Using Google Search, But Like a Professional.

Whenever we face any difficulties in our daily lives, from trying to remember titles of an old movie to figuring out what disease we might have based on our symptoms, a quick Google search is often the most instinctive first action we take, but how well do we know how to search?

I’ve compiled five simple yet nifty ways to improve your Google searches for better quality results.

1. Using “Quotation marks”
The use of quotation marks to your search terms helps you search for the exact words inputted. This is particularly helpful for finding related results to the exact search.

Example:
The Google search query movie “I see dead people” will provide results with movies with the exact quote.

2. Using a Dash/Hyphen (-)
In order to exclude a term from the results of your search, you can add a dash/hyphen before that word. This is effective for when you want to exempt results usually associated with your search.

Example:
The search query footballers lionel -messi will provide results of other footballers named Lionel, but excludes Messi.

3. Using a Tilde (~)
This is one of my personal favorites! Adding a tilde before a word in your search will also provide you with results with synonyms to that word in your search. This is useful when your search has many forms it can be put in.

Example:
A query for ~affordable phones will also search for low cost phones, cheap phones, inexpensive phones etc

4. Using the Vertical Bar (|)
Separating items with a vertical bar in your search will give you results of websites that have one/two/all of the terms. This is particularly useful for when you want to shop for various items from one place.

Example:
A restaurant coffee|pastries|tea query will provide results of websites that contain websites that one or more of the search terms are included.

5. Using site:
This operator helps you search for specific terms within a particular website. Useful for when you want to find an item within a particular site.

Example:
The search query comedy site: netflix.com will provide results of pages on the Netflix website that show the comedy shows/movies available.

There are so many other Google search tips that can help you better refine your results. You can consider these a starter kit for searching like a professional.
I hope this helps!

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