How to Use Google Search Like a Pro: 9 Useful Techniques

Here’s however to usage Google hunt to find much applicable answers successful little time.

And if you’re wondering however radical get their tract to amusement successful Google’s hunt results, we’ll screen this astatine the end—so you tin bash that, too.

Let’s get into it.

1. Perform a Basic Search

Open your web browser and navigate to Google.

Then, participate your query into the hunt bar. It tin beryllium a word, phrase, oregon question. And marque your query arsenic circumstantial arsenic imaginable to get the astir applicable results. 

For example, if you privation Jamie Oliver’s look for citrus meringue pastry and not anyone else’s, Google “jamie oliver citrus meringue pastry recipe” alternatively of conscionable “lemon meringue pastry recipe.”

Whether you benignant your query successful uppercase oregon lowercase doesn’t matter. Google volition besides automatically hole immoderate spelling and grammar mistakes it recognizes.

As you commencement typing your query, you’ll spot a database of suggested searches:

Click immoderate of these suggestions to spot hunt results for them.

If the suggestions don’t lucifer what you person successful mind, capable retired the remainder of your query. Then, deed “Enter” oregon “return” connected your keyboard to presumption the results.

Here are a fewer alternate methods of moving a search:

Skip to the First Result

After typing your query, click the “I’m Feeling Lucky” fastener nether the hunt barroom to straight sojourn the archetypal hunt result. This tin beryllium utile for navigating to a circumstantial leafage oregon website.

For example, erstwhile you click the “I’m Feeling Lucky” fastener aft typing “semrush blog,” you’ll beryllium directed to Semrush’s blog. Instead of the query’s hunt motor results leafage (SERP).

Do a Voice Search

Speak your query alternatively of typing it. Which is convenient if your query is long, your hands are busy, oregon you aren’t definite of its spelling.

Here’s 1 mode to bash a Google hunt with your voice:

Click the microphone icon to the close of the hunt bar.

Enable microphone access if you haven’t already. After that, talk your query.

Google volition tally a hunt based connected your transcribed speech. 

If needed, edit the hunt query to adhd much discourse oregon close inaccurately transcribed words. Then, rerun the search.

Search from Your Browser’s Address Bar

It’s besides imaginable to hunt with Google from your browser’s code bar. So you don’t person to navigate to the Google homepage.

Here’s how:

First, marque Google your browser’s default hunt motor if it isn’t already:

• Set your default hunt motor successful Chrome
• Set your default hunt motor successful Firefox
• Set your default hunt motor successful Safari
• Set your default hunt motor successful Microsoft Edge

Then, benignant your query into your browser’s code bar. And property your keyboard’s “Enter” oregon “return” fastener to spot your query’s Google hunt results.

2. Review the Search Results

The SERP displays modular results (called integrated results) that are applicable to your query. Like this:

And you tin click immoderate effect to sojourn its associated page.

You’ll besides spot assorted SERP features (unique results that basal retired from integrated results) that tin assistance you find what you’re looking for quicker. They include:

Ads

Google ads are paid listings—meaning brands person paid wealth to amusement up connected the SERP. They person a “Sponsored” statement that differentiates them from integrated results.

AI Overviews

AI Overviews are Google’s AI-generated answers to hunt queries. They tin look astatine the apical of the SERP and supply searchers with a succinct reply to their query. 

Searchers tin past sojourn an AI Overview’s accusation sources to larn more.

Here’s one:

Featured Snippets

A featured snippet is simply a abbreviated reply to the hunt query that’s been extracted from a site. Like AI Overviews, they’re intended to rapidly assistance searchers find information.

Here’s 1 wherever Google took the reply from Wikipedia:

Featured snippets look supra the hunt results. But nether the AI Overview—if determination is one.

Knowledge Panels

A Google cognition panel is simply a conception that tin look connected the close of the SERP. It provides cardinal details astir a person, organization, oregon different entity you’re searching for. And includes links to the entity’s tract and societal profiles (if relevant).

For example, here’s New Balance’s cognition panel:

Google Business Profiles

A Google Business Profile is simply a directory listing containing accusation connected a business’s address, hours, interaction details, etc.

Google Business Profiles tin look erstwhile you probe businesses successful ways like:

• Searching for a circumstantial concern sanction (e.g., “van leeuwen”)
• Using a query that suggests you’re looking for 1 oregon much businesses (e.g., “ice pick adjacent me” oregon “where to bargain crystal cream”)

The Google Business Profile whitethorn besides show buttons for engaging with the business.

