PC Doctor August 25, 2017

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Dear PC Doctor:

I use the internet all the time, but sometimes it feels like I’m missing something.  My searches don’t always give me the information I think I should be getting.  Are there any tips for getting better search results?

Thanks,

   Dave

 

Dear Dave:

Great question!

Google offers these search tips for refining your web searches:

To search social media
Put @ in front of a word to search social media. For example: @twitter.

To search for a price
Put $ in front of a number. For example: camera $400.

To search hashtags
Put # in front of a word. For example: #throwbackthursday

To exclude words from your search
Put - in front of a word you want to leave out. For example, jaguar speed -car

To search for an exact match
Put a word or phrase inside quotes. For example, "tallest building".

To search for wildcards or unknown words
Put a * in your word or phrase where you want to leave a placeholder. For example, "largest * in the world".

To search within a range of numbers
Put .. between two numbers. For example, shoes $50..$100.

To combine searches
Put "OR" between each search query. For example,  marathon OR race.

To search for a specific site
Put "site:" in front of a site or domain. For example, site:youtube.com or site:.gov.

To search for related sites
Put "related:" in front of a web address you already know. For example, related:time.com.

To get details about a site
Put "info:" in front of the site address.

To see Google’s cached version of a site
Put "cache:" in front of the site address.

I hope this helps!
Until next time,
Happy Computing!

   PC Doctor