As Google quotes, its ‘mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’ And to a great extent, they have managed to stand by their promise. There is no doubt that Google has made the world wide web a fun place to be in with its many user-friendly apps and features. But its search engine is what stands out the most with its accuracy and spontaneity. Google’s search engine is the easiest and most preferred way of finding something on the web. And it has so many features and shortcuts to make it even easier, more accurate and a lot more fun. We have listed some of the top Google tricks which will certainly help you search with Google quickly and efficiently.

1. Using the Google advanced Search:
You can make a very refined search on Google using its advanced search option. The majority of the shortcuts we are going to learn below can be used in the advanced search option in case you forget any of their syntax. You can try it here:
Google Advanced Search
Google’s Advanced Image Search

2. Get the definition of any term:
Use the following syntax to get the dictionary meaning of any word:
define: <word>
or you can simply use:
define <word>
e.g : define: technology

3. Get the local time and weather for any city in the world:
Simply ask for the time along with the city’s name. Use the following syntax:
time <name of the city>
weather <name of the city>
eg: time Kathmandu    weather Biratnagar

4. Exclude keywords in your search:
Just use a ‘ – ‘ (hyphen/minus) sign before any keyword to exclude it in your search. You can use the following syntax:
<keywords to search for> – <keywords to exclude>
eg: nepal mountains list – photos
The above search shows the list of mountains in Nepal but it excludes the images in the result.

5. Search within a range:
This is particularly useful if you are searching for something to buy with a budget range in mind.
eg: laptops nepal $500..$700

6. Search for a specific file type:
Simply specify the extension of the file you wish to see in the results at the end of your query.
Use the following syntax:
<your keywords> filetype:<file extension>
eg: nepal filetype:ppt
The above searches for all the PowerPoint  presentation files related to Nepal.

7. Search for keywords in a fixed sequence:
Put the keywords within double quotes to let Google know that you want the keywords in the same sequence in the result. You can take the following as an example.
e.g:“How to use Ncell Internet in a cheap way”
This search gives you the results where the double quoted keywords appears in the same sequence as you entered.

8. Search the contents of the website you specify:
You can search within a website directly using Google following this syntax:
site:www.yoursite.com keywords
Caution: Don’t use any space between site: and the website’s address.
eg: site:www.itnepal.net History of IT

9. Direct mathematical calculations:
You can simply type your mathematical problem into Google’s search and the answer will be displayed to you at the top of the results. Google features a scientific calculator in its search that can handle almost everything that a normal scientific calculator can, from simple arithmetic calculations to trigonometric functions. You can even search for a “Scientific Calculator” and Google’s calculator shows up, instantly followed by other results.
Try the following and you’ll get the basic idea:
12*18    (112+14)/16*5+89    (sin 60)^2+(cos 60)^2

10. Unit Conversions using Google:
This is perhaps the most useful of the lot. You can easily convert various units to different measurement system using Google. Following are some the conversions you can try:
Note: If you wish to convert a number from one measurement unit to another, just put the number at the beginning of these searches.
pounds to kg   km to mile   inch to cm   mb to kb    hour to minutes
feet to inch   acre in square feet
You can try others as well using the above idea.

This conversion technique can be used for money conversion as well. The following examples should give you the idea to try on your own:
$ to npr   AU$ to npr   npr to inr   euro to npr
If you wish to convert a specific amount, simply put your number at the beginning of the above searches.

These are the top 10 Google shortcuts we’ve listed for you to make your searches quicker and more specific. But there are many others you can find and use to your advantage if you dig deeper. Do share with us in your comments if you come across a particularly helpful and interesting one.