| Search Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
$ (dollar sign) |
Use this to look for a certain price. | o'hare flight $300 retrieves Chicago-area flights for around $300. |
|
- (minus sign) |
Works like the Boolean "NOT." Removes results that contain a specific term. | garden -beer would retrieve results about gardens, but exclude information about beer gardens. |
| " " (quotes) | Searches for an exact phrase. | "cognitive behavioral therapy" would bring up only results with those three words present, in the order listed. |
| filetype: | Place this operator before the type of file extension you would like to retrieve. |
A search for calendar filetype:xls retrieves calendar templates that you can download as Excel spreadsheets. |
| OR |
Use to search for either of the search terms listed. NOTE: Without OR, Google uses an "implicit 'and' " and would only retrieve results with BOTH of your words. OR must be capitalized to work! |
Search for oxidation OR patina to find results that mention either oxidation or patina. |
| related: | Put this operator directly before a web address that you already like to retrieve similar sites for you to explore. |
Searching for related:facebook.com retrieves other social media sites. HINT: try this with a favorite blog or recipe site to find similar websites! |
| site: | This allows you to search for a word or phrase on a specific site. | Searching for "academic calendar" site:iit.edu helps you to find IIT's academic calendar quickly. |
There are thousands of websites providing lists of Google tips, tricks, and hacks. Rather that copy and paste the best ones here and create yet another list, here are links to some of the most useful lists I've found:
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