained cats and dogsDefinitions of some symbols and nothing will display unpredictable results. Examples of unpredictable results: define:!define:The define operator cannot be used with other operators.
related Google Operator
2009-10-14 09:11:00
The related operator searches for sites that are related to the submitted URL in terms of sites' contents. The MathWorld example below shows sites that are related to mathematics.Example: related:mathworld.wolfram.com This operator follows the same rules as the link operator - an invalid URL will convert the related operator into a search term and this operator should not be combined with other operators or search terms.Use this operator when you have exhausted your list of related search terms, or if you need a quick and broad scan of a site's related contents you are completely clueless about. Note that this operator may sometimes show unrelated sites. You can use the info operator or click on the Similar link in the results list to perform the same search. It might be interesting to note that Wikipedia will almost always be listed in the results when you use this operator.
2009-10-14 09:11:00
The related operator searches for sites that are related to the submitted URL in terms of sites' contents. The MathWorld example below shows sites that are related to mathematics.Example: related:mathworld.wolfram.com This operator follows the same rules as the link operator - an invalid URL will convert the related operator into a search term and this operator should not be combined with other operators or search terms.Use this operator when you have exhausted your list of related search terms, or if you need a quick and broad scan of a site's related contents you are completely clueless about. Note that this operator may sometimes show unrelated sites. You can use the info operator or click on the Similar link in the results list to perform the same search. It might be interesting to note that Wikipedia will almost always be listed in the results when you use this operator.
info Google Operator
2009-10-11 07:41:00
The info operator shows a site's summary and provides links to the cache, related, link, and site search, if available. Just like the cache operator, this operator requires a valid URL for it to work. Example: info:www.google.com As mentioned earlier, this operator is basically the cache, related, link, and site operators rolled into one and is useful as an all-in-one replacement for these operators.
2009-10-11 07:41:00
The info operator shows a site's summary and provides links to the cache, related, link, and site search, if available. Just like the cache operator, this operator requires a valid URL for it to work. Example: info:www.google.com As mentioned earlier, this operator is basically the cache, related, link, and site operators rolled into one and is useful as an all-in-one replacement for these operators.
daterange Google Operator
2009-10-10 08:04:00
Use the daterange operator to find pages that are indexed by Googlebot within the date range specified. The dates submitted must be in the Julian date format and the fractions should be omitted for this operator to work properly. Make sure you use an accurate Julian date convertor to get the correct date.Example: daterange:2452671-2452671 columbiaLike the numrange operator, a hypen is used to separate the two dates. This operator is useful for narrowing down all search results to a certain date like in the above example. The numrange operator requires at least one proper search term and can be combined with other operators. An additional note: Use Google's advanced search to locate only fresher, up-to-date information. It's easier that way.
2009-10-10 08:04:00
Use the daterange operator to find pages that are indexed by Googlebot within the date range specified. The dates submitted must be in the Julian date format and the fractions should be omitted for this operator to work properly. Make sure you use an accurate Julian date convertor to get the correct date.Example: daterange:2452671-2452671 columbiaLike the numrange operator, a hypen is used to separate the two dates. This operator is useful for narrowing down all search results to a certain date like in the above example. The numrange operator requires at least one proper search term and can be combined with other operators. An additional note: Use Google's advanced search to locate only fresher, up-to-date information. It's easier that way.
numrange Google Operator
2009-10-06 10:08:00
The numrange operatornumrange is a powerful operator. It can be used for searching numbers within a desired range. You can use it to search for business contacts, addresses, and more. The following example searches for numbers from 1200 to 1230. Use a hypen (-) to separate the lower and upper bound of the two numbers. Example: numrange:1200-1230The .. operatorThe .. (period period) operator is a shorthand for the numrange operator. Example: 1200..1230Both operators return identical results and can be combined with other operators and search terms.Due to Blogger's Terms of Service and personal ethics, I can only provide the above basic examples. Google does offer some protection against malicious queries with the numrange operator though: Some protection = Limited protection, it is still possible to work around this "apology". Use this operator wisely and be wary when making payments online!
