Personal organization – 10 Google shortcuts to find the right information faster

If you use Google to find answers to your questions, then the rest of this article will help you find relevant information even faster.

How? Using 10 shortcuts overlooked by most people.

1. Find the precise term

To find a specific term or phrase, use quotation marks for what you specifically want to find.

2. Look for two specific terms

If you want to search for two specific terms, use the word AND.

3. Search for a term or another term

Sometimes one term or the other will satisfy you. In this case, use the word OR.

4. Exclude a term

Ignore certain terms by using the “-” sign in front of the word you don’t want to see.

5. Replace a term

If you want to stimulate your creativity and be surprised by the Google search engine… while framing this one… use the asterisk *

6. Search for a term on a specific site

Are you on a website that you like, but it doesn’t have a search bar? Enter the site in the Google search bar, followed by:

7. Search for a file type

Are you looking for an image without a flat background (PNG format)? Elon Musk by any chance?

8. Search for a term before a date

Interesting to see the history of a site (or a competitor) before a certain date.

Note that for popular queries, the information may be biased by the official publication date of an article, which does not represent the actual date of the publication date of the article. For example, I can write an article today, and attribute it to August 15, 2010. It will be visible in searches before 2011 (even if the creation date is 2022).

9. Search for a term after a date

Useful to ignore all results before a certain date.

10. Convert a sum of money into another currency

Rather than having an application that converts amounts on your smartphone, you can simply use the search bar, for the equivalent of a currency.

BONUS 11. Find numbers between a minimum and a maximum

Convenient if you are looking for an occasion or have a specific budget.

Beyond manual research

To help you in your research, did you know that you can be informed of the publication of the term of your choice on the Net? Just go to the site Google-Alert. For example, you may be informed that your “first name + last name” is published and referenced on Google. Or if you are interested in a specific topic.

Good discoveries!

PS: These shortcuts are also used in a lot of software. This is the case of Workflowy.

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