Use Operators in Google Search

I cringe a bit when I watch this video that I made in 2010 due to the voice, and my emphasis, but even more importantly, some of the information is no longer valid. Here’s a highlight of what’s different in using Search operators in Google now.

  • +word used to be a verbatim search where word had to exist on the page, but this was deprecated in 2011, and now it is a search for word on Google+ pages. You can still use “word” to do a verbatim search for either a word or a phrase.
  • ~ used to beĀ  a synonym search and is now used for nothing

The video is still valid from 1:04 to 3:53. The only curiosity is that a search of define:iron gives many more results than define iron, and I haven’t figured out why that is. Answers welcomed.

Operators covered in the video

  • OR
  • verbatim/phrase search
  • * wildcard search
  • define

If you’re doing a Google search, and need help with the operators, take a look at Advanced Search.

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