Google Operands

Finding what you want in Google is the hard part. I’m going to go over the basic Operands to do an advanced search. An Operand is an Operator that works with words like Operators work on numbers logically. For example 2 + 2 = 4; if you type in 2 + 2 in a Google Search; it will tell you, 2 + 2 = 4. Now lets get started.


  1. AND +
    “AND” or “+” allows you to link words you want included in the search results.
    Example: apples AND oranges or apples +oranges
    Note: the “AND” must be in caps and there is no space after the “+”.
  2. OR or |
    To search for either word. Example: apples OR oranges or apples | oranges
    Note: the “OR” must be in caps and there is a space after the “|”.
  3. ” “
    To search for exact words put them in a quotation.
    Example: “Apples are Red, Oranges are Orange”

  4. To exclude words in a search use a -.
    Example: apples -oranges or apples -”oranges are Orange”
    Note: there is no space after the “-”
  5. *
    Wildcard: The asterisk represents a missing word, use it to let Google fill in any potential word.
    Example: “apples are red * are orange”
  6. ~
    Put a tilde directly in front of a word to search for all synonyms of it.
    Example: ~create
  7. ..
    To find a range of numbers or dates use a “..”
    Example: wars from 1960..2008
    Note: no spaces between the numbers or the dots.

You can Narrow your Search to a URL or more specific site.

  1. site:
    To Search within specific site.
    Example: site:vetshelpcenter.com “Vets Help”
  2. cache:
    Cache is normally an old page, so if the page has changed you can still search the Cache for it, if its still in the Google Cache.
    Example: cache:http://cnn.com
  3. inurl:
    To search for a word in a URL. You can define several terms and combine them with any other operator.
    You add an “all” in front of either of these operators, all given terms will be in the search.
    Example: inurl:vetshelpcenter.com war -peace OR allinurl:vetshelpcenter war peace
    Note that these are not the same as the site: operator. The in… operators will search all sites containing the given terms.
  4. intitle:
    To search for a word in a Title. You can define several terms and combine them with any other operator.
    You add an “all” in front of either of these operators, all given terms will be in the search.
    Example: intitle:vetshelpcenter.com war -peace OR allintitle:vetshelpcenter google war peace
    Note that these are not the same as the site: operator. The in… operators will search all sites containing the given terms.
  5. intext:
    To search for a word in text. You can define several terms and combine them with any other operator.
    You add an “all” in front of either of these operators, all given terms will be in the search.
    Example: intext:vetshelpcenter.com war -peace OR allintext:vetshelpcenter war peace
    Note that these are not the same as the site: operator. The in… operators will search all sites containing the given terms.
  6. inanchor:
    To search for a word in an Anchor. You can define several terms and combine them with any other operator.
    You add an “all” in front of either of these operators, all given terms will be in the search.
    Example: inanchor:vetshelpcenter.com war -peace OR allinanchor:vetshelpcenter war peace
    Note that these are not the same as the site: operator. The in… operators will search all sites containing the given terms.
  7. link:
    To find pages that link to a URL.
    Example: link:vetshelpcenter.com
  8. define:
    To search for definitions.
    Example: define:vet
    You will get: veteran: a person who has served in the armed forces
  9. related:
    If you want more search for Vets you could use this to find related sites Example: related:http://vets.com
  10. info:
    Get all the information Google has on a specific website in one search. That is links to Google Cache, similar pages, and more.
    Example: info:vetshelpcenter.com
  11. filetype:
    To search for one type of file. Works with pdf, ppt and doc.
    Example: filetype:pdf “apples and oranges”
  12. music:
    A search with this operator will bring back artist, album and song information. The results are not always complete, so be careful.
    Example: music:john lennon
  13. movies:
    To search for where a movie is playing.
    Example: movie:water world You can also use set the ZIP Code to look in your area.
  14. Q&A
    Google Q&A applies an AI engine to find answers to simple questions.
    Example: What is the population of Iraq?

Need a Simple Calculation?

  1. +, -, * or /
    For simple calculation for equations use the symbols for plus (+), minus (-), multiply (*), and divide (/). Use (brackets) to define which calculations shall be done first. Example: (5 + 2) /5 *10 = 14
  2. % of
    Example: 50% of 1000 = 500
  3. ^ OR **
    Operator to raise a number to the power of another. Example: 10^2 will raise 10 to the 2nd power = 100.
  4. sqrt()
    Square root of sqrt(16) = 4
  5. sin()
    SIGN of sin(7)
  6. cos()
    CO-SIGN cos(7)
  7. tan()
    Tangent tan(7)
  8. ln
    ln logarithm base e
  9. log
    log logarithm base 10
  10. lg
    lg logarithm base 2
  11. !factorial

Other useful things to know:

  1. currencies
    Example: 1 Euro in USD
  2. weight
    Example: 1kg in lb
  3. length
    Example: 1 cm in inches
  4. volume
  5. time
    Example: time sydney
  6. weather
    Example: weather sydney
  7. the answer to life, the universe, and everything
    Which we know from the Movie The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the Matrix: is 42.
  8. Earth Quake
  9. Stock Market Quote
  10. Package Tracking
  11. Patent Numbers
  12. Area Code
  13. Maps

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