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Google is a search engine that provides us information after we enter words or phrases in its search box. While there are other search engines available, Google is the most popular due to its incredibly fast search and comprehensiveness unmatched by its competitors.

Here are tips on how you can use Google more efficiently.

Use the tabs

Tabs are on the top of every search result in Google. These are “Web”, “Image”, “News”, and “More”. Whenever Google provides the search results, these are organized according to the type of information making it easier for users to find what they need.

If you are searching for images of LET topnotchers using Google, simply key in “LET topnotchers” and click search. Once the search result is provided, click on the “Image” tab on top of the search results and you see pictures of LET topnotchers.

Use quotation marks

Use quotation marks (“”) to find information with the exact phrase you typed in the search box.

For example, instead of typing in how to do research? on the search box, you can type in “how to do research” instead. Google will provide you with results carrying the exact phrase either found in the title, the page description or within the page itself.

Use colons

There are several ways to use colons (:) when you do Google Search. Some of these are when you’re looking for website related information, when you’re searching for information within a website, and when you’re researching for articles that include links to a specific website. Below are some examples and how each syntax (word arrangement) works.

Using colons when searching for website related information.

Example: related:amazon.com

If you wanted to check out other stores like amazon.com. Instead of typing in search phrases like “online stores” or “online shopping websites”, you can type in “related:amazon.com”. Google will then provide you with a list of online stores similar to amazon.com.

Using colons when searching for a specific information within a website.

Example: LET:revyouhub.com

In the example, the item being searched for is about “LET”. But instead of having different websites lined up in the search results, Google will present pages referring to LET found in revyouhub.com.

Using colons when searching for articles or webpages with links to a specific website

Example: link:revyouhub.com

Whenever you would prefer to search for articles or pages with links to a specific website, simply type in “link:” followed by the website’s url. In the example, “link:revyouhub.com” Google provides you with a list of pages where you can find links directing to revyouhub.com.

Use hyphen to exclude words

Hyphens (-) in Google search can help you exclude items on your search results. Let’s say you are researching for other products under HP but would like to exclude “laptops” from the search results. To do this, simply type in “HP”, press and type “-laptop” next. Always remember to have a space between the brand name and the hyphen. I you do this, Google will provide you a list of pages related to your main search word but excluding what you typed after the hyphen.

Use a simple search phrase

When using Google, especially when researching for places to visit (let’s say a place where you can have lunch nearby the review center you are attending), you can type in simple phrases such as “pizza places nearby” or “coffee shops nearby”. You don’t have to type in your present location. Stating “nearby” will let Google grab your location and provide you with a list of pizza or coffee places near you current location.