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Archive for October 17, 2011

Improve the Search Experience


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

  • Weather

    To 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: weather San Francisco, CA

  • 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: CSCO

  • Time

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

    Example: time London

  • 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: san francisco 49ers

  • Sunrise & Sunset

    To 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: sunrise New Orleans

Reference Tools

  • Calculator

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

    Example: 5*9+(sqrt 10)^3=

  • 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: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  • 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: earthquake

  • 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: 10.5 cm in inches

  • 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: population FL

  • 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: jon wiley

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: ~fast food

  • 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: Define philosophy

  • 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: expolsion

  • Local Search

    • 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: Italian food 02138

    • 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:  movies 94705

    Health Search

    • Health Conditions

      To 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: asthma

    • 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: Ambien

    • 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: poison control

    • 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: suicide prevention

    • 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: flu

    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: american airlines 18

    • 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: flights from denver to chicago

    • 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: 150 INR in USD

    • 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: Seattle map

    Query Refinements

    • 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: peanut butter +and jelly

    • 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:  Isaac Newton discovered *

    Search by Number

    • 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:  1Z9999W99999999999

    • 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: Patent 5123123

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