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Search tips and tools

Google search tools

Here is a list of some of the tools you can use to search Google more effectively.
Tool	Command	Example
""	Phrase searching Use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase.	"global warming" "renewable energy targets"
-	Exclude words Put a minus sign in front of the term you want excluded from a search.	bullying -cyber Find items on bullying but not cyber bullying.
*	Whole word wildcard Searches for a missing word or phrase in a search.	child* = children, childhood
..	Range search number..number will search for a range of numbers.	laptop $500..$1000 Find laptops priced between $500 and $1000.
OR	Multiple words To search for web pages that include either word. OR must be in uppercase.	Olympic games 2012 OR 2016 Find pages on Olympic games held in either 2012 or in 2016.
~	Similar words Using the tilde symbol will search for a word and its synonyms.	~mobile phone will also search for cell phone. ~family violence will also search for domestic violence.
Site:	Site or domain specific The search is only for certain websites.	"cyber bullying" site:edu.au Search for cyber bullying only Australian education sites. site:gov.au Search only Australian government sites.
Site:	Search within one website	accessibility site:visionaustralia.org Search the Vision Australia website for any material on accessibility.
define	Find meanings or definitions This command may be used with or without the colon. Define restrict results to the definition. Define: will show definitions and also find related relevant pages.	define physiotherapy - will show definitions. define:plagiarism Use the colon after define will show definitions and related pages.
allintitle:	Web page title Search results will include all of your search terms in the title of the web page.	allintitle:ethics values business Pages with all three words in the title will be in the search result.
intitle:	Search in title Search for a single word or phrase in the title of the search result.	centrelink intitle:debt Find information on the Centrelink debt issue.
filetype:	Search file type Search for a specific file type such as pdf or spreadsheet.	wound care filetype:pdf Find documents on wound care in a pdf format.

Google advanced search

Advanced search function
Some of these search features are built into Google's advanced search function.

Country domains

Country domains in urls
Each country has a specific web domain - Australia is .au. The full list of country web domains will help you see the country of origin of websites. Be careful when looking for laws, statistics, and policies to ensure you have data for the right country.