Google more efficiently.

We all can Google, but do we really Google efficiently?
Probably not. I've collected some tricks from various sites on the net.

 PART I:

1. Explicit search:
   
   Searching for an exact phrase (explicit) can be done by encapsulate the phrase with double quotes
   
   Example: searching for this blog with the exact title:
    
   

   "Search more efficiently with Google"

2. Similar search:
   
   When you don't know the exact phrase or word for what you are looking for, you can ask Google to use synonyms of a particular word. Lets say you are looking for manuals of something. but it might be listed under guides, tutorials and so on. You can tell Google to use all of the synonyms by using the tilde symbol "~" in front manual.
   
   Example: Looking for a manual for Ubuntu:
   

   Ubuntu ~manual

   
   This search will give results for Ubuntu tutorials, manuals, guides, documentations, instructions........
   
    
3. Using OR statement:
   
   When using the OR statement Google will give you the search result of both words.
   
   Example: Search for Milk OR Coffee.
   
   

   Milk OR Coffee
   

4. Excluding a Word or Phrase:
   
   You can exclude things from your search result,
   by using the Minus symbol "-" .
   
   Example: Search for rock music but not including Metallica

   rock music -Metallica

5. Site Search:
   
   If you want to search on a particular site only, you can use the "site:" feature. (comes in handy for sites that don't have their own search feature)
   
   Example: search for dongle in wikipedia only.
   
   

   dongle site:wikipedia.org

6. Search for a result in a specific file type:
   
   You can  search the net for results in a specific file type, like PDF, DOC,....
   
   Example: search for PDF-files about shoes
   
   

   shoes filetype:pdf

7. Exclude a site from the search:
   
   if you use the minus and the site: in a search together it will exclude the site in your search.
   
   Example: Searching for dongle in all sites except wikipedia.
   
   

   dongle -site:wikipedia.org

8. Search Page Titles rather than the meta data:
   
   Some websites will list any kind of meta-data in their websites to achieve a higher search ranking. This can be very annoying as their sites are nothing of what you were looking for. This is unfortunate but reality. You can't by-pass abuse, but sometimes searching in the content titles, gives a more correct search result.
   
   Example: search blog items with "wild rose" in the title.
   
   
   

   intitle: wild rose    or
   
   intitle: "wild rose" if you want the exact phrase.

   
   NOTE: combinations of the different search techniques are valid.
9. Search in URL (Uniform Resource Locator or simply what we know as a web-addresses):
   
   Similar to searching in titles, you can ask the Google search engine to search in the URL's only.
   
   Example: search the net for info where the web-address (url) contains the name "Hortons"
   
   

   inurl:Hortons

10. Find related websites:
    
    If you some great articles about a subject, you can easily find related content.
    
    Example: find related content for "Hockey"
    
    
    

    related:Hockey

11. Wild Card Search:
    
    If you can't remember the exact phrase or words, you can replace it with a wild card " * " (asterisk ) Google will try to figure out what options are available that could fit the wild card.
    
    Example: you know only a part of a saying, search for complete phrase and or variations of it:
    
    
    

    my home is where my *

12. Word definitions:
    
    Google can also work as a dictionary, you can use the "define" option to explain words.
    
    Example: lets say you don't know what "windmill" means.
    
    
    

    define:windmill

PART II: 

Google can do more than just searching for content, you can give it direct tasks like, asking for the time, calculate, convert units, search for movies, phone listings etc... 

1. World clock:
   
   To find the current time in a city, just type time and the name of city
   
   

   time Dubai

2. Calculator:
   
   Instead of using the calculator in your computer, you can simply write the expression in Google.
   
   

   2 (sin30 + 3cos60)  [equal as 2 x (sin(30) + 3 x cos(60)) ]

3. Currency conversion:
   
   Google can do up-to-date currency exchange calculations by simply writing what u want.
   
   
   

   1 CAD to USD

4. Unit conversion:
   
   Similar to currency conversion, google can also do unit conversion by simply writing out what you want.
   
   
   

   1 acre to sq meters

5. Area code look up:
   
   You can simply type an area code and see where it belongs to:
   
   
   

   416  or   area code 416 

   
   note: wont work for all countries (USA and Canada seems okay)
6. Phone listing:
   
   Google will search for phone numbers, simply type:
   
   
   

   phonebook:458-2585625

   
   note: works decent in USA
7. Weather information:
   
   Google can easily check the current weather condition in pretty much any city in the world.
   
   
   

   weather Las Vegas

8. Flight information:
   
   You can ask Google for the latest flight information by just typing the Air carrier name and flight number:
   
   
   

   Westjet 586

9. Stock information:
   
   Google gives you recent stock information by typing the stock name
   
   
   

   GOOG

10. Maps and locations:
    
    You can go to Google maps of course, but you don't have to. You can just type the map command followed by  the location.
    
    
    maps: 130 young street, Toronto
11. access cached information of unavailable/blocked sites:
    
    Sometimes websites might be down, or has been temporary blocked. You can ask Google to pull up a cached version of it. Simply write cache: followed by the URL.
    
    
    cache:http://www.starbucks.com/

If you know of more tricks, please share them with me, so I can add them to complete this list.