Exact Phrase
Enclose the phrase with double quotes so that Google will search for the exact matches of the phrase instead of treating it as 2 separate words.  You may also use the ‘+’ sign to join the words and let Google know you want an exact match.

“effective content writing”
effective+content

Page Cache
You can see Google’s cached version of a website or page by using ‘cache’ before the URL. Separate with a colon.

cache:http://writeffects.com
cache:http://writeffects.com/651/communication-is-a-skill

Site Links
If you want to know what pages Google has indexed on a specific site just use the ‘site’ modifier before the URL. Separate with a colon.

site:http://writeffects.com

Search Terms in a Specific Site
Even if the website does not have Google integrated into its search function, you can still find terms specifically for that site. This may make things easier for you if you just want to search for terms from that website alone.  Use the site modifier like the example above, but enclose your keyword or search term with quotes before it. Separate with a space.

“effective content” site:http://writeffects.com/

Know the Local Time
Wondering what time is it now in Los Angeles or Japan?  That’s easy with Google. Just append the word ‘time’ before the city or country of your choice and you will get a icon of a clock with the time of that place at the top of the search results.

time Los Angeles
time Japan

Simple Calculations
Yes Google can add, subtract, divide and multiply too!  Just enter the equation and get the result. It is best to separate the numbers and the operator with a space.

1 + 1
10 / 100

Search for a Document Type
Narrowing down the search results to a specific document type that has your term or phrase in it is possible.  Try the ‘filetype’ modifier followed by the file extension. Separate with a colon.

“Hello World” filetype:txt

Word Definitions
For a quick way to look up the definition of a word or phrase, use the ‘define’ modifier. Separate with a colon.

define:foobar

Exclude Words from Results
There are times that you want to narrow down the results by excluding a term or phrase. How do you do this?  Type in the term or phrase you are looking for the use the ‘-’ sign followed by the term or phrase that you want excluded. Don’t put a space after the ‘-’ sign.

effective content writing -write effects

Synonyms and Similar Words
To include synonyms or similar topics to the search results, use the ‘~’ sign before the search term.  Don’t put a space after the tilde sign or you will get different results.

~jokes
~better ~health

Using OR to include Either Terms
If you want either of your search terms to appear use OR.  Note that OR must be capitalized for it to work properly. You may also use the ‘|’ sign, also called a pipe, instead of the word OR.

quick brown OR Fox
effective content | writing

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4. Building Your Google Position