Constantly being told ‘just google it’ even though you have and you can’t find
what you’re looking for?
Then this video is for you because I’m covering 10 Google search tips to find exactly what
you want - when you want it!
Hey friends, I’m Tasia Custode, and welcome back to my YouTube Channel where I share tech
tips, app reviews, and a metric ton of Google content.
And today is no different!
I’m sharing the best Google search tips to help you quickly find what you’re looking
for.
Let’s go!
So, as we begin, we won’t be touching too much on the tabs in Google.
You know the news, videos, images, books tab and so on, because I feel like a lot of you
already know that realm.
Instead, most of our focus will be on really good Google search tips, utilizing the search
bar.
Plus, the last tip might just be my favorite so be sure to watch all the way through.
The first thing to review, that’s kind of like an added bonus for you, is to make sure
you’re using your advanced search features whenever necessary.
Here’s what that looks like.
Once you’ve made a Google Search, head on over to your settings and select ‘advanced
search’.
Here, you’ll be able to hone in on exactly what it is you are searching for by setting
more search parameters.
And QUICK TIP!
I always use advanced search if I’m filtering by usage rights.
This is so handy if you’re working on a presentation or something public and you want
to ensure you can use the results, like any images, with no copyright issues.
But the advanced search is just an extra little nugget to get your beaks wet.
Let’s actually get down to business and dive into Google search tip number 1: Search
in a specific website.
Yes, right from Google itself.
I officially just ended your endless searching on a website trying to find that article that
you know they posted, but you can’t find.
Just type in your search term, then space, then type in the keyword: site, followed by
a colon and then the website you’d like to search….with no spaces.
So here’s my example here: carey price space site colon nhl.com.
And let’s hit enter.
And boom.
Only search results for Carey Price from NHL.com are given in my search results.
Google search tip number 2: Use quotation marks in your search.
This is really handy when you’re searching for something specific.
So what you’re doing by adding a quotation mark followed by your search query and then
ending with another quotation mark, is that you want Google to search for that specific
phrase, in that exact order.
There is a difference in searching queer eye fashion in quotes, as opposed to just queer
eye fashion which would pull up search results containing these three words, but in any order.
So look, the first result is literally the phrase as I typed it in quotation marks.
Google search tip number 3: Include and exclude keywords.
All it takes is a little plus or minus symbol to change the way you search.
So all you have to do is put a plus symbol directly in front of words you want Google
to include in the search results and then, adversely, insert a minus symbol directly
in front of any words you want Google to exclude.
Google search tip number 4: Use the asterisk symbol to help fill in the blank.
Yes, really.
Heads up because this is actually one of the coolest Google search hacks for when you can’t
quite remember those song lyrics.
Using an asterisk in a Google search will signal Google to leave that as a placeholder
that you need the search engine to fill.
So, using song lyrics as an example, I’ll use my quotes trick too, and what’s that
Taylor Swift song (“take me to the * where”) I don’t remember so now I’ll just hit
enter and would ya look at that top search result - lyrics for Taylor Swift’s The Lakes.
And before we jump into search tip number 5, if you’re finding value in this video,
please remember to give it a like or maybe, I dunno, subscribe to my Channel for even
more content like this?
I’d be ever so grateful!
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Coming in at number 5: Find similar sites.
This is such a good Google search tip, seriously.
So, a perfect example of how this would come in handy is let’s say you have a website
that you love and you go to all the time, but you want similar content cuz you’re
a little bored of just this one site.
In the google search bar, simply type in related: and then the site name you want similar results
to.
So we can type amazon or something.
And notice how there are no spaces.
And hit enter.
And here we go, we’ve got walmart and overstock, macys and rakuten
Oh man, I can’t stand those rakuten commercials… you know the ones!
But, I digress.
Coming in at number 6 on my list of the best Google search tips is to search multiple words
or phrases at once.
This is really simple.
All you have to do is use your trusty quotation marks around a phrase you want to search,
then type in OR in caps then add your other phrase in quotes.
So you can do this exact same search with just words as well, you just wouldn’t use
the quotation marks.
So here’s an example of chocolate cake or vanilla cake.
And now we’ll get search results that have either or both chocolate or vanilla cake.
Oh and look at this choco-nila cake.
Wow!
What do you think I prefer?
Chocolate or vanilla?
Leave a comment below.
Don’t let me down.
Alright, Google search tip number 7: Search for weather via zip code.
Ya, I know you can search for weather in and then type in your city.
But this search hack is way cooler and more precise.
So all you have to do is type in weather and then space and add your zip code.
Blamo, weather results tailored directly to your zip code.
And no, that’s not my zip code, but nice try.
OK number 8 on the list: search for and find a specific file!
Yes, really.
You can search for files in Google too.
What can’t you do in Google?
So this works by accessing any publicly available files that are floating around on the web.
Just type in the name or title or keywords from a report you need then hit space and
type in filetype: and then if you put pdf, you’ll get pdf search results with that
specific keyword you entered as part of the title.
So look at all our results here for NHL pdfs.
The same can be done for other file extensions like, I dunno, maybe you want an excel spreadsheet.
So just change the file type to xlsx.
Google search tip Number 9: Search Google with a picture.
Yes, I’ve actually mentioned this one before, but It’s soooo beyond helpful, she’s back
again.
If you’ve ever found yourself admiring artwork or a bag or piece of tech gear someone has,
but you don’t know who the artist is or what brand the bag is, you can either snap
a photo of the item, or you can paste a url into google search for Google to help you
out.
So, here’s how to search Google with a picture.
From Google, click on the “Images” tab.
From here, click on the camera icon in the search bar and upload the photo, or paste
the URL.
So, I’ll upload because I’ve already snapped a picture of a jacket I like.
And now Google will automatically fill in some of the description for you!
How crazy is that?
WOWZA!
Or, you could describe it as best as you can, if Google didn’t do a good job for you.
So, as you can see, Google will pull up either the exact image or something closely matching
that image.
How neat is that?
Alright we are nearing the end now.
And as promised, it’s time for one of my all-time favorite Google search tips.
So, coming in at number 10: Search in a custom date range.
Yes, you can weed out all those old and outdated articles.
Here’s how.
So after you’ve entered in a search, hit the ‘tools’ option under the search bar.
And now, click on ‘any time’.
And in this drop down you can filter results by the past hour, or day, week, month, year
or make a custom range.
I love this so much.
So maybe I don’t want anything older than 2015, for example.
How great is this?
Do I keep saying how every Google search tip is so great?
Maybe, but that’s because they are!
And remember, to check out the links below if you want even more Google search tips.
So those are my top 10 Google search tips to find exactly what you want.
And now I want to hear from you.
What are your favorite Google search tips?
Let everyone know in the comments below.
As always, thanks so much for watching, if you liked this video, I want to know so give
it a like, a share or leave that comment below.
You can click right about here to subscribe to my channel and right here and here for
more Google content.
Thanks for watching, and see ya next time!