Using Google Efficiently and Effectively

Everyone knows how to use Google...right? All you have to do is move up to your navigation bar, type in a query and press enter. Given that your browser is properly configured, you'll be wading through thousands of results in no time!

But what about using it efficiently? Is there a technique we can use to better match our results on the first try, instead of having to refine our search queries? Let's find out!

Getting to Google

The fastest way of getting to Google is to set up your browser so that you can simply type your query in the navigation bar. Check out the instructions for Chrome and Firefox.

Google, the all-knowing search engine

We often rely on Google's all-knowing capability, and trust that it'll return the right results...and oftentimes Google is right. The other day I was looking to buy a specific pair of running shoes, but didn't know what the brand was called.

Funny looking running shoes Google search — Voila! The first result was it! Google is certainly is all-knowing.

Searching efficiently

A huge chunk of learning how to code comes from asking Google questions that stump us. When we don't know how to do something, we paste in a few keywords and cross our fingers for something relevant to pop-up. In most cases it works, but sometimes we have to refine our search results until some relevant results show up.

Programmers need to be efficient - not just code efficiently, but work efficiently as well. To get the search results we need first time around, we need all the handy shortcuts, special characters and tricks that Google has to offer.

In this short tutorial series, we'll learn about the most efficient Google navigation. At the end of the series, we'll also show you some fun Google search queries!

Credits to /u/dumpster_dinner

I've been meaning to start this series earlier, but wasn't sure the demand for Googling efficiently was there. Thanks for /u/dumpster_dinner and the reddit community for the validation!

Verbose mode, special characters and utility keywords

Google has a slew of special characters you can use to dramatically improve your search results. But before we get to them, let's take a quick look at Verbatim mode.

Verbatim Mode

By default, Google will attempt to spell-correct all your phrases. In case you're searching for a purposefully mispelled word (or phrase), simply switch to verbatim mode.

Lack tose and tolerant on Yahoo! Answers.

Special characters

+: The + before a name can link you to Google+ accounts; +JohnDoe; Also used to search blood types; AB+
@: Social tags; @codesnipcademy
$: Find prices; computer monitor $230
#: Hashtag for trending topic; #throwbackthursday
-: Excludes sites with that info for your results; 2016 presidential elections -foxnews
~: Search with all synonyms of word; How to ~build a website
"": Match entire phrase, in that order; Useful for multi-word key phrases; "To be or not to be"; Can be useful for searching for a specific person; "ellen pao"; Useful for searching for solutions to specific textbook questions; "Write a funciton that returns the list of all primes less than n"
*: Placeholder for an unknown or wildcard term; an * a day keeps the * away
..: Results that contain numbers in a range; computer monitor $200..$230

Most of these keywords can be very useful to us, so try to practice them as often as possible so you can memorize them!

How to build a website google search query — Using the tilde (~) helps you find similar words.

We can also specify websites within our query with search operators. Make sure to leave no space after the search operator colon and your query. Also, use quotation marks as necesary.

site:: Search specific domains; css vertical align site:stackoverflow.com; linux tutorials site:snipcademy.com
link:: Find pages that contain a specific link in them; link:"snipcademy.com"
OR |: Find page that may use one of multiple words; NBA championship 2013 OR 2014; Tahiti | Hawaii
info:: Get information pertaining to a webaddress; info:snipcademy.com
filetype:: Specify a specific filetype.; Very useful when looking for PDF versions of books!; java for beginners filetype:pdf
related:: Search sites that are related; related:stackoverflow.com
cache:: Obtain a cached version of a webpage. This is an older version of the webpage, saved from the last time Google bots crawled through the site.; cache:snipcademy.com

Using the filetype: keyword limits by file type — Filtering results by the filetype keyword. Now you can easily search for PDf files.|>

Filter results usign the site keyword on Google — Filtering results with the site keyword, limiting your results to a specific site.|>

Utility keywords

Google also provides a number of utility keywords that you can place to obtain quick facts on just about anything.

set a timer for: Set a timer; Set a timer for 2 minutes
sunrise/sunset: Check sunrise/sunset times; sunrise los angeles; sunset san francisco
weather: Check the weather; weather san diego
define: Define a word; define phophatidylinositol
math: Do some maths; 1 + 1
graph: Plot a graph; graph sin x
calculate tip: Calculate tip; calculate tip
conversion: to: Convert between two units; $4.32/gal to KRW/liter
flight number: Check the flight status of an airplane; OZ370
ip address: Look up your ip address; ip address
roll a six-sided die: Roll a die; roll a die
flip a coin: Flip a coin; flip a coin
nutrition comparisons: Compare two food items; chicken breast vs tuna
movies: Get showtimes nearby; movies
etymology: Check a word root; etymology program
stock symbols: Check company stocks; GOOG
track packages: Check shipping statuses; Enter UPS, USPS, FedEx tracking number.
holidays for this year: Look up a holiday for the year; Mother's day
books by: Find books by a certain author; Books by Michael Crichton
songs by: Find songs by a certain artist; Songs by John Mayer

Checking the sunrise in LA with Google — Checking the sunrise time in LA with a quick Google keyword search.

Check for songs by John Mayer with Google keyword search — Look up songs by John Mayer with Google keyword search.

Just for fun - easter eggs and hidden tricks

There are also a ton of hidden tricks and easter eggs implemented within the Google search engine! Simply input one of these keywords to get an interesting search result!

tilt or askew: Tile the Google website!; tilt
mirror: A mirrored version of Google; elgoog.im
hacker: "Hacker" mode, whatever that means; hacker
barrel roll: Tell Google to do a barrel roll; do a barrel roll
blink html: Make bold elements blink!; blink html
hodor: hodor hodor hodor; hodor
the loneliest number: Find out what the loneliest number is!; the loneliest number
recursion: See also: recursion; recursion
zerg rush: Google attacks your results with a zerg rush!; zerg rush
atari breakout: Play atari breakout; atari breakout
google in 1998: Find out what Google looked like in 1998; google in 1998
42: The meaning of life; the answer to life, the universe and everything

Tilted Google — A tilted Google after searching for "tilt".

Googling recusion — Googling recursion gives you recursion.

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