40+ Google Search Hacks, Tricks & Tips for 2023 [Infographic]

Work always feels like so much work.

High expectations of your supervisors, constant pressure, tight deadlines.

The good news? You’re about to find out how to take some stress out of your work life.

How’s that?

I’m going to show you how to properly use one of the most powerful tools you’ve got at hand: Google Search.

Think you know all you need? Think again. You might know how to make a basic search with Google, but that’s about it.

This list of Google Search tricks will advance your search and let you zero in on what you’re really looking for.

Whether you’re trying to get exactly what you need fast and effectively, or if you want to boost productivity, these tips and tricks are sure to make things easier for you at the office, at your desk, and even in your personal life.

google search tips and tricks

Impressive, right? But hey—there’s even more!

Less known (but super useful!) Google Search Tips

1. Double Exclude

Search Command:

Results Include:

brownie recipe -milk -eggs

All pages that rank for brownie recipe except those that include milk or eggs.

You can mix and combine all of these Google Search commands to better refine your query.

Add a space and then another negative keyword to omit more than one. This example search will give you brownie recipes that include neither milk nor eggs.

2. The Boolean Search

Search Command:

Results Include:

dog AND cat

Pages that have both the words dog and cat

dog OR cat

Pages that have either the word dog or cat

dog|cat

Same as using OR

Use AND or OR (all caps) to perform a boolean search by sticking it between two other words. The pipe operator (|) is the same as using OR.

3. The Tilde to Thesaurize

Search command:

Results Include:

~large

Pages that have words similar to large, such as big, great, massive, and others

The tilde symbol generally means approximately, about, or around in English, and placing one just before a search term will broaden your query to match. Note that synonym searches are the default now, so this is all but redundant.

4. Temperature, Weather & Forecast

Search Command:

Results Include:

forecast

Your local weather and forecast summary

temperature

Your local weather and forecast summary

weather 11106

Weather and forecast summary for 11106

forecast 11106

Weather and forecast summary for 11106

temperature 11106

Weather and forecast summary for 11106

Weather, temperature, and forecast seem to provide the same, albeit convenient, rich card result.

5. Everything about the Google Calculator

Search Command:

Results Include:

calculator

A full scientific calculator at the top

1+1

Sum (addition)

2-2

Difference (subtraction)

3*3

Product (multiplication)

4/4

Quotient (division)

5^5

5 to the fifth power, or 5⁵

30% of 100

Percentage

These calculator Google shortcuts explain themselves, but how cool are they, huh? If you live and work in your browser, skip opening up the calculator app on your computer or phone and use Google instead. No need to type an equal sign (=), the search button takes care of that.

6. Determine That Date

Search Command:

Results Include:

easter

The current year’s Easter date

You can easily use Google Search to remind you of an upcoming holiday, so you can plan accordingly. Note that if a holiday has just passed, it will show you that one—the current year’s date, rather than the future date.

7. More Unit Conversions

Search Command:

Results Include:

2 kg to lb

How many pounds in two kilograms

32 fahrenheit to celsius

How many degrees celsius equal 32℉

100 usd to eur

How many euros equal 100 US dollars

12 inch in cm

How many centimeters in 12 inches

We just talked about time conversions, but you can do so many other unit-to-unit conversions with Google. From currencies to measurements, Google’s got you covered.

Google Pro Tip: You can use both to or in.

8. Get Info on a Site

Search Command:

Results Include:

info:nytimes.com

A single-result SERP with just the homepage

This one used to be more helpful, but since Google has moved to zero-result SERPs, this particular Google command has lost some of its power. Still, you may find some use for it (and let me know if you do!).

9. Get Cached Version of a Site

Search Command:

Results Include:

cache:djaunter.com

The latest cached version of that specific URL from Google

Using cache: before a URL will immediately bring up the Google User Content cached version of that page. Note that it requires a specific URL per result, so it can include subfolders, child pages, and subdomains.

10. Investigate Company Information

Search Command:

Results Include:

founder google

Snippet with rich cards including founders of Google

ceo google

Rich card with current CEO of Google

cfo google

Rich card with current CFO of Google

Are you trying to know to whom to address a cover letter? Perhaps doing some competitor research?

Google Search gives rich card results for any of a number of searches. Just type in the position (CEO, CTO, etc.) followed by the company, and voila!

11. More Advanced Mathematics

Search Command:

Results Include:

solve rhombus

Rhombus dimensions based on other input

solve triangle

Triangle dimensions based on other input

solve rectangle

Rectangle dimensions based on other input

solve circle

Circle dimensions based on other input

solve pentagon

Pentagon dimensions based on other input

solve hexagon

Hexagon dimensions based on other input

We brought up Google’s impressive calculator functionality before, but Google can offer way more advanced mathematics. You can get the answers to geometry dimensions of several shapes, and you can solve for area, side, perimeter, diagonal, diagonal (p), diagonal (q), base, height, side, side (a), side (c), gamma, length, radius, diameter, and circumference!

12. In Titles, URLs & Anchors

Search Command:

Results Include:

intitle:best avocado ice cream

Pages with these keywords (may skip one or two) in page title

allintitle:best avocado ice cream

Pages with each and every keyword in page title

inposttitle:best avocado ice cream

Same as intitle

allinposttitle:best avocado ice cream

Same as allintitle

Inanchor:avocado ice cream

Pages with these words in anchor text (may skip some)

allinanchor:avocado

Pages with each and every keyword in anchor text

inurl:avocado ice cream

Pages with these keywords (may skip one or two) in URL slug

allinurl:avocado ice cream

Pages with each and every keyword in URL slug

Remember intext and allintext? These are the same, but they let you search only in the titles, URLs, or anchor texts of pages and articles.

13. Search Through Social Media

Search Command:

Results Include:

bananas @twitter

Twitter profiles, tweets, etc. that include bananas

#bananas

Anything with hashtag-bananas

If you’re in marketing, or you just want to sift through all the noise, use the @ or # symbols to help you along. The @ will work with other social media platforms, such as Facebook.

14. Get Song Names and a List of Episodes

Search Command:

Results Include:

songs by ed sheeran

An interactive snippet with thumbnails of all songs (with dates) by Ed Sheeran

game of thrones episodes

An interactive snippet with thumbnails of all episodes (with dates) of GoT

Similar to the author’s book search, you can get the same snippet for show episodes and singer’s songs, as well.

15. Sports Scores & Overview

Search Command:

Results Include:

yankees

Latest scores, standings, and upcoming games

NYY

Same as above

Use Google to get a detailed look at your favorite team. This rich card offering is really rich, including stats, scores per inning (baseball), upcoming games, news, division rankings, and more.

16. Earthquake

Search Command:

Results Include:

earthquake

USGS info showing the time, place, and magnitude of recent earthquakes.

Typing in earthquake give you United States Geological Survey information of recent earthquakes around the world. And, if it’s affecting you, quick access to safety advice!

17. Sunrise & Sunset

Search Command:

Results Include:

sunrise

Upcoming sunrise time in your locale

sunset

Upcoming sunset time in your locale

sunrise in san francisco

Upcoming sunrise time in specific city

sunset in jakarta

Upcoming sunset time in specific city

Get the exact sunrise or sunset time in your city by simply searching for either word. If you want to know the sunrise or sunset for another city, just add that city to your query. Simple and effective!