#TechBytes: 5 handy tricks to get better Google search results
Today, Google offers one of the most powerful search engines in the world. Serving millions of people across the globe, it is home to everything you want to look up for. But, even after using this tool almost daily, you could be missing out on some extremely useful Google search tricks for getting more effective results. Let's take a look at some of them.
Use dashes to exclude phrases
If you're looking to exclude a phrase from your search, you could add that word in the search box and place a dash (-) ahead. This could come pretty handy when you're looking for a particular movie or TV show but don't want to see links from a particular channel, say Hotstar. With a dash, the query would look like: 'Watch Narcos online -Hotstar'.
Use asterisk for searching unknown phrases
We all know that placing keywords in quotes searches for an exact phrase, but what if you don't know the complete phrase? This is where the asterisk (*) comes in; you can replace the missing word(s) with an asterisk (while keeping them in quotes) and direct Google to search for all variations of that phrase. You can use it to look up for half-known song lyrics.
Deploy double periods to define ranges
Along with asterisk, you could also use double periods (..) for refining Google search results. Basically, you can place periods to define ranges, be it for money, measurement, or even dates. So, if you're looking for a phone or laptop, you could define its price range by entering double periods between two monetary values, say like Rs. 10000..Rs 20000.
Use of 'link' to fetch linked web pages
Google also lets you find websites and pages linked to a specific URL, like a particular story you've written. For this, all you have to do is type 'link:' in the search bar (without quotes) and enter the URL you want to check. The result will show all the pages that have linked to the URL you're looking up, including your own page.
Reverse search images to find original sources
Google also allows reverse image search to see where it came from. This can come pretty handy in looking up for unknown products (like clothes, accessories), animals, tracking down original photographers or seeing where a particular photograph has been used illegally. You can reverse search by uploading an image from the camera button on the 'Google Images' page.
