5 hacks to improve your search results on Google

Every day, Google Search is used by millions of individuals for a wide range of different purposes. But most people are possibly not making the most of the search engine's capabilities.

The following is a list of 7 useful tips to get the most out of your searches:

Use quotation marks to find something specific

When you are looking for something exact, use quotation marks. This will eliminate much of the guesswork from search results. When you enclose the search criteria in quotation marks, you are instructing the search engine to look for the exact phrase.

For example, if you search for The Last Dance, the search engine will look for material that includes all three of those terms, regardless of the order in which they appear. On the other hand, if you search for "The Last Dance", it will look for that exact phrase in precisely the same order that you typed it. 

Use a colon to search specific websites

You could find yourself in a situation where you need to do a Google search for articles or other information that is hosted on a certain website. The syntax is quite easy to understand, and we will demonstrate it for you here. For example, typing in site:tbsnews.net technology will do a search on tbsnews.net for all material pertaining to the keyword technology. All other results that are not from this particular site will be discarded automatically. This is the shortcut you should use if you need to discover specific material on a certain website.

Use the asterisk (*) symbol as a wild

When you use an asterisk (*) in a search word on Google, it will leave a blank space that the search engine may subsequently fill in for you automatically. For example, if you do not know all of the words to a song, you can locate the lyrics to it using this fantastic method. Let's take a look at the structure of the syntax: "You're the * in disguise."

Google search will look for that phrase while keeping in mind that the asterisk might stand for any term. The search will inform you that the words are from Elvis Presley's song "You're the devil in disguise."

Search a range of numbers

This piece of advice will be especially helpful to those who have an interest in finances or statistics. Here, you use two dots and a number to instruct Google that you are looking for a certain number. The syntax follows as Uefa Champions League ..2009.

In this instance, the results will be specified for the 2009 editions of the championship. Two dots and one number will tell the search engine that you do not need anything before or after 2009. Similarly, you can use this syntax (e.g., 2009..2011; a number two dots another number) to narrow down a specific range.

Find a specific file type

One of the capabilities of Google Search that is sometimes overlooked is the ability to search for a particular file or file type. If you require a certain PowerPoint or PDF or Excel file that you have seen in the past or need to utilise it for another project, this may be of use to you. The syntax is not very complicated: filetype:pdf Noah Harari.

In the above example, the search result will show any downloadable pdf file linked to your search. This kind of search is mainly effective for academic reasons; nevertheless, presentations for businesses and many other types of presentations may also benefit from using this type of search.