Google as a search engine is a very powerful tool which can help even those who are completely lost. For professionals, however, time is money and every second or minute spent on extra search time is a minute wasted. In order to avoid that, there are specific things you can do while using Google to improve your searches and find the results you need quicker.

Here are some of the shortcuts you should really know about and which you should use on a daily basis. Google smarter.

Using Quotation Marks to Find Exact Phrases

If you put your words or phrases in quotation marks, Google will display only those results which contain those phrases, in exact order. Be careful, though, as using this will eliminate a lot of results, so this is meant for those who know exactly what they are looking for and want to find it immediately, eliminating all the sponsored and general results. It is a powerful way of finding lyrics and quotes.

Use an Asterisk to Find Variable Words

When using quotation marks you can find exact phrases. If you add an asterisk within those quotation marks, you can tell the engine that some words within the quotation marks might be variable. That’s extremely helpful for lyrics or quotes, once again.

Use Define

If you type define and then the name of a certain word, you will get its definition. This helps when you’re working with foreign or unknown words and is an especially valuable resource for all writers.

Use Minus to Exclude Results

You can use the minus sign to exclude any words or phrases from your search results. This helps if you want to find something that usually goes with something else and the other thing is just in your way. Excluding it can find you a more specific result.

Use Site to Search a Site

If you type in a specific term, then add site: and the site’s address, you can search that site for that specific term, keyword or anything else. This is helpful when browsing forums and if you don’t want to deal with their own search engines, or use a login feature which some of them require.

Use VS to Compare Food

If you’re interested in nutrition, you can use vs between two types of food and find their nutritional differences. They are displayed head to head, with nutritional facts sorted top to bottom.

These advanced search options can help you use Google more efficiently. Every time you want to find something, especially something very specific, you can use these options to be faster or more precise, just like the professionals are.