4 Google Search Tricks That Get Better Results

You probably use Google more than you would like to admit, so it is worth knowing a few tricks that get you better results with less scrolling. A handful of simple operators tell Google exactly what you want. Here are four worth keeping in your back pocket.

• Quotes for an exact phrase. Wrap a phrase in quotation marks and Google returns only pages with those exact words in that order. It is how teachers catch copied text, and it is perfect when a normal search keeps giving you "close enough" results instead of the precise phrase you need.
• An asterisk as a wildcard. If you cannot remember a word in a phrase, put an asterisk in its place, like "the * the merrier." Google fills in the blank, which is handy for half-remembered quotes, lyrics, or sayings.
• A minus sign to exclude. Add a minus sign directly before a word to leave it out of the results. Searching jaguar -car drops the vehicle and leaves you with the animal. It is the fastest way to cut out a topic that keeps cluttering your results.
• site: to search one website. Type site: followed by a domain to search only that site, like site:cybertronit.com cybersecurity. It is far faster than a site's own search box when you are hunting for something specific on a single site.

These take seconds to learn and save real time once they are second nature, especially when you are researching, fact-checking, or trying to find one specific thing in a sea of results. Small skills like this add up across a workday.

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