Searching the web using Google seems easy to most people, but actually you can tweak and optimize your search terms to get better and more relevant results. I'll show you a few basic search tricks any Google user should know.

= Operators =

You can add operators to your search terms to get better results. A few operators are...

= OR =

Using the OR operator in a two-word search term, Google will search for one word or the other one. Let's say you enter this search term:

Italy OR Spain

You'll get results for either Italy OR Spain.

= Double quotes ("...") =

Using double quotes allows you to search for an exact phrase. Let's say you enter this search term:

"I love computers"

You'll get results containing the exact phrase 'I love computers'.

= Minus sign (-) =

Use the minus sign to exclude a word from the results. Let's say you enter this search term:

Italy -spaghetti

You'll get results containing information about Italy, but nothing about spaghetti.

= Plus sign (+) =

Use the + sign to search for an exact word. Let's say you enter this search term:

+computer

You'll get results for the word 'computer', not the plural or any tenses or synonyms.

= Tilde (~) =

Search for a word including its synonyms. Let's say you enter this search term:

~beverages

You'll get results for the word 'beverages' and the synonyms for that word, such as drinks, etc.

= define: =

Allows you to use Google as a dictionary/glossary. Let's say you enter this search term:

define:computer

Google will show you the definitions of a computer.

= Asterisk (*) =

You can use the asterisk as a 'joker'. Let's say you enter this search term:

"i * computers"

Google will come up with results like: I love computers, I hate computers, I fix computers, etc.

= Use Google as a calculator =

Many of us do already know this, but for the beginning Googler, this might be a secret. You can use Google as a calculator. Use the + sign to add, the - sign to subtract, the * to multiply and / to divide. Simply enter the calculation that needs to be done in the search box and Google will calculate it. For example: enter 100+100 and Google will come up with '200', the result.

It's also possible to calculate the percentage of a number. Let's say you need to know what 30% of 3700 is. Simply enter: 30% of 3700. Google will come up with '1110', the result.

Learn more about this author, Kevin Sanchez.
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