Advanced Google Search Techniques

Overview

This lecture introduces 12 advanced Google search techniques to help you find more precise and relevant information quickly and efficiently.

Quoted Searches

• Use quotation marks around phrases to search for exact matches ("John Quincy Adams").
• Quoted searches return results with the exact order and wording specified.

Minus Operator

• Prefix a word or phrase with a minus (-) to exclude it from search results.
• Example: "peanut butter cookies -peanut" excludes results mentioning peanuts.

Site Search

• Use "site:domain.com" to limit searches to a specific website.
• Combine with other operators for precise results (e.g., "site:amazon.com 24v LED strip").

Plus Operator

• Prefix a term with a plus (+) to force its inclusion in all search results.
• Works with phrases in quotes (e.g., "site:wikipedia.org +ancient +Egypt").

OR Operator

• Use uppercase OR or | to search for results containing either of two terms.
• Example: "Saskatchewan Melfort OR Humboldt" finds results about either city.

Parentheses in Searches

• Use parentheses to group terms and control logical combinations.
• Example: "(vanilla OR chocolate) cake" finds either "vanilla cake" or "chocolate cake".

Searching from the URL Bar

• Enter search terms directly into the browser’s URL bar if Google is set as default.
• Advanced operators and logic can also be used here.

Domain Searching from URL Bar

• Typing a site's name (e.g., "YouTube") in the URL bar limits search to that domain.
• Functions similarly to the "site:" operator but as a shortcut.

URL Searches

• Use "inurl:" to find pages with specific words or IDs in the URL.
• Combine with "site:" for precision (e.g., "site:amazon.com inurl:BOOKID").

Search by File Type

• Use "filetype:" to restrict results to a specific file format (e.g., "filetype:pdf 1999 budget").
• Combine with other operators to refine results.

Text and Title Searches

• Use "intitle:" to find pages with specific terms in the title.
• Combine with file type for targeted searches (e.g., "intitle:Saskatchewan filetype:pdf").

Wildcards

• Use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard for variable words/phrases within searches.
• Wildcards can be used in quoted phrases or with other operators.

Key Terms & Definitions

• Quoted Search — Searching for an exact phrase by enclosing it in quotation marks.
• Minus Operator — A dash (-) used to exclude terms from results.
• Site Search — Restricting results to a specific website using "site:".
• Plus Operator — A plus sign (+) forces inclusion of a term.
• OR Operator — Returns results containing either of two terms ("OR" or "|").
• Parentheses — Grouping terms to clarify search logic.
• Inurl Operator — Finds pages with a term in the URL.
• Filetype Operator — Limits search to specific file formats ("filetype:pdf").
• Intitle Operator — Finds pages with a term in the title.
• Wildcard — An asterisk (*) matches any word or phrase.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Practice using each search operator in Google.
• Try combining multiple operators for specific results.
• Explore searches on favorite sites using the "site:" operator.