Google

You're probably all familiar with a basic search, but here are a few tips on using Google more efficiently:

Boolean Operators:

• are the terms And Or Not
• or their sign equivalents + | -  (Google uses a mix of words and signs.)

Using "and" with your search terms narrows your retrieved results to those containing all the words.

• Dolphins + Miami (this says we want websites that discuss dolphins as well as Miami)

The minus sign/dash (-) narrows your retrieved results to those that do not contain the term following it.

• Dolphins -Miami (this says we don't want websites that discuss dolphins as well as Miami)

Using "or" broadens your retrieved results to include websites with any of the words.

• Dolphins | Miami (this says we want websites that discuss dolphins or Miami)

Search an exact word or phrase:

• Use quotes around the set of words you'd like to keep in a specific order, without Google correcting the spelling or offering synonyms.
• "Miami Dolphins"

Search similar words:

• A tilde sign (~) in front of a words tells Google to search for that specific word and synonyms.
• ~football (this says find the word football or related words, like sports, NFL, ESPN, Gaelic football)

For other Google search tips, visit their Inside Search Page.

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