You’re using Google wrong – become an Internet detective with these easy tricks

It's hard to remember a time before it existed, but today the tech giant Google celebrates its twenty-third birthday.

What started as a search engine has since become one of the world's biggest tech platforms, offering everything from docs and spreadsheets to smartphones and hoverboards.

But with two trillion searches made on Google every single day, it's still the main way many of us navigate the Internet.

However, turns out that many of us are using Google in the wrong way. There are a number of secret methods that allow you to find specific information from anywhere in the world very easily.

Here are some top tips and tricks for getting the most out of your searches that will change the way you use Google forever.

Search by location

If you want to search for something from a specific location, you can simply add 'location:' at the end of your search term.

For example, if you search "Carol Vorderman location:Portugal", you will receive location-specific news and results about Carol Vorderman's recent trip to Portugal.

Or, look up "PS5 stock location:UK" to see new stock updates for the elusive console across the UK.

Search by phrase

Looking for a specific name, place, phrase, or term?

Just use quotation marks. Write "Strictly Come Dancing" in the search box to view all pages with that phrase on.

You can also combine phrases to get even more specific results by adding a plus sign. If you wanted to see transfer news for a football team, for example, you could enter "Arsenal"+"transfers".

Or, if you want to find a specific quote about something from someone, you could search for "Marcus Rashford"+"universal credit".

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Exclude results from your searches

Have you ever tried to look for something on Google, but the search engine keeps giving you results for something else? You can filter out unwanted results by using a 'minus' sign.

If you wanted news on when the game Deathloop becomes available for other consoles, for example, you could write 'deathloop-PS5'. That would let you see pages about Deathloop that had nothing to do with the PS5.

Search specific websites for results

Lost a web page you wanted to go back to, but can't find it? Google lets you search entire websites.

Enter your search term, then "site:". For example, if you wanted to find our articles about Jeff Bezos, you could write 'Jeff Bezos site:dailystar.co.uk', and it will show you everything you need.

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Combine different results using AND, OR & NOT

Another easy way to get more specific results on Google is by using AND, OR, and NOT in your searches. This is known as 'Boolean logic', which is a smart term for letting you combine different words in a search.

Just as it says on the tin, you could write 'Steve Coogan AND Alan Partridge' to see results about Coogan and his classic comedy act.

Alternatively, you could search 'Volkswagen OR Rolls-Royce' to see pages about either topic.

Then, like the 'minus symbol', if you want to exclude a term entirely, just write 'beans NOT Heinz'.

Just remember to use caps lock.

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