Save time wading through millions of Google search results, get focused results and use Google search as a tool with these search secrets:
1. Use quotation marks to search for the exact phrase “co-op board rejection” (strangely, a splog ranks higher than our original post Madonna Sues Her New York Co-op Board)
2. Use the pipe (|) for an either/or search (or use the word “or”): fsbo|by owner.
3. Use two periods (..) to find information within a number range, including years: worst housing markets 1980..2006.
4. Use a minus sign (-) to exclude search results: worst housing markets 1980..2006 -best. (since the search without the minus sign usually includes best and worst, use the minus sign if you only want the bad news)
5. Find similar terms with the tilde (~): ~cheap homes. You get auctions, foreclosures, etc.
6. Use the wildcard star (*) if you don’t know the missing word: a man’s home is his *.
7. Get a list of definitions with “define:” define:foreclosure.
8. Use Google as a calculator (good for figuring a commission): 548,000 x6%.
9. To search a term in a particular blog or website use “site:”. Useful if a website or blog doesn’t have a search box: site:blog.sellsiusrealestate.com zillow. (Dang, 960 Zillow posts. We must have a crush on Zillow.)
10. Type in the area code to find out the city: 646.
11. The space and minus sign ( -). This eliminates duplicate search results. Google will ignore all search results that contain a phrase or word you put in quotes. Find a unique word or phrase that always appears in repetitive results. Let’s say you’re searching a company and keep seeing their Press Release that says “Announcing”. Just type the company name (space) -”Announcing” and you just weeded out all those repetitive PRs from your search results. Note: If you forget the space, Google gets you back and gives you ONLY those repetitive results.
12. The hyphen (-). Pulls results for terms that have spelling variations. Example: left-handed pulls left-handed, left handed and lefthanded. (Yes, the minus sign and hyphen are one and the same.)
13. The pole (l). (It’s above the backslash) Serves as an OR. Good for first name, last name searches. Example: Frank Zappa | Zappa Frank. [If you added the hyphen (-), you’d find Frank Zappa, Zappa Frank, FrankZappa & ZappaFrank.]
14. Time & Weather. Time Hong Kong gives you the time in Hong Kong. Weather Hong Kong (or weather zip code) gives you the weather.
15. Local Movie times. Type the movie and your city or zip code: I am Legend 10022.
16. Track FedEx, USPS & UPS packages: skip the log in and just type in the tracking number.
17. Flight information: Delta flight 2456.
18. Comparisons: type in quotes: “better than___”, “worse than___”, or ” ___ sucks” (for bad reviews). “better than ipod”.
19. Reverse lookup. Type in a phone number and Google gives you the address and/or identity of the owner.
20. Conversion tool for currency and weights and measures. 100 US dollars in British Pounds. Square feet in an acre. Ounces in 5 pounds. Even time: days in 5 years.
21. Search for pdfs, Word docs or Excel spreadsheet: after the search term type filetype:pdf (“real estate commission” filetype:pdf )
22. Highlight search terms in a search result: Click “cache” in a search result and Google will highlight your search terms in that result.
Technorati Tags: google, search, search tips
This is a really good list. What a time saver. Bookmarked! Thanks.
Really useful information, guys!
Thanks!
Just doing our part to spread the good tools of the internet.
Much appreciated — thanks.
great list, thanks.
Mary
http://groups.google.com/group/real-estate-web-design?hl=en
Holy cow. GOOGLE is scary yet awesome.
Great post. This is perfect for those that spend too much time figuring out exactly what to put in the search bar.
Have a good one.
Google doesn’t do reverse phone number lookup. I’ve typed in phone numbers that call me and don’t leave messages. It’s a good way to find out if the number is a spammer, because people will btch about it on the web. But Google doesn’t do any reverse lookup for you.
Dave,
Try typing in your own telephone number.
This is really great advice. Thank you.
Very Informative and Helpful List
Very cool stuff. About phones- Google finds them, if they are in the public domain: websites, blogs, published articles, etc. If it’s a private unpublished #, I am not sure -couldn’t find mine:)Thanks for the tips.