Google Tips And Tricks

Foreword

The following is a tips and tricks references for using the Google search engine in ways you may not know are available.

Tricks

define: – The “define:” protocol is used to quickly obtain the definition of a word.  For example, enter the following into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “define:ollie”.  The definition and sometimes alternate spellings of the word are displayed.
link: - The “link:” protocol is used to find out which sites are currently linking to a domain name.  For example, enter the following into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “link: godlikemouse.com”.  All the sites that are currently linking to godlikemouse.com are displayed.
related: – The “related:” protocol is used to find out which sites or pages are related to the specified link, domain or subject.  For example, enter the following into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “related:godlikemouse.com”.  All the sites and pages that are related to the content of the godlikemouse.com index page are displayed.
math functions - Let’s say you want to know the answer quickly to a long math problem.  You can either bring up a calculator, switch to scientific and how that it has all the functions you want to use, or you can just simply enter the entire equation into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box.  For example, try entering: “9*(sqrt 9.8)/7″.  The following is displayed: (9 * sqrt(9.8)) / 7 = 4.02492236
metric conversion – Now how about those pesky metric conversions.  How many cups are in a quart?  How many feet in a mile? etc.  You can enter the following format directly into Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “convert {first-metric} to {second-metric}”.  For example, let’s convert quarts to cups by entering the following: “convert quart to cup”.  The following is displayed: 1 US quart = 4 US cups
population - Ever want to know how many people live in a specific state or country.  You can enter the following format directly into Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “population {state-abbrev}”. For example, let’s find out how many people live in Washington state.  Enter the following: “population wa”.  The actual number of people along with a trend graph is displayed and source reference is displayed.
synonyms – Need to find a synonym for a word.  You can enter the following format directly into Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “~ {word}”.  For example, let’s find a synonym for the word “mouse”.  Enter the following: “~ mouse”.  Links describing different means of the word and modifications to the word are displayed.
movie showtimes – Need to know what time a movie is playing in your local area.  You could go to movies.com or the like, or you can simply enter the following format into Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “movies {zip-code}”.  For example, let’s find movies and times for Gig Harbor, WA.  Enter the following: “movies 98332″.  A short 3 line summary of movies and times are displayed.  Now click the showtimes link and all the movies and times in that area a displayed.
plane flight information – Need to quickly look up plane flight information.  Simply enter the following format into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “{airline} {flight-number}”.  For example, let’s say we needed to find out about American Airlines flight 14.  Enter the following: “American Airlines 14″.  A link and synopsis of departure, arrival, on time or delayed, etc is displayed along with a link which will display even more in depth information.
maps – To quickly display a map, enter the following format into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “{location} map”.  For example, let’s check out Italy.  Enter the following: “italy map”.  A map is displayed of Italy.  By clicking on the map or link it takes you to maps.google.com which will allow you to investigate the area even more.
package tracking – Need to track a UPS, USPS or FedEx package.  Simply enter the tracking number directly into Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box.  For example, let’s track a UPS package.  Enter the following: “1Z9999W99999999999″.  A UPS link with the tracking information is displayed.  If this were a real package, the link clicked would give you more details on the package’s location.
patent search – If you’ve every applied for a patent (what fun that is…) and what to check up on it’s status (every 2 years or so) you can enter the following format: “patent {patent-number}”.  For example, let’s check up on the status of the bathtub overflow device.  Enter the following: “patent 5123123″.  The relevant patent information is displayed.
sunrise/sunset information – Want to know what time sunrise or sunset is for today or in a specific location.  Enter the following format into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “sunset {location}”.  For example, let’s see when sunrise is in Gig Harbor.  Enter the following: “sunrise Gig Harbor”.  The sunrise information is displayed along with additional information.  You can use varied information for the location ranging from named locations to zip code.
time – Need to know time in a specific location.  Enter the following format into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google Search box: “time {location}”.  For example, what time is it right now in Singapore?  Enter the following: “time singapore”.  The current time in Singapore is displayed along with relevant timezone information.
stock quotes – Want to check up on a stock, just enter the stock abbreviation into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google Search box.  For example, let’s see how Cisco stock is doing.  Enter the following: “CSCO”.  Relevant stock and trading information is displayed.
weather – Don’t have a window?  Want to know what tomorrow’s weather is going to be like? Enter the following format into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “weather {location}”.  For example, let’s see what the weather is going to be like in Beverly Hills. Enter the following: “weather 90210″.  Relevant forecast and current weather is displayed.

Tips

inclusive searching - To force the inclusion of a word that Google may be removing due to it being to common or any other reason.  Simply prefix the word with a “+”.  For example, to force the word “and” you would use “+and”.
exclusive searching – To force the removal of specific search terms from results to limit results to only relevant terms, simply prefix the word to be removed with a “-”.  For example, if you do a search for the word “oil” and you see many results containing the word hair, you could add “-hair” to the search query and anything with the word hair in it would be removed from the results list.
exact phrase matching – To ensure that a phrase or word is matched exactly as typed, surround the phrase or word with a set of quotes.  For example, if we search for: “jQuery Quick Start Tutorial” without quotes, we get related jquery quick start matches.  Now if we search for the same phrase this time actually surrounded by quotes, wet get the GodLikeMouse link because the terms are matched exactly word for word with placement.