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Google Web Search Features

In addition to providing easy access to more than 8 billion web pages, Google has many special features to help you to find exactly what you're looking for. Click the title of a specific feature to learn more about it.

  Cached Links

View a snapshot of each page as it looked when we indexed it.

  Calculator

Use Google to evaluate mathematical expressions.

  Definitions

Use Google to get glossary definitions gathered from various online sources.

  File Types

Search for non-HTML file formats including PDF documents and others.

  Froogle

To find a product for sale online, use Froogle - Google's product search service.

  I'm Feeling Lucky

Bypass our results and go to the first web page returned for your query.

  Local Search - New!

Search for local businesses and services in the U.S. and Canada.

  News Headlines

Enhances your search results with the latest related news stories.

  PhoneBook

Look up U.S. street address and phone number information.

  Search By Number

Use Google to access package tracking information, US patents, and a variety of online databases.

  Similar Pages

Display pages that are related to a particular result.

  Site Search

Restrict your search to a specific site.

  Spell Checker

Offers alternative spelling for queries.

  Stock Quotes

Use Google to get stock and mutual fund information.

  Street Maps

Use Google to find U.S. street maps.

  Travel Information

Check the status of an airline flight in the U.S. or view airport delays and weather conditions.

  • Web Page Translation 

Provides English speakers access to a variety of non-English web pages.

  Who Links To You?

Find pages that point to a specific URL.

Cached Links

Google takes a snapshot of each page examined as it crawls the web and caches these as a back-up in case the original page is unavailable. If you click on the "Cached" link, you will see the web page as it looked when we indexed it. The cached content is the content Google uses to judge whether this page is a relevant match for your query.

When the cached page is displayed, it will have a header at the top which serves as a reminder that this is not necessarily the most recent version of the page. Terms that match your query are highlighted on the cached version to make it easier for you to see why your page is relevant.

The "Cached" link will be missing for sites that have not been indexed, as well as for sites whose owners have requested we not cache their content.

Google
... Advertise with Us - Business Solutions - Services & Tools - Jobs,
Press, & Help ©2004 Google - Searching 4,285,199,774 web pages.
www.google.com/ - 3k - Mar 26, 2004 -
» Cached « - Similar pages


Calculator

calculator To use Google's built-in calculator function, simply enter the calculation you'd like done into the search box and hit the Enter key or click on the Google Search button. The calculator can solve math problems involving basic arithmetic, more complicated math, units of measure and conversions, and physical constants. Try one of the sample expressions below, or refer to our complete instructions for help in building your own.

These sample queries demonstrate the utility and power of this new feature:

example:  

Definitions

To see a definition for a word or phrase, simply type the word "define," then a space, and then the word(s) you want defined. If Google has seen a definition for the word or phrase on the Web, it will retrieve that information and display it at the top of your search results.

example:  

You can also get a list of definitions by including the special operator "define:" with no space between it and the term you want defined. For example, the search [define:World Wide Web] will show you a list of definitions for "World Wide Web" gathered from various online sources.


File Types

Google has expanded the number of non-HTML file types searched to 12 file formats. In addition to PDF documents, Google now searches Microsoft Office, PostScript, Corel WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and others. The new file types will simply appear in Google search results whenever they are relevant to the user query.

Google also offers the user the ability to "View as HTML", allowing users to examine the contents of these file formats even if the corresponding application is not installed. The "View as HTML" option also allows users to avoid viruses which are sometimes carried in certain file formats.

Overall, the additional file types provide Google users a wider view of the content available on the World Wide Web. And Google has plans to keep expanding the range of file types available over time.

For more information about this feature, please read the file type FAQ.

» [PDF] « The Anatomy of a Search Engine
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - » View as HTML «
... Second, Google keeps track of some visual presentation details such as font ... phone
numbers, product numbers), type or format (text, HTML, PDF, images, sounds ...
www-db.stanford.edu/pub/papers/google.pdf - Similar pages

If you prefer to see a particular set of results with a specific file type (for example, PDF links), simply type filetype:[extension] (for example, filetype:pdf) within the search box along with your search term(s).

example:  

Froogle

Froogle If you search for products using Google, you may see relevant product search information and links displayed at the top of your search results. These product search results are linked to the sites of merchants who participate in Froogle, Google's product search service. These results are not advertisements, as participation in Froogle is completely free to merchants.

example:  


I'm Feeling Lucky

The "I'm Feeling Lucky™" button takes you directly to the first web page Google returned for your query. You will not see the other search results at all. An "I'm Feeling Lucky" search means you spend less time searching for web pages and more time looking at them.

For example, to find the homepage for Stanford University, simply enter Stanford into the search field and click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Google takes you directly to "www.stanford.edu", the official homepage of Stanford University.

example:  

Are you feeling lucky?

Local Search

Local Search Google Local enables you to search the entire web for just those stores and businesses in a specific neighborhood. Include a city or zip code in your search and Google displays relevant results from that region at the top of your search results.

example:  

News Headlines

Business Listings When searching on Google you may see links at the top of your results marked "News". These links connect you to reports culled from numerous news services Google continuously monitors. The links appear if the terms you enter are words currently in the news and clicking on them will take you directly to the service supplying them.

example:  

PhoneBook


PhoneBook Google has added the convenience of US street address and phone number lookup to the information we provide through our search box. You'll see publicly listed phone numbers and addresses at the top of results pages for searches that contain specific kinds of keywords.

To find listings for a US business, type the business name into the Google search box, along with the city and state. Or type the business name and zip code. Entering the phone number with area code will also return a complete business listing.

To find listings for a US residence, type any of the following combinations into the Google search box:

  • first name (or first initial), last name, city (state is optional)
  • first name (or first initial), last name, state
  • first name (or first initial), last name, area code
  • first name (or first initial), last name, zip code
  • phone number, including area code
  • last name, city, state
  • last name, zip code

If your query results in business and residential listings, both categories will