Thread: How to search with Google.com *PROPERLY*

GOOGLE SEARCH GUIDE V2.0

Okay, so 90%+ of us all use Google at least once each and every day...

OR DO YOU?

These next few tips will help you pinpoint a search for whatever you're looking for. It's unbelievable how only two out of the ten people I asked knew about this O_o.

Okay, SO HERE WE GO, GUYS!

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#1: "+"

Yes... A + symbol... You put that next to a word, he's going to be there in your search results, GUARANTEED.

So let's say I search up the following: "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious hot dog dinosaur pizza rice empire state building"

NOW YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M COMIN' FROM!
... Jokes, people.

Anyway, try that same search result, but with a plus sign next to the word that's the most important.

Example:

"supercalifragilisticexpialidocious hot dog dinosaur +pizza rice empire state building"

Note: If you don't see the word "pizza" in bold, it'll be in the article, this I promise you =D.

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#2: "-"

The PMSing sister of the + sign will definitely have any search terms put next to it running for the HILLS, HELL, IT'LL EVEN RUN FOR THE MOUNTAINS WHERE IT'LL SHOOT ITSELF!

Anyway, put that symbol next to a term you don't wanna see:

EXAMPLES... AREN'T THEY MAGICAL?

Google this!: "Nintendo Wii" (Aren't I random???)

Okay, now try that... But with that little symbol next to the wii part:

Make it look like this: "Nintendo -Wii"

See? No Wii in sight!

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NEXT UP AT #3, we have the good ol' quotation marks... THESE'LL MAKE YOUR SEARCH TERMS *EXACT*. Think of them as two high-security prison guards looking after a couple rowdy inmates; THEY AIN'T MOVIN' NOWHERE!

Examples... *sigh* How I love them: Search this up WITHOUT THE QUOTES!: "disco dancing babies".

See? They don't appear as you WANT them to.

Add the security (quotation marks).

Makes a difference, eh? (YEP, I'M CANADIAN!)

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Numah 4: WEBSITE SEARCH!

Here's what ya do "<search here pleez! =D>:ebay.com"

Now, whatever you search will ONLY appear in anything with the ebay.com domain.

EXAMPUL: "Plain White T's:youtube.com" will give you results of... Well... The Plain White T's... In youtube.com! ISN'T THAT GREAT? 8DDDD

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#5: "*"

MUCH LIKE THE AWESOME STAR IN ONE O' DEM SUPER MARIO GAMES, THE STAR IS A POWERFUL FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. FEELING STUPID? FORGOT A TERM? WILDCARD STAR TO THE RESCUE!

Okay, so what this star tells Google to treat it as a placeholder for a word.

So let's say I didn't know the lyrics to a song:

SEARCH: "You are my * my only * you * me * when * * *"



You should find the following lyrics: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are gray".

POWERFUL, AIN'T IT? I USE IT ALL THE TIME, PERSONALLY...

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#6: "OR"

OR... A WEIRD-SOUNDING TWO-LETTERED WORD...

Google cannot read your mind (but will someday, this I promise =]), so it MUST include all your search terms... OR MUST IT? The "OR" operator allows Google to search for one word... OR another! **NOTE: "OR" must be in all CAPS.**

Search: "Disney stories OR movies"

You'll get results which will include either Disney stories OR Disney movies, but never BOTH.

INTERESTING STUFF! ^___^

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WE'RE MOVING ON THE THE NEXT LEVEL... THE "ADVANCED" OPERATORS... THEY AREN'T HARD TO USE, THOUGH, TRUST ME! =D.

#7: "cache:" AH, YES, THE FRENCH WORD FOR "HIDE"... OF COURSE, WE AREN'T HIDING ANYTHING. SIMPLY TYPE THE FOLLOWING IN GEWGUL:

"cache:www.youtube.com"

You'll get a cached version of YouTube! BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

TYPE IN:

"cache:www.youtube.com featured"

Now you'll find a cached copy of youtube.com with the word "featured" highlighted... JUST FOR YOU!

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#8: [link:]

THIS SHALL LIST WEBPAGES THAT HAVE LINKS TO THE WEBPAGE.



EXAMPLE: [link:www.thepiratebay.org]

You'll get a TON of webpages that link to TPB =D. IT'S THAT SIMPLE!

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#9: "info:"

SEARCH UP info:<site URL here!> AND YOU'LL FIND ALL THE INFORMATION YOU'LL EVER NEED FOR IT!... KINDA.

EXAMPLE (I'm a fan of them =D): SEARCH UP: "info:www.torrent-invites.com"

YOU'LL GET A NICE COPY OF THE WEBPAGE ITSELF, ALONG WITH THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS:

"Google can show you the following information for this URL:

Show Google's cache of torrent-invites.com
Find web pages that are similar to torrent-invites.com
Find web pages that link to torrent-invites.com
Find web pages from the site torrent-invites.com
Find web pages that contain the term "torrent-invites.com""

^^^ That's some interesting stuff right there... ^^^

I'LL ADD MORE AS I THINK OF 'EM, BUT THAT'S ALL I GOT FOR NOW. ENJOY! =D

Note that A TON of these methods can be combined..... I hope I've helped you all realize how much more powerful Google can be as a search tool! ^____^

~Jambalaya

Nice guide, some of these search modifiers are actually really helpful.

Maybe you should try expanding with the use of a colon and "..."

You should probably add the other operators like AND, OR and site:, define:, etc.

Yes, I was always surprised to find that most people don't know that using the + and - signs is an enormous help in narrowing down the number of search results, allowing you to pinpoint what you are searching for most effectively.

However, I am fairly certain that a forum full of Internet geeks is likely to be more search savvy.

You can also search sites within Google by typing the following:

Example 1.

In the google search window type the following

Youtube: Plain White T's

You will then have search results for videos on Youtube featuring the Plain White T's

Google really is powerful if you know how to search it properly.