The best way to begin searching harder with Google is by clicking the Advanced Search link.
Ø This lets you search for exact phrases, "all these words", or one of the specified keywords by entering search terms into the appropriate box.
Ø Advanced Search lets you type in a Top Level Domain (like .co.in) in the "Search within website of domain" box to restrict results.
Ø And you can click the "Date, usage rights, numeric range and more" link to access more advanced features.
Ø Google's main search invisibly combines search terms with the Boolean construct "AND". When you enter masala dosa – it looks for masala AND dosa.
Ø To make Google search for masala or dosa, just type masala OR dosa
Ø Instead of OR you can type the | symbol, like this: masala | dosa
Ø Boolean connectors like AND and OR are case sensitive. They must be in upper case.
Ø To look for phrases, put them in quotes: "there's no masala without dosa"
Ø Synonym search looks for words that mean similar things. Use the tilde symbol before your keyword, like this: ~lass
Ø Exclude specific key words with the minus operator.
Ø You can also ask Google to fill in a blank. Try: Columbus discovered *
Ø Search for a numerical range using the numrange operator. For example, search for Sony TV between $500 and $700 with the string Sony TV $300..$500
Ø Google recognises main file types through advanced search, including all Microsoft Office Document types, Lotus, PostScript, Shockwave Flash and plain text files.
Ø Search for any filetype directly using the modifier filetype:[filetype extension]. For example:computer filetype:pdf
Ø Exclude entire file types, using the same Boolean syntax we used to exclude key words earlier: rugby -filetype:doc
Ø Google has some very powerful, hidden search parameters, too.
For example "intitle" only searches page titles. Try intitle:hacking
Ø The modifier inurl only searches the web address of a page: give inurl:computers a go.
Ø If you want to know how many links there are to a site? Try link:sitename – for example link:www.facebook.com
Ø Similarly, you can find pages that Google thinks are related in content, using the related: modifier. Use it like this: related:www.facebook.com
Ø The modifier info:site_name returns information about the specified page.
Ø Specify a site to search with the site: modifier – like this: search tips site:www.techradar.com
Ø Use the site: modifier when searching Google Images, at images.google.com. For example: dvd player site:www.amazon.com
Ø Similar, using "site:.com" will only return results from .com domains.
Ø If you use the operator "source:" in Google News, you can pick specific archives. For example: heather mills source:daily_mail
Ø Using the "location:" filter enables you to return news from a chosen country. location:india for example.
Ø Similarly, Google Blogsearch (blogsearch.google.com) has its own syntax. You can search for a blog title, for example, using inblogtitle:<keyword>
Ø Google really likes movies. Try typing director: The Dark Knight into the main search box.
Ø For cast lists, try cast: name_of_film
Ø The modifier music: followed by a band, song or album returns music reviews.
Ø Try searching for weather London – you'll get a full 4-day forecast.
Ø There's also a built-in dictionary. Try define:<word> in the search box.
Ø Google stores the content of old sites. You can search this cache direct with the syntax keyword cache:site_url
Ø No calculator handy? Use Google's built in features. Try typing 15*18 and hitting "Google Search".
Ø It does currency conversion too. Try 200 rupees in dollars.
Ø And temperature! Just type: 98 f to c to convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade.
Ø Want to know how clever Google really is? Type 2476 in roman numerals, then hit "Google Search"...
Ø "Custom Search" enables you to create a branded Google search for your own site.
Ø An active, useful service missing from the list is "Personalized Search" – but you can access it via www.google.com/psearch when you're logged in.
This page lists searches you have recently made – and is divided into categories. Clicking "pause" stops Google from recording your history.
Ø Did you know you can search within your returned results? Scroll down to the bottom of the search results page to find the link.
Ø Looking for a map? Just add map to the end of your query, like this: Delhi map
Ø Google finds images just as easily and lists them at the top, when you add image to the end of your search.
Ø Google Image Search recognises faces... add &imgtype=face to the end of the returned URL in the location bar, then hit enter to filter out pictures that aren't people.
Ø Keeping an eye on stocks? Type stocks: followed by market ticker for the company and Google returns the data from Google Finance.
Ø Enter the carrier and flight number in Google's main search box to return flight tracking information.
Ø What time is it? Find out anywhere by typing time then the name of a place.
Ø You may have noticed Google suggests alternate spellings for search terms – that's the built in spell checker!
Ø You can invoke the spell checker directly by using spell: followed by your keyword.
Ø Click "I'm Feeling Lucky" to be taken straight to the first page Google finds for your keyword.
Ø Enter a statistics-based query like population of Mumbai into Google, and it will show you the answer at the top of its results.
Ø If your search has none-English results, click "Translate this Page" to see it in English.
Ø You can search foreign sites specifically by clicking "Language Tools", then choosing which countries sites to translate your query to.
Ø Other features on the language tools page include a translator for blocks of text you can type or cut and paste.
Ø There's also a box that you can enter a direct URL into, translating to the chosen language.
Ø Near the language tools link, you'll see the "Search Preferences". This handy page is full of secret functionality.
You can specify which languages Google returns results in, ticking as many (or few) boxes as you like.
Ø Google's Safe Search protects you from explicit sexual content. You can choose to filter results more stringently or switch it off completely.
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