Google Search Tricks

Calculate math tasks

Enter any math equation into the search box and we'll calculate your answer.

Get currency conversions

Get current exchange rates by searching "[currency 1] in [currency 2]".

Find A GIF with words you want

Go to Google Images. Click "Search tools" and then "Type." Then check off "Animated." Prepare to impress.

Include or exclude words and characters in your search

Highlight common words and characters such as "the" and "&" if they are essential to your search (as in a movie or book title) by putting quotation marks "the" around them. You can also use the minus - sign to specify particular items you don't want in your results, like ingredients in a recipe. e.g. salsa recipe -tomatoes

Search within a specific site

Precede your query with "site:" if you know you want your answer from within a specific site or type of site (.org, .edu). For example: site:edu or site:nytimes.com.

Get definitions

Put "define:" in front of any word to get its definition.

Search with an exact phrase

Put quotation marks around words "[any word]" to search for an exact phrase in an exact order. Keep in mind that searching with quotes might exclude relevant results. For instance, a search for "Alexander Bell" will miss pages that refer to Alexander G. Bell.

Check flight schedules

To see flight schedules to or from a particular destination, type "flights from" or "flights to" followed by the city or airport of interest. You can also add another location with "to" or "from" and view the schedule for a specific route.*Flight schedule data is provided by OAG and QuickTrip by Innovata.

Get local sunrise/sunset times

To see the exact times of sunrises and sunsets in cities around the U.S. and the world, search "sunrise" or "sunset" followed by the city name.

Get the time

To see what time it is anywhere in the world, search "time" and the city or country.

Set A Timer

Type "set timer for 5 minutes" into the search bar and a Google timer will appear as the first result. Enter the time you want in hours, minutes or seconds and start the timer. Google will start beeping at you when your time runs out.

Find related pages

Use the "related:" operator to find pages that have similar content by typing "related:" followed by the website address. For instance, if you find a website you like, try using "related:[insert URL]" to locate similar websites.

Check flight times

View live arrival and departure information for U.S. flights just by searching the name of the airline and the flight number.

Find sites that are similar to other sites

related:amazon.com If you search that above, you won't find a link to Amazon. Instead, you'll find links to online stores like Amazon. Sites like Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, and others that sell physical items online.

Get number conversions

Convert any measurement -- like miles to kilometers or ounces to liters -- by typing in the number and unit of measurement.

Check the weather

Search "weather" followed by a U.S. zip code or the name of any city in the world to get the current weather and forecast. Enter "weather" by itself to get the weather report for your current location.

Examine public data

Search demographic terms like "population" or "unemployment rate", followed by a county, state or country, and you'll get instant data about your chosen location directly from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. From there, you can click through to compare rates in different locations.

Search by file type

Search for specific types of files, such as PDFs, PPTs, or XLS, by adding "filetype:" and the 3-letter file abbreviation. e.g. affordable health care act filetype:ppt

Search numbers in a range

Stay within your budget by searching only for items within a number range by putting a string .. between amounts.

Fill In The Blanks

The Scenario: You once heard that mixing Pop Rocks with _________ would result in _______, but you can't remember what either of those two blanks are. The Solution: Enter your search terms using asterisks as stand-ins for the unknowns. Google will fill in the blanks with possibilities.