Billions of people use Google to make searches online, but only a few know how to use it efficiently and get the most out of it.

Here are 10 tips that will help you get you better results when using Google.

1. Search Within A Specific Site

To get results from a particular site only, input your query in this format – keyword site:sitename. For example, if you type virtual reality site:techcrunch.com, Google will bring up all content related to virtual reality on TechCrunch.

2. Use Dash(-) to Exclude Keywords

If you want to perform a search and don’t want sites with certain words to appear in your results, then use a – sign before the keyword to exclude it from your results. For example, if you search for the word squash, your results pages will contain the type of vegetable and the type of sport. If you want to search for the type of vegetable only, enter your query like this: squash -sport. Remember to leave a space before the dash(-).

3. Use Asterisks to Search for Unknowns

Have you ever wanted to search for a phrase like a lyrics or popular saying, and you didn’t know or remember some terms? Using an asterisk as a placeholder for the unknown will make Google automatically fill it and display your desired results. An example is “a monkey in * is a monkey * *”

4. Find Sites That are Similar to Other Sites

Placing “related:” in front of a site will show you sites that are similar to it. For example, if you type related:gsmarena.com, Google will bring up websites that are similar to GSMArena.

5. Find a Specific File Type or Format

To search for a specific file type, place “filetype:” in front of the file type you’re looking for. For example, renewable energy filetype:ppt

6. Search Multiple Words or Phrases at Once

Using “OR” between search terms lets you search for multiple words or phrases at once. For example, typing in[b] virtual reality OR artificial intelligence [/b]will include the two search terms in your results.

7. Use Quotation to Search for Exact Phrase

Lets say you want to search for something and want the results to come up in that exact order, putting your search term in quotation marks will give you exact matches in the results. For example, “when all hope seems lost” will give you results in that order.

8. Find Pages Linked to Another Page

Use “link:” to find pages and sites that are linked to another. For example, typing in link:www.quora.com will show you all indexed sites that are linked to Quora.

9. Search a Range of Numbers

If you want to find content relating to a specific range of numbers, Google can display this for you. For instance, if you type[b] 3D printers $100..$300,[/b] Google will bring up 3D printers within the price range of $100 to $300 .

10. Find Word Definitions

To find the definition of any word, just use the format – “define:keyword”. An example is define:marketing.

Source: http://www.techrade.com/10-tips-use-google-search-efficiently/