2009-10-06 10:08:00
The numrange operatornumrange is a powerful operator. It can be used for searching numbers within a desired range. You can use it to search for business contacts, addresses, and more. The following example searches for numbers from 1200 to 1230. Use a hypen (-) to separate the lower and upper bound of the two numbers. Example: numrange:1200-1230The .. operatorThe .. (period period) operator is a shorthand for the numrange operator. Example: 1200..1230Both operators return identical results and can be combined with other operators and search terms.Due to Blogger's Terms of Service and personal ethics, I can only provide the above basic examples. Google does offer some protection against malicious queries with the numrange operator though: Some protection = Limited protection, it is still possible to work around this "apology". Use this operator wisely and be wary when making payments online!
cache Google Operator
2009-10-04 06:00:00
Google saves "snapshots" of pages that its Googlebot has crawled. You can view these snapshots via the Cached link in the search results.Another method is to use the cache operator. Using this operator takes you directly to the cached version of a page.Example: cache:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googlebot The cache operator follows the same rules as the link operator. It should not be used with other operators or search terms; doing so will convert the operator into a search term. Invalid URLs will also convert the cache operator into a search term.It is always easier to access the cached version of a page via Google's search results compared to using the cache operator. However, bear in mind that with the cache operator, you (or any other potential hacker) can dig up old pages that were removed
2009-10-04 06:00:00
Google saves "snapshots" of pages that its Googlebot has crawled. You can view these snapshots via the Cached link in the search results.Another method is to use the cache operator. Using this operator takes you directly to the cached version of a page.Example: cache:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googlebot The cache operator follows the same rules as the link operator. It should not be used with other operators or search terms; doing so will convert the operator into a search term. Invalid URLs will also convert the cache operator into a search term.It is always easier to access the cached version of a page via Google's search results compared to using the cache operator. However, bear in mind that with the cache operator, you (or any other potential hacker) can dig up old pages that were removed
inanchor, allinanchor Google Operator
2009-10-03 23:10:00
The inanchor operatorThe inanchor operator searches the anchor of a link, and not the actual URL. What is an anchor of a link?An example of a link: Google Expert Tips. The anchor of this example is the displayed text 'Google Expert Tips'. Underlying the more readable and meaningful anchor text is the actual URL of the page. The HTML code looks like:The inanchor operator searches within the anchor text "Google Expert Tips" in this case. This operator can be used with other operators. Example: inanchor:scholarship inanchor:form inanchor:application site:eduSee the link operator for more details.The allinanchor operatorThe allinanchor operator searches for all search terms submitted. The following example will show the same results as the above. Example: allinanchor:scholarship form application site:edu This operator should not be combined with other operators. Use multiple inanchor operators if you are combining with other operators.
2009-10-03 23:10:00
The inanchor operatorThe inanchor operator searches the anchor of a link, and not the actual URL. What is an anchor of a link?An example of a link: Google Expert Tips. The anchor of this example is the displayed text 'Google Expert Tips'. Underlying the more readable and meaningful anchor text is the actual URL of the page. The HTML code looks like:The inanchor operator searches within the anchor text "Google Expert Tips" in this case. This operator can be used with other operators. Example: inanchor:scholarship inanchor:form inanchor:application site:eduSee the link operator for more details.The allinanchor operatorThe allinanchor operator searches for all search terms submitted. The following example will show the same results as the above. Example: allinanchor:scholarship form application site:edu This operator should not be combined with other operators. Use multiple inanchor operators if you are combining with other operators.
ext Google Operator
2009-09-28 09:55:00
The ext operator is very similar to the filetype operator. They are so alike that most people simply ignore the difference and use them interchangeably, or drop filetype operator entirely for the ext operator since it is easier to enter on the keyboard.Originally, the ext operator is a shorthand for the numrange operator. However, it is soon replaced by the newer, further shortened version of the numrange operator: the .. (period period) operator. So eventually (and very naturally), the ext operator became an extension search operator just like the filetype operator.Use the ext operator for the more uncommon file types because it usually produces a deeper and faster search. The filetype operator on the other hand performs better with common file extensions. See filetype operator for more information.
2009-09-28 09:55:00
The ext operator is very similar to the filetype operator. They are so alike that most people simply ignore the difference and use them interchangeably, or drop filetype operator entirely for the ext operator since it is easier to enter on the keyboard.Originally, the ext operator is a shorthand for the numrange operator. However, it is soon replaced by the newer, further shortened version of the numrange operator: the .. (period period) operator. So eventually (and very naturally), the ext operator became an extension search operator just like the filetype operator.Use the ext operator for the more uncommon file types because it usually produces a deeper and faster search. The filetype operator on the other hand performs better with common file extensions. See filetype operator for more information.