We all use Google in one form or another. Many of us use Google to search the Internet for information that we want or need. It is easy. All you have to do is type your search query into the search bar and hit enter. Google will display all the content that Google finds relevant to your search.

I sometimes wonder how I made it through life before there was Google.

But this is the most basic method of using the Google search engine. Even though I might think I am a Jedi Master of Google, there are always a few new tricks that I can learn or remember. Below are some methods that you can use when you use Google to search. These are called Advanced Search Operators (ASOs). ASOs are search commands that you can use to get more specific results from your search queries. You can use one ASO or you can combine multiple ASOs to narrow your search.

"" Double Quote Marks

Use quote marks to limit your search to an exact word or set of words. This is especially useful when searching for quotes and lyrics. For example, use "to be or not to be" to search for that exact phrase.

- Dash

Put a dish before a word that you want to exclude in your search. For example, use “jaguar -animal” to search for the word “jaguar” that does not include “animal”

~ Tilde

The Tilde is a character that is below the Esc key - usually in the top left of the keyboard. Use a tilde before a term to include its synonyms in your results. For example, use “Christmas ~desserts” to search for the word “Christmas” including the word “desserts” and all of the synonyms of the word “desserts”.

site: Site Query

Use site: to limit your search within a specific website. For example, use site:mediamotiononline.com to limit your search to the “mediamotiononline.com” website. If you only wanted to search government websites, you could use “site:.gov”.

link: Link Query

Use link: to search for sites that link to the specified site URL. For example, use “link:mediamotiononline.com” to search for sites that link to the URL “mediamotiononline.com.

.. Two Periods

Use two periods between two numbers to limit your search to a range of things like dates or prices. For example, use “movies 1950..1970” to search for sites with movies that range from 1959 to 1970.

related: Related Query

Use related: to limit your search to sites that are related to the specified site. For example, use “related:mediamotiononline.com” to search for sites that are related to the URL “mediamotiononline.com”.

filetype: File Type

Use filetype: to limit your search to a particular file type. For example, use “filetype: pdf” to limit your search to pdf files.

intitle: In title

Use intitle: to limit your search to the title. For example, use “intitle”mediamotion” to limit your search to titles that include mediamotion.

allintitle: All in title

Similar to intitle:. Using allintitle: will display the titles with all of the terms included in the search

inurl: In the URL

Use inurl: to limit your search to the actual URL. For example, use “inurl:http” to limit your search to URLs that do not have SSL turned on.

allinurl: All in URL

Similar to inurl:. Using allinurl: will display the URLs with all of the terms included in the search.

around [number]:

Use around [number] to display search results where the two search terms have been separated by the [number] of words.

after: After the specified date

Use after: to limit your search to results that have a date after the designated date. For example, use “after:2022-11-16” to limit your search to results after November 16, 2022.

before: Before the specified date

Use before: to limit your search to results that have a date before the designated date. For example, use “before:2022-11-16” to limit your search to results before November 16, 2022.

OR: Search for more than one word

Use OR: to search for more than one word. For example, use “media OR motion” to search for results that include either the word “media” or the word “motion”. BTW: the “OR” has to be all caps. 

To search for more than one phrase, combine the “OR” with Double Quote Marks. For example, use ““to be or not to be” OR mediamotion” to search for results that include the phrase “to be or not to be” as well as the word “mediamotion”.

AND: Search for both words

Use AND to search for both words. For example, use “media AND motion” to search for results that include both of the words “media” and “motion”. BTW: the “AND” has to be all caps.

$: Currency Symbol

Use a currency symbol to search for a result at a designated price or price range. For example, use “laptop $500” to search for a laptop with a price of $500.00.

A more effective use might be to use the currency symbol with the 2 periods to designate a search range. For example, use “laptop $500..$750 to search for laptops priced between $500.00 and $750.00.

Image Search

If you have an image and you want to search Google to see if the image can be identified, upload a copy of your image to Google Images and search.

weather: Get the weather

Use weather: to get the weather at a particular location. For example, use “weather:London” to get the current weather in London.

map: Get a map

Use map: to get a map of a particular location. For example, use “map:London” to get a map of London.

stocks: Get the price of a stock

Use stocks: to get the current price of a particular stock. For example, use “stocks:microsoft” to the the price of Microsoft stock,

For more information there is a book titled “The Joy of Search: A Google Insider's Guide to Going Beyond the Basics  ” by Daniel M. Russell. Mr Russell is a Google researcher reveals the art of online searching, offering tips and tricks on how best to use resources like Google and Wikipedia—plus fun facts and fascinating stories We all know how to look up something online by typing words into a search engine. ... Google Books