Google is a powerful search engine. But the results list can be endlessly long and at page 3 you still haven't found what you were looking for. These tips and tricks will help you specify a better search question.

• Use unique, specific terms (keywords, not sentences). E.g. search for headache instead of my head hurts
• Make use of the auto-complete function. Interesting suggestions can help you narrow your search. Start typing Ghent University and get suggestions like Ghent University library, Ghent University hospital, Ghent University logo
• Use double quotes (“”) to search for an exact phrase.
  "what does Ghent University stand for"
• Use "OR" (in capitals!) or "|" to search for several terms.
  Jon OR Jonathan Tennant or Jon | Jonathan Tennant
• Some input is neglected in a search, like interpunction, meaningless words. If you want to include them, use single quotes (' ').
  'de' garage gent
• Use an asterisk (*) to complete a phrase with an unknown word.
  "Winston * Churchill"
  "a bird in the hand is worth * in the bush"
• Include synonyms to broaden your search question using the tilde (~).
  healthy ~dinner will also return healthy choices, healthy eating, healthy recipes
• Limit your search to a certain number range (also time span) by insertion of two dots (..).
  Charles 1500..1599
  samsung phone €200..400
• Search in a particular website with "site:".
  site:eoswetenschap.eu darwin
• Exclude terms using a dash (-).
  -site:wikipedia.org to avoid results from Wikipedia
• Only search the term in the title: "intitle:" for one word, "allintitle:" for several words.  Alternatively, to find words in the text you can use "intext:"
  intitle:beer
  allintitle:beer contest
• Find related websites to the one you already know.
  related:eoswetenschap.eu
• Convert measurements in no time.
  16 lb to kg
• Search for content by a certain author: "allinpostauthor:".
  allinpostauthor:jon tennant
• Check out who is linking to a page using "link:". This helps you assess the quality, the validity of a website.
  link:http://eosmagazine.eu
• Search in the website you have found: push the buttons "Ctrl" and "f" (find) at the same time and a search box will open
• Try using Google's advanced search: google.com/advanced_search

Want to find out more? Check out these sources: