7 Google search tips you should be using

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Google is a very familiar tool to Internet marketers and online shoppers/searchers alike. But there are some things you can do with it that might have escaped your attention. I know I was not aware of many of the search parameters that are built in for the user's convenience. Here are a few that I find particularly useful. You can find a full list at google.com/help/features.html.

Remember that these should be typed into the Google search bar, not the address bar of your browser where you type in URLs such as http://skipthescams.com. Most browsers have a search bar built in (or you can install an add-on) so that it's easy to use these features right from wherever you are. If you don't want to leave the page you're on, you could just keep a second tab or window open to the Google home page.

Time

Need to know what time it is in another part of the world? Just type "time" and the city or country in question.

time Madrid
or
time Australia

If, like in Australia, there are several time zones, it will show a list of cities with their respective times. As an interesting side note, I didn't realize that Australia had "half-hour" zones. When it's 8:00 in Perth on the west and 11:00 in Sydney on the east, it's 9:35 in Darwin in the middle. Hmm.

Calculator

When I'm comfy on the couch working on my laptop, I don't want to get up to get the calculator when I need to add or multiply something. (It's not easy to get up from the couch these days.) Fortunately, I can just type the calculation into the Google search bar.

1,492.93 + 3,697.01 + 4,822.60=
or
60*4/2=
(60 times 4 divided by 2)

Unit conversions

This one is really cool. How many of us know how to convert inches to centimeters or liters to quarts or yen to dollars? Me either. So type what you need to know into the search bar like this:

4 quarts in liters
or
80 dollars to yen

Note you can use the word "in" or "to" between the units. Very handy.

Definitions

There are lots of dictionary sites where you can type in a word and get the definition. But you can save time by simply typing "define" and the word into Google.

define astute
or
define habeas corpus

Usually before you even have to hit enter, the definition pops up.

Movie showtimes

Just type in the word "movies"—or the name of a current movie you're interested in seeing—and your zip code.

movies 54401
or
dear john 48197

It will return showtimes at theaters near you. Husbands/boyfriends, get off this computer for a while and take your lovely wife/girlfriend to a movie! And I mean a movie she will enjoy. (I believe real men are not afraid to watch a chick flick in public.)

Airline information

You can find the status of a flight by typing the name of the airline and the flight number.

Delta 25

Find information on delays at a specific airport by entering the city name or three-letter airport code and "airport."

JFK airport

If you're on board a plane with Internet access and the captain isn't too forthcoming with information about whether you're on schedule, I suppose you could type in your own flight number and get the scoop that way, although I haven't tried it myself.

Package tracking

Simply input your tracking number, and that's it.

1Z9999X7777888888999

How does it do this? When you type a number into Google, it checks to see if it has a recognizable pattern, such as for tracking numbers, zip codes, area codes, VIN numbers, and more. Pretty cool.

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So there you go! There's a lot more information available in Google's help center to help you put the world's most popular search engine to work for you. Check out http://www.google.com/support.

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