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Utilize all of Google's search options with these easy-to-use tricks
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Are you having trouble finding the results you need from Google? As the most popular search engine, Google provides countless results with just a simple keyword. This can be a bit daunting to browse if you have a specific result in mind. In this case, you can use Google's Advanced Search menu to narrow and refine your results. This wikiHow will show you how to use Google's built-in Advanced Search trick on your computer to find better results.

Things You Should Know

  • Go to the Advanced Search page in a web browser.
  • Fill in at least one field to make your search. Use the fields to include or exclude words, phrases, and/or numbers.
  • Narrow your search by inputting a language, region, website/domain, and more. Click "Advanced Search" to view results.
  1. Go to https://www.google.com/advanced_search in a web browser. You can use Google Chrome or another browser. You'll be taken to the Advanced Search page, where you can narrow down your results by filling in the fields. [1]
    • You don't have to fill every single field, but you must fill at least one. Your results will be narrower with more information.
  2. This is the first header on the page. Fill in at least one of these fields. Otherwise, you'll be redirected to a blank Google Search page.
    • all these words : Searches will contain all words in this field. This is the filter used in normal Google searches with the Google homepage.
    • this exact word or phrase : Searches will contain the word or phrase without anything in between.
    • any of these words : Searches will contain any of the words provided, with and without anything in between.
    • none of these words : Searches will exclude this word.
    • numbers ranging from / to : Searches will include these numbers or number range.
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  3. This is optional, though it provides more refined search results. Select the drop-down menu to view the options.
    • language : Searches will contain this language.
    • region : Searches will contain this location/region.
    • last update : Searches will contain results in this time frame.
    • site or domain : Enter a website to search within that website .
    • terms appearing : Select a location for your terms to appear.
    • SafeSearch : Turn off SafeSearch by selecting Show explicit results .
    • file type : Select a format, if searching for a file.
    • usage rights : Select the terms of use for files or photos in the search results.
  4. This is the blue button at the bottom of the screen.
    • If you want to reenter the information in the fields, you can click the back arrow on your browser. Edit the fields, and click Advanced Search again to view the results.
    • You can also use search operators on the Google homepage. Depending on the tag, you can limit searches to exclude or contain words , exclude or contain websites, or even filter the date posted. These have the exact same function as the Advanced Search menu but without the user-friendly interface. [2]
    EXPERT TIP

    Tyrone Showers

    Technologist
    Tyrone Showers is a Technologist and the Co-owner of Taliferro Group, an IT consulting company based in Seattle, Washington. With over 35 years of professional experience, he specializes in API Design, e-Commerce, Operational Efficiency, and website development. He has a B.S. in Computer Science from DeVry Institute of Technology.
    Tyrone Showers
    Technologist

    Refined search techniques yield targeted Google results. Here's a little Google search trick that can really help drill down to find what you want — use a minus sign (-) in front of words you want to leave out. So if you search for "pancakes -chocolate" you'll filter out results with chocolate. It's an easy way to cut through clutter and zoom in on more relevant stuff. Works like a charm!

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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    When I open Google Advanced Search in Opera, it opens in Russian. Why?
    Community Answer
    It could be your Google settings. Try changing your language settings to English.
  • Question
    Can an IP address be used to hack a system?
    Anonymous WikiHower
    Community Answer
    An IP address can not be directly used to hack a system but can be used to identify your target and run hacking tools. For example, to connect to a target system, you will want to use the IP to connect to the system. If you want to use NMAP to scan the target, you will need the IP address.
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      Tips

      • You can use search operators if you don't want to use the Advanced Search form.
        • Put the word or phrase in "quotation marks" to search for an exact match.
        • Use @ in front of a word to search a social media website (@twitter).
        • Use site: to search a specific site (best laptops site: https://www.amazon.com/ ).
        • Exclude words by putting a minus sign (-) in front of the word.
        • Use a hashtag (#) to search hashtags.
        • Combine searches by using OR (laptop OR tablet).
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      Expert Interview

      Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about search engines, check out our in-depth interview with Tyrone Showers .

      About This Article

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      Reader Success Stories

      • Regina Booth

        Sep 3, 2016

        "The Advance search was extremely helpful. I will be using this to help my students, as well as my own kids, to ..." more
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