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Advanced Search Tips
You can
increase the accuracy of your searches by adding operators that
fine-tune your keywords. Most of the options listed on this
page can be entered directly into the Google search box or selected
from Google's Advanced Search page.
"
+ " Searches
Google
ignores common words and characters such as "where" and "how",
as well as certain single digits and single letters, because they
tend to slow down your search without improving the results. Google
will indicate if a common word has been excluded by displaying details
on the results page below the search box.
If a
common word is essential to getting the results you want, you can
include it
by putting a "+" sign in front of it. (Be
sure to include a space before the "+" sign.)
Another
method for doing this is conducting a phrase search, which simply
means
putting quotation marks around 2 or more words. Common
words in a phrase search (e.g., "where are you") are included
in the search. |
Phrase Searches
Search
for complete phrases by enclosing them in quotation marks.
Words enclosed in double quotes ("like this") will
appear together in all results exactly as you have entered them.
Phrase
searches are especially useful when searching for famous
sayings or proper names.
" OR" Searches
Google
supports the logical "OR" operator. To retrieve pages
that include either word A or word B, use an uppercase
OR between terms.
" - " Searches
Sometimes what you're searching for has more than one meaning; "bass" can
refer to fishing or music. You can exclude a word from your search by putting
a minus sign ("-") immediately in front of the term you want to avoid.
(Be sure to include a space before the minus sign.)
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