Google Search – powerful search features beyond your usual searches

Yes I admit, I use Google Search a lot – it’s my default and preferred search engine on most of my devices and computers. I do regularly use DuckDuckGo Search – but often, especially when phrasing more unspecific searches – Google just gives better results (meaning, sometimes I search something and Google shows me with the FIRST result what I was looking for, whereas DuckDuckGo seems NOT to understand what I was searching for at all 🙂 ).

What I appreciate most about Google Search is just how extensive it is in providing accurate information to queries, where I am only looking for a certain specific information, rather than various result pages to websites. In this post I’m showing you some of my favourites – some of which I use almost daily.

Currency converter

Using a simple search query in Google, you can convert any amount in one currency to another, whereas Google takes the current/today’s exchange rate:

Simple search query: [Number] [Source Currency] in [Target Currency]

Example: “24.99 EUR in CHF”

Alternative search queries:

• "How much is [Number] [Source Currency] in [Target Currency]"
• [Number] [Source Currency] to [Target Currency]

Movie information

Having hooked up a massive movie information database (namely imdb.com), Google provides various basic information when you are looking up movies using Google Search. Here are a few interesting examples:

Poster, Cast, Release year, similiar film, etc.

Simple search query: [Movie name]

Example: “star wars return of the jedi”

Movie play length

Simple search query: [Movie name] duration

Example: “star wars return of the jedi duration”

Alternative search query: [Movie name] length

Movie cast

Simple search query: [Movie name] cast

Example: “star wars return of the jedi cast”

Math calculations and interactive calculator

Don’t have a calculator at hand? Just type the calculations, additions, subtractions, and so on and so on, into Google Search! You can combine a whole calculation string, if you want.

Simple search query: [Math calculation]

• Example: “3^21”
• Example: “1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9”
• Example: “(18+25)*(7*35)”
  

Translations of words and phrases

Having a fantastic translation service built under translate.google.com, it makes sense that you can access this huge translation database using Google Search as well – it allows not only to translate simple words, but also text phrases from one language into another! That’s pretty sweet actually.

Simple search query: Translate [Word] from [Source Language] to [Target Language]

Example: “translate beer from english to spanish”

Alternative search query: Translate "[Phrase of words]" from [Source Language] to [Target Language]

Example: “translate ‘one beer please’ from english to spanish”

Geo location search

Not that good with geographical knowledge? Need to put that place you heard of into context? Simply ask Google Search to give you a peak, where that place is!

Simple search query: Where is [city/country/place/continent/latitude-langitude]

• Example: “where is winchester”
• Example: “where is namibia”
• Example: “where is alaska”
• Example: “where is churchill manitoba”
  

Alternative search query (kudos): [Degree, minutes and seconds codes]

• Example: “41°24’12.2″N 2°10’26.5″E”
• Example: “41 24.2028, 2 10.4418”
• Example: “41.40338, 2.17403”

Weather information

To get a quick impression if you need an umbrella or not when travelling, ask for the current weather forecast in Google Search like this:

Simple search query: Weather in [city (+ country)]

Example: “weather in zürich switzerland”

Alternative search query: Weather in [city] [today/tomorrow/tonight]

• Example: “weather in zürich switzerland tonight”

This is of course just a sneak peak of the powerful queries possible using Google Search – there is an endless combination for various areas and information.

Let me know in the comments, if you know anything extending “regular Google search tricks” that should go into this list!