We use Google search every day. Latest news, websites, music, documents - the search engine knows everything. The main thing is to ask him the right question. We will tell you about useful wording for Google search queries.
It often happens that we need to find not just abstract information, but a very specific text or document. You can, of course, look through all the pages of search results in an attempt to find the file you need, or you can use special operators to specify the request.
Looking for an exact phrase or form of a word
If you know a phrase that is exactly in the document you are looking for, you can search for that phrase. To do this, write the phrase in the search bar double quotes, and Google will search for pages where this exact phrase appears.
This method also works with individual words.
Looking for a quote with a missing word
Do you want to show off your erudition and quote a classic, but forgot one word from his quote? No problem! The same double quotes will help you in this matter. Write the quote in the search bar, and replace the word you forgot with an asterisk * . Now put the quotation in quotation marks, and press Enter. Found it? Great!
You never know why you will need to find one of certain words in a document or on a page. But there is such an opportunity - indicate these words via vertical slash, and Google will show you all documents containing one of those words.
Looking for specific words within one sentence
To find text where the required words are in one sentence, use the operator " ampersand» ( & ). Write these words in the search bar, and put an ampersand between them. Google will find all documents where these words appear in the same sentence.
We are looking for a document that contains a specific word
For example, you need to find patents for chemicals that include potassium permanganate. In the search bar put plus (+ ) before the desired word ( without space).
patent + potassium permanganate
You can add several of these specific words to your query.
Exclude any word from search results
Looking for information about a time machine, but don't want to be distracted by the rock band of the same name? In the search bar, after “time machine” write rock, band, makarevich. Before each word put minus (- ) without space before the word. Profit!
Time Machine - rock - band - Makarevich
Looking for information on a specific site using Google
Yes, this is also possible :) For such a search, the operator is used And. In the search line, write what exactly you want to find, then the operator site:, then the site address.
We are looking for documents of a certain type
You have to take your coursework tomorrow, and you haven’t even sat down for it? Not scary. Use the search operator mime:. In the search line, write the name of your coursework, and then the operator and file format - doc, pdf, etc.
Looking for documents and sites in a specific language
The operator will help us with this lang:. We write the request, then the operator, and then the designation of the required language:
- for Russian - ru
- for Ukrainian - uk
- for Belarusian - be
- for English - en
- for French - fr
- for German - ge
The search giant collects tons of information about you, including your search history, location and voice queries - all to improve its services and show you relevant advertising. That being said, you might be surprised at how easily Google can access all the information it has collected about you.
Last June, Google created a special page called , where you can view all the information that the company collects and change your preferences for receiving it. Last week, a new service appeared there, “My Actions,” which displays all your online activities associated with your Google account. Even if you don't think you need to worry about the security of your personal data, it's still worth checking these settings from time to time. At least you can be sure that you are happy with what you are sharing with Google.
Screenshot: The new My Activity service will show how much Google knows about you.
You can view what Google stores about you and configure the collection of this information as follows.
How to see all your activities on the Web and applications
Every time you search for something in Chrome on your computer or smartphone, Google tracks your actions to personalize the results. The same thing happens when you use other Google apps like Google Maps or Google Now.
All iPhones and Android devices have app and web history saved by default, including searches and maps activity. This is because all of these actions are directly linked to your Google account.
You can view all collected information using the My Actions service.
But if you want Google to stop tracking some of your activities, you'll have to dig a little deeper.
How to stop Google from tracking your online activities
Here you can see all the types of data that Google tracks. To disable saving your app and web history, simply tap the icon on the right.
If this is not enough for you and you want to clear the entire history of your online activities, do the following.
To begin, select “Manage History.” You will be redirected back to the “My Actions” page, where you will need to open an additional menu (to do this, click on the icon in the form of three vertical dots in the upper right corner).
In the menu, select “Select a deletion option” and then “All the time.” You can delete data received for a certain period of time by specifying it in special fields.
For more information on how to delete searches from your computer or mobile device, visit Google's dedicated help page.
Check if your location is visible on the Internet
Google may track your location if you allow it.
To check if your geographic data is being tracked, go to “Check your activity tracking settings.” There you can view all the geographic data saved about you by clicking "Managing History".
As with web history, location tracking can be turned off with a single click on the icon on the right.
To delete your location history, select "Managing History", and then click on the trash can icon in the lower right corner.
Listen to all your Google voice commands
Every time you say "Okay Google" or click the microphone icon, Google will record what you say.
More information about how Google stores your voice search history can be found here.
View your activities on YouTube
Google keeps track of what you search on YouTube and remembers what videos you've watched. You can edit your saved history in a similar way in the Activity Tracking section.