For instance, clicking the “Directions” fastener volition springiness you Google Maps directions for visiting it. Or, if you’re Googling from your mobile phone, calling the concern is arsenic casual arsenic hitting the “Call” button.

People Also Ask Boxes

The People Also Ask container appears for definite queries and contains questions related to them. To assistance you larn much astir the topic.

Click immoderate question to presumption its answer—and the tract that provided it—directly connected the SERP.

People Also Search For Sections

The People Also Search For conception appears for definite queries and displays related hunt queries. To animate your adjacent search.

For instance, if you Google “the bully place” (a TV show), the People Also Search For conception whitethorn suggest learning astir akin shows, circumstantial seasons, oregon its writers next.

Click immoderate suggested hunt to tally it.

Videos

Google whitethorn urge videos to ticker if you’re looking for thing that’s much easy explained successful video form. And those videos tin look successful the modular results arsenic good arsenic successful a dedicated “Videos” tab:

Click immoderate video effect to ticker it from the opening without leaving the SERP. 

Alternatively, if cardinal moments are available, click the “# cardinal moments successful this video” drop-down paper to skip to a conception you’re much funny in.

3. Refine Your Search

If you’ve tally a basal hunt and can’t find what you want, applying hunt settings volition assistance you refine your results.

Here are a fewer options:

Provide More Details

Use the taxable bubbles astatine the apical of the SERP to marque your query much precise.

For instance, the SERP for “chocolate covered strawberries” tends to amusement recipes for making these strawberries yourself. 

But if you’re looking to bargain this confection, click the “Where to buy” bubble.

Your hunt query volition alteration to “Where to bargain cocoa covered strawberries.” And the SERP volition amusement places that merchantability them instead.

See Only a Certain Type of Result

Click the applicable tabs nether the hunt barroom to spot lone results that are images, videos, quality articles, representation locations, books, and truthful on.

For example, if you privation to cognize what Stonehenge looks like, clicking the “Images” tab for the “stonehenge” SERP volition amusement you pictures of the landmark. So you don’t person to sift done irrelevant non-image results.

View Results wrong a Certain Time Period

Let’s accidental you privation to spot lone results published wrong a definite clip period. For example, wrong the past twelvemonth if you privation lone the latest news, information, oregon data.

Click “Tools” nether the hunt barroom and prime the “Any time” drop-down to prime your preferred day range.

Get Verbatim Results

View lone verbatim results that lucifer your query intimately (or adjacent exactly). To bash this, prime “Tools” nether the hunt bar. And spell to “All results” > “Verbatim.”

This is adjuvant if you privation to cognize however to hunt successful Google for thing that could easy beryllium mistaken for thing else. Like if you privation accusation connected a idiosyncratic named “Kevin Mayar” alternatively of French jock Kevin Mayer.

4. Get Direct Answers

Google tin straight supply answers connected the SERP for definite elemental queries. So you don’t person to sojourn immoderate sites to larn the answer.

For example, searching for “weather successful hong kong” volition amusement you the existent (and upcoming) upwind forecast for Hong Kong.

You tin besides find retired the:

• Current clip successful a peculiar place—e.g., by searching “time successful cairo”
• Meaning of a word—e.g., by searching “define lackadaisical” oregon “lackadaisical meaning”
• Amount of thing successful different portion of measurement—e.g., by searching “500 pounds successful kg”
• Latest banal prices—e.g., by searching “semr price”
• Latest sports scores—e.g., by searching “football scores” oregon “lakers scores”

5. Get Results successful a Certain Language and Region

Specify the connection and portion you privation hunt results from if these disagree from Google’s default settings for your region. This is adjuvant for viewing quality results from your location state portion vacationing abroad, for example.

Here’s however to bash this if you’re logged successful to Google:

Click your illustration icon astatine the apical close of the SERP and prime “Language.”

Then, set the “Results connection & region” settings.

Click the backmost arrow adjacent to the “Language & region” heading to instrumentality to the SERP. And presumption the updated results.

6. Use Search Operators

Google hunt operators are commands you tin adhd to your query to constrictive your search. And find much circumstantial information.

For example, you tin enclose a operation successful quotation marks to presumption results that incorporate it precisely (as opposed to broader results that look without quotation marks).

Here are a fewer different things you tin bash with hunt operators:

Search a Certain Site

Search for results from a circumstantial site by adding “site:[domain]” to your query.

This is useful successful situations similar checking whether a tract has already covered a taxable you privation to taxable a guest post about.

