Improve Your Search Experience

In addition to providing easy access to billions of web pages, Google has many special
features to help you to find exactly what you’re looking for. Some of our most popular
features are listed below.

• Everyday Essentials
• Reference Tools
• Choosing Keywords
• Local Search
• Health Search
• Trip Planning
• Query Refinements
• Search by Number

Everyday Essentials

• WeatherTo see the weather for many U.S. and worldwide cities, type “weather” followed by
  the city and state, U.S. zip code, or city and country.
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Stock Quotes

  
  To see current market data for a given company or fund, type the ticker symbol into
  the search box. On the results page, you can click the link to see more data from
  Google Finance.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Time

  
  To see the time in many cities around the world, type in “time” and the name of the
  city.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  Sports Scores

  
  To see scores and schedules for sports teams type the team name or league name into
  the search box. This is enabled for many leagues including the National Basketball
  Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, and Major League
  Baseball.
  
  All sports data provided by STATS LLC
  
  
  Example:
  
• Sunrise & SunsetTo see the precise times of sunrises and sunsets for many U.S. and worldwide
  cities, type “sunrise” or “sunset” followed by the city name.
  
  Example:
  

Reference Tools

• 
  

  Calculator

  
  To use Google’s built-in calculator function, simply enter the calculation you’d
  like done into the search box.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Book Search

  
  If you’re looking for results from Google Book Search, you can enter the name of
  the author or book title into the search box. Then, click on “Books” from the
  left-hand navigation to view book content. You can click through on the record to
  view more detailed info about that author or title.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  Earthquakes

  
  To see information about recent earthquakes in a specific area type “earthquake”
  followed by the city and state or U.S. zip code. For recent earthquake activity
  around the world simply type “earthquake” in the search box.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Unit Conversion

  
  You can use Google to convert between many different units of measurement of
  height, weight, and volume among many others. Just enter your desired conversion
  into the search box and we’ll do the rest.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  Public Data

  
  To see trends for population and unemployment rates of U.S. states and counties,
  type "population" or "unemployment rate" followed by a state or county. You can
  click through to a page that lets you compare different locations.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  People Profiles

  
  If you’re looking for someone you just met or a long-lost friend, enter the name of
  that person plus some identifying words about him or her to see a list of people
  with that name.
  
  
  Example:
  

Choosing Keywords

• 
  

  Synonym Search

  
  If you want to search not only for your search term but also for its synonyms,
  place the tilde sign (~) immediately in front of your search term.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Dictionary Definitions

  
  To see a definition for a word or phrase, simply type the word “define” then a
  space, then the word(s) you want defined. To see a list of different definitions
  from various online sources, you can type “define:” followed by a word or phrase.
  Note that the results will define the entire phrase.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  Spell Checker

  
  Google’s spell checking software automatically checks whether your query uses the
  most common spelling of a given word. If it thinks you’re likely to generate better
  results with an alternative spelling, it will ask “Did you mean: (more common
  spelling)?”. Click the suggested spelling to launch a Google search for that term.
  
  
  Example:
  

Local Search

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  Local Search

  
  If you’re looking for a store, restaurant, or other local business you can search
  for the category of business and the location and we’ll return results right on the
  page, along with a map, reviews, and contact information.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Movie Showtimes

  
  To find reviews and showtimes for movies playing near you, type “movies” or the
  name of a current film into the Google search box. If you’ve already saved your
  location on a previous search, the top search result will display showtimes for
  nearby theaters for the movie you've chosen.
  
  
  Example:
  

Health Search

• Health ConditionsTo see information about a common disease or symptom, enter it into the search box
  and we’ll return the beginning of an expert summary. You can click through to read
  the entire article.
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Medications

  
  To see information about most generic and brand name prescription drugs in the
  U.S., enter the drug name into the search box, and we’ll display a summary and
  description of that medication. You can click through links from the National
  Institutes of Health to get more information about side effects, how to take the
  medication, precautions, dietary instructions, and what to do if you miss a dose.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Poison Control

  
  You can quickly find the U.S. poison control hotline (1-800-222-1222) by entering
  “poison control” or similar phrases into the search box.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Suicide Prevention

  
  You can quickly find the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
  (1-800-273-8255) by entering "suicide prevention" or similar phrases into the
  search box.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Flu Vaccine Finder

  
  During flu season, search for “flu” to find tips on how to stay healthy from U.S.
  Health and Human Services and a flu shot locator which uses Google Maps to show you
  nearby locations offering seasonal and/or H1N1 flu vaccine.
  
  
  Example:
  

Back to top

Trip Planning

• 
  

  Flight Tracking

  
  To see flight status for arriving and departing U.S. flights, type in the name of
  the airline and the flight number into the search box.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  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.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  Currency Conversion

  
  To use our built-in currency converter, simply enter the conversion you’d like done
  into the Google search box and we’ll provide your answer directly on the results
  page.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  Maps

  
  Looking for a map? Type in the name or U.S. zip code of a location and the word
  “map” and we’ll return a map of that location. Clicking on the map will take you to
  a larger version on Google Maps.
  
  
  Example:
  

[box]Query Refinements[/box]

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  Plus (+) Operator

  
  Google ignores common words and characters such as where, the, how, and other
  digits and letters that slow down your search without improving the results. If a
  common word is essential to getting the results you want, you can make sure we pay
  attention to it by putting a “+” sign in front of it.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  Related Search

  
  To search for web pages that have similar content to a given site, type “related:”
  followed by the website address into the Google search box.
  
  
  Example:
  
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  Fill in the Blank

  
  Sometimes the best way to ask a question is to get Google to ‘fill in the blank’ by
  adding an asterisk (*) at the part of the sentence or question that you want
  finished into the Google search box.
  
  
  Example:
  

Search by Number

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  Package Tracking

  
  You can track packages by typing the tracking number for your UPS, Fedex or USPS
  package directly into the search box. We’ll return results that include quick links
  to easily track the status of your shipment.
  
  
  Example:
  
• 
  

  Patent Numbers

  
  To search for U.S. patents, enter the word “patent” followed by the patent number
  into the Google search box and hit the Enter key or click the Google Search button.
  
  
  Example:
  

•   File Type Search

Some Other Tips – Tricks

site: Search only a certain site.
allintitle: Search for your keywords only in the titles.
intitle: Search some of your keywords in titles.
allintext: Only searches body text.
intext: Searches whole site, but gives more weight on the body text.
allinurl: Search all keywords in URL only.
inurl: Searches whole site, but gives more weight on the URL.
date: Limit a search to a recent time frame.
daterange: Limit search to any time frame.
index: Search for file indexes.
info: Looks for one specific URL in the Google database.
safesearch: Search without the inclusion of adult content.