There you can also see when and at what time you searched for or watched a particular video, as well as see from which device this action was performed.
In addition, Google has a page where you can step by step configure what data about yourself you are willing to share. There you can also check the relevance of your privacy settings and displayed advertising.
You can find more information about how Google uses your data.
Every day we search for something on Google. I probably search for something on Google 200 times a day. I check any information, learn something new, and instantly find the answer to my question. A question arose - I typed it into the search bar and got the result. What could be simpler? But sometimes difficulties arise when searching for specific information. A few tricks will help you always find what you're looking for.
We have written more than once about the secrets of searching on Google. I decided to check which tricks still work and refresh your memory a little.
Search for a specific phrase
Sometimes it is necessary to find a phrase exactly in the form in which we enter it. For example, when we are looking for the lyrics of a song, but we only know one phrase from it. In this case, you need to enclose this phrase in quotation marks.
Search by specific site
Google is an excellent search engine. And it is often better than built-in search on sites. That is why it is more rational to use Google to search for information on a website. To do this, enter site:lenta.ru Putin did.
Search for words in text
If you want all the search words to appear in the search results, enter before it allintext:.
If one word of the query should be in the body and the rest anywhere else on the page, including the title or URL, put before the word intext:, and write the rest before that.
Search for words in the title
If you want all the query words to be in the title, use the phrase allintitle:.
If only part of the request should be in the header, and the rest elsewhere in the document or page, put intitle:.
Search for words in URL
To find pages that have your request in their URL, enter allinurl:.
Search for news for a specific location
If you need news on a specific topic from a specific location, use location: to search Google News.
Search with a certain number of missing words
You need to find a sentence in a document or article, but you only remember the words at the beginning and end. Enter your query and indicate approximately how many words there were between the words that you remember. It looks like this: “At the Lukomorye AROUND (5) oak volume.”
Search if you forgot a word or number
Forgot some word from a saying, song, quote? No problem. Google will still help you find it. Place an asterisk (*) in place of the forgotten word.
Find sites that link to the site you are interested in
This item is useful for blog or website owners. If you are wondering who is linking to your site or even to a certain page, then just enter link:website.
Exclude results with unnecessary word
Let's imagine the situation. You have decided to go on vacation to the islands. And you don’t want to go to the Maldives at all. To prevent Google from showing them in search results, you just need to enter “Vacation on the islands - Maldives”. That is, put a minus before the word Maldives.
You want to find all your competitors. Or you really like the site, but there is not enough material on it, and you want more and more. Enter related:lenta.ru and admire the result.
Search "either-or"
There are situations when you need to find information relating to two people at once. For example, you want to laugh at Vova, but you haven’t decided whether to laugh at Zelensky or someone else. Just enter “Vladimir Zelensky|Zhirinovsky” and you will get the result you need. Instead of the "|" symbol You can enter English OR.
Search for different words in one sentence
To find connections between objects, or simply to find mentions of two individuals together, you can use the "&" symbol. Example: Freud & Jung.
Search by synonyms
If you're lazy like me, then you don't have the patience to Google multiple times for different synonyms of the same word. For example, cheap firewood. The "~" symbol can make your life a lot easier. We write “~cheap firewood” and get results for the words “cheap”, “inexpensive”, “affordable” and so on.
Search within a specific range of numbers
A very useful Google search secret if you need to find, for example, events that happened in certain years, or prices in a certain range. Just put two dots between the numbers. Google will search in this range.
Search for files of a specific format
If you need to find a document or just a file of a certain format, then Google can help you here too. Just add it at the end of your request filetype:doc and instead doc Substitute the format you need.
10 more useful features
1. Google can work as a good calculator. To do this, simply enter the desired operation in the search bar.
2. If you want to find out the meaning of a word, and not just look at pages on the topic, add to the word define or "meaning".
3. You can use the search engine as a converter of values and currencies. To call the converter, type a request with a translation, for example, “centimeters to meters.”
4. With Google you can find out the weather and time without having to go to websites. Type the queries “weather “city of interest””, “time “city of interest””.
5. To view the results and schedule of matches of a sports team, simply type its name in a search engine.
6. To translate a word into any language, write in the search bar “translate the “needed word” into English (any other) language.”
7. For the query “sunrise “city of interest”” Google shows the times of sunrise and sunset (for the latter - a corresponding query).
8. cache:site.com- sometimes a very helpful function for searching a site in the Google cache. For example, when newsmakers delete news. You can read them thanks to Google.
9. If you enter a flight number into the search bar, Google displays complete information about it.
10. To see a table of quotes for a specific company, simply search for "stocks of 'company of interest'," such as "Apple Stock."
If you have your own ways to use Google more effectively and find the information you need faster, share your tips in the comments to this article.