Alternatively, adhd “site:[domain subdirectory]” to constrictive your hunt to a definite tract subdirectory instead. Like “[domain]/blog” to hunt the site’s blog posts.

Search for Files

Add “filetype:[file format]” to your query to search for files successful that format. For example, if you’re looking for a probe insubstantial connected a definite taxable that’s successful PDF format.

You tin hunt for PDFs, Microsoft Word documents, CSV files, and more.

Exclude Results

Add a minus motion successful beforehand of what you don’t privation to spot successful the SERP. This tin be:

• Certain words if the taxable of your query could easy beryllium mistaken for thing else
• A domain you don’t privation results from, similar your ain if you’re monitoring online sentiment toward your brand

Add “-[word]” to get results without this word:

And adhd “-site:[domain]” to spot results that aren’t from a peculiar site.

Search for Pages with a Certain Title

Add “intitle: [keyword]” to get pages with definite keywords successful their titles. Like pages whose titles see the connection “resources” if you’re searching for assets pages to build backlinks from.

After discovering sites to interaction for backlinks, adhd them to the Link Building Tool to support way of them.

Use the “+ Add” fastener nether “Uploaded” to adhd these sites.

Next, click the “To In Progress” fastener astatine the apical of the database to determination them to the tool’s “In Progress” tab.

Then, spell to the “In Progress” tab to commencement emailing the sites’ owners directly.

7. Perform an Advanced Search

An precocious hunt combines aggregate hunt operators. But allows you to use them without having to retrieve the applicable operators.

For instance, you tin hunt for pages that incorporate definite words but exclude others—while being successful a circumstantial connection and record type.

Here’s however to bash an precocious hunt with Google:

On the Google SERP, click “Tools” nether the hunt barroom and take the “Advanced Search” option.

Fill retired the precocious hunt settings based connected what you’re looking for, and past click “Advanced Search” to presumption the results.

8. Search Using an Image

Searching the web with an representation alternatively of substance (i.e., reverse representation search) comes successful useful if you aren’t definite however to picture what you privation to search.

Here’s 1 mode to Google thing with an image:

First, prime the camera icon to the close of the hunt bar.

Provide Google with your representation by uploading it oregon dragging it into the upload box. Or, paste the image’s nexus and click “Search.”

Google volition instrumentality images akin to yours. And accusation connected the object(s) successful it.

9. Use Google for More Than Search

Google isn’t conscionable a hunt engine. It besides functions arsenic galore antithetic tools.

Here are a fewer examples:

Calculator

Do a Google hunt for calculations involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and/or part to get the answer. Which comes successful useful erstwhile you privation to rapidly crunch numbers without utilizing a abstracted app oregon tool.

If your calculation is complex, hunt for “calculator” to usage Google’s technological calculator.

Timer

Setting a timer successful Google is adjuvant successful situations similar cooking your nutrient for the close duration.

You tin bash this by searching for “timer [duration].” The timer volition commencement counting down the infinitesimal the leafage afloat loads. But you tin click the reset fastener to commencement the timer manually.

Metronome

Google “metronome” to get a metronome for practicing euphony connected the go.

Use the slider to set the tempo. And click the play fastener to commencement the metronome.

Bubble Level

Google’s level instrumentality lets you usage your mobile instrumentality to cheque astir however level a aboveground is. Like making definite you’ve laid your level tiles evenly. Or that your partition photograph frames are straight.

Google “bubble level” oregon “spirit level” connected your mobile device. And pat “Touch to activate” aft that.

Allow Google to usage your device’s question and predisposition sensors if it doesn’t already person access. Then, spot your instrumentality against the aboveground you privation to check.

Games

Google offers a fewer single-player games (including Pac-Man, tic-tac-toe, Minesweeper, and Solitaire) for free.

Just Google the game’s sanction to commencement playing.

Take Your Search Knowledge Further

Knowing however to usage Google’s hunt motor helps you find the accusation you’re looking for faster. But if you privation to assistance others find your pages connected Google, you’ll request to cognize hunt motor optimization (SEO).

This is simply a integer selling subject that involves:

• Creating contented for hunt queries that are applicable to your brand
• Getting others to nexus to your content—which tin awesome it’s worthy of higher hunt rankings
• Improving your tract operation truthful hunt engines tin amended recognize and fertile your content

To get started, usage Semrush’s Domain Overview to audit your site’s existent hunt postulation volume, apical hunt terms, and show against competing sites. So you tin determine what to enactment connected first.

Try Domain Overview for escaped by signing up for a Semrush account.