Using Google Search

Short Guide

Note: The square brackets [ ] are used below simply to delineate an example 'search query'; i.e. the words that you type into Google when doing a search.

You do not actually use these brackets when typing in your search query.

Quotation Marks

Google tries to match all the words in your search query. However, these words are not necessarily the exact words in the order that your wrote them.

If you are looking for an exact match to a phrase within your search query then put the phrase in quotes.

For example, ...

A search for [fathers for justice london bridge] will also find many pages that are to do with London and/or with a bridge.

If you want to refer specifically to London Bridge then put the phrase in quotes, as follows.

 [fathers for justice "london bridge"]

Stop Words

Short words like 'the', 'of', 'for', 'to' in a search query tend to be ignored by Google.

Plus Sign

By adding a plus sign (without a space) in front of a word in your search query, you are telling Google that the word must appear in each of the pages that it finds for you.

Thus, in the following search query, Google will not list pages that do not contain the word 'justice'. Only those pages containing the word 'justice' will be listed.

 [fathers for +justice "london bridge"]

Minus Sign

If you do not want Google to list pages containing a certain word, then write the word with a minus sign just before it.

In the following search query, Google will not list pages that do contain the word 'justice'.

 [fathers for -justice "london bridge"]

OR

By using the word OR (yes, in capital letters) in your search query, Google will list those pages that contain one or both of the words (or phrases) that the OR refers to.

Thus, the following search query will cause Google to list pages that contain either the word 'fathers' or the word 'mothers' (or both), and which also contain the word 'justice', as well as the phrase 'london bridge' or 'westminster', but all those pages which contain the word 'station' will be excluded.

 [fathers OR mothers for +justice "london bridge" OR westminster -station]

Star

The star can be used as a wildcard, but it can only stand for a whole word.

The following search query will cause Google to list pages containing the phrase 'something for justice'; e.g. 'fathers for justice', 'mothers for justice', 'dogs for justice', 'apples for justice' etc etc etc.

[ "* for justice"]