Freelance Writing: Simple Tips on Complicated TopicsSteps to Use Google Like a Boss for Online Writers

GoogleYou will probably agree that online research is an important part of your online writer’s job. Actually, you spend at least half of your working hours digging through the net to discover some gem facts. That’s why the following simple tricks can come in handy. It’s high time to start using Google like a boss, getting maximum from your search.

10 Tricks for Using Google You Can Be Missing

To become a more productive online writer and find the information way faster, you may take these simple steps:

  1. Use quotation marks to receive an exact match. For example, you can search for “to be or not to be” exact matches.
  2. Use an asterisk within quotes to denote variable words. If you’re not sure what word to search for or you just want to see all possible variants, use “*”. E.g. “Shakespeare’s play *”
  3. Use the minus sign to exclude results with certain words. E.g. -genuine leather bag.
  4. Use DEFINE to get definitions of any word you may need. To get the meaning of a certain word, simply add DEFINE before your search term. E.g. DEFINE anthropogenesis.
  5. Ask natural questions, such as ‘How far is it to New York’, for instance. Now Google is smart enough to understand natural speech.
  6. Use ‘site:’ or ‘inurl:’ to limit search to a certain site type, domain or even a certain page instead of entire Google index.
  7. Use ‘filetype:’ to search for a certain kind of files, such as xls or pdf, for example.
  8. Select ‘cached’ to access a site even if something goes wrong and it’s unreachable at the moment. You will be able to see the saved copy of what the pages looked like before.
  9. Search for synonyms, using the tilde sign “~”.
  10. Find images you can use, selecting ‘not filtered by license’ at images.google.com.

5 Amazing Operators Just for Fun

The following tricks have no great practical value for online writers. However, it can be a great option for relaxation, without leaving the Google search page during your break:

  • Search for ‘do a barrel roll’ without quotations marks. And hold your breath, as you can even get a little nauseous.
  • Try searching for ‘recursion’ and see how Google reacts.
  • Search for ‘Zerg Rush’ and prepare to protect your search results from the hungry Os that will trying to eat everything on their way.
  • Search for the word ‘kerning’ and enjoy the results with adjusted spacing.
  • Search for ‘gravity’ and click ‘I’m feeling lucky’, but don’t be afraid of the search results crashing.

Would you like to add anything to this list of Google’s hidden or not so hidden tricks? What do you usually use to succeed as an online writer?

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