We all use it - now let's learn to use it better! Improve your Googling skills to save time and make it easier to identify better sources of information.
Quotation marks
Use quotation marks around your search terms to search for the words in the exact order you would like, instead of separately.
intitle:
Use intitle: to retrieve webpages with your keywords in the title of the webpage
site:
Use site:. to retrieve webpages from URLs in the domain (.gov, .edu, .org) you specify.
- (a hyphen or minus sign)
Use -(a hyphen or minus sign) in front of words to exclude them from your search results.
OR
In the above example, Google will find results that include (election AND fraud) and (voter AND fraud).
Use OR in between words to have either or both of the words included in your search results. OR must be capitalized. This is a good way to search for synonyms.
filetype:
Use filetype: to retrieve specific types of files (instead of html webpages). Works for finding most file types.
Combine strategies
Use several strategies at once for very specific results.