Developed by Pierce College Library, this short video provides search tips that will give you better Google results.
Google - Advanced Search allows you to refine your search terms:
Here are some of the advanced search features available in the Google search engine. Using these can help you to improve the relevancy of your search results. Each example below has a live link that will demonstrate the search in Google.
" "
|
Use these to search for a phrase or an exact word match (not synonyms) |
| Examples: | |
| "marcellus shale" | |
| "metabolic syndrome" "college students" | |
| "grammy award winners" 2014 | |
site: |
Searches within a specific domain or website. Keep in mind that anyone can register and post information on a .com, .net, .org domain. Sites that end in a .gov, .edu, or .mil have specific registration requirements, so websites on those domains are more controlled. |
| Examples: | |
| climate change site:edu | |
| atlanta snow storm 2014 site:gov | |
| site:cnn.com california drought | |
| statistics population Pennsylvania site:gov OR site:edu | |
intitle/
|
Finds results that have a specific word in the page title. Use allintitle to search for multiple words in the page title. |
| Examples: | |
| intitle:elvis | |
| intitle:statistics intitle:air intitle:pollution |
|
| allintitle:air pollution statistics |
|
| allintitle:elvis nixon site:gov | |
filetype: |
Find specific types of files like PDF, Word, or PowerPoint documents. |
| Examples: | |
| "minimum wage" filetype:pdf | |
| "medical marijuana" filetype:ppt | |
| NSA "domestic spying" filetype:pdf OR filetype:doc | |
inanchor/
|
Finds results that have a specific word as a hyperlink. Use allinanchor to find multiple words within a hyperlink. |
| Examples: | |
| inanchor:influenza statistics | |
| allinanchor:national park lodge | |
- (minus sign) |
Place a minus sign in front of a search word to get results that do not include that word. |
| Examples: | |
| "federal reserve" -greenspan | |
| "hillary clinton" -"bill clinton" | |
| "domestic drones" -site:gov | |
AROUND (#) |
This searches for words that are close together in a sentence or paragraph. To use it, place AROUND (#) between search words and put a number in place of #. Make sure AROUND is all caps and that there is a space after it. |
| Examples: | |
| heroin AROUND (2) pennsylvania | |
| heroin AROUND (5) "western pennsylvania" | |
| "chemical weapons" AROUND (4) syria site:gov | |