10 things you can do with Google Search
Whether you’re calculating a restaurant tip or the ETA of a flight, converting currency or time zones, or pursuing an elusive phrase, the answers are just a click away
GOOGLE Search is wellestablished as the place to look up anything you need. But there are a few tips and tricks “hidden” in Google that can focus your searches, giving you more relevant results and making the search smarter and our lives easier. As Search celebrates its 20th year, here are 10 useful searches.
TIP CALCULATOR
Forget trying to figure out 15% on your bill and then trying to figure out what your share of that is. Next time you’re out with friends, simply type “tip calculator” into your phone and let Google do the maths for you.
TIME CONVERSION
Scheduled a Google Hangout or Skype session with a friend somewhere else in the world, but have no idea what the time is there? Just ask Google what the time is wherever they are and the answer will pop up in your results, daylight savings already calculated.
CURRENCY CONVERSION
Need to figure out just how much you’re paying in rand when buying something in another currency? If you search the currencies you need to convert – for example, R20 in US dollars – Google will let you know.
WEATHER FORECAST
Planning a trip somewhere and need to know what to pack? Simply search it and right there on your search results page you’ll get the forecast for the next week.
SPORTS SCHEDULES
Want to know when your team is playing next? Type “team name” and “game” into the Google Search bar and the schedule will show up as the first result, right where you need it.
SET A TIMER
Need to monitor your dinner while you’re elsewhere in the house? Set a timer by typing “set a timer to 12 minutes and 45 seconds”, for example, and Google will sound an alarm when time is up.
INTERNET SPEED SEARCH
Have a feeling that your internet speed is acting up?
All you need to see if your upload and download speeds are running as per usual is simply search “internet speed test” and Google will tell you how fast your connection is.
SEARCHING FOR OLD NEWS?
If by any chance you are looking for a newspaper article about your great-grand-aunt, Google News has archives going back about 200 years.
FIND SIMILAR WEBSITES
If you love a particular website’s content, Google can help you find similar websites.
For example, if you love celebrity gossip, you can search related:tmz.com for more stuff.
SEARCH BY FILE TYPE
If you are searching for a particular file type related to a search term, no sweat.
In order to find a children’s story in PDF, for example, you might want to search: “Little Red Riding Hood PDF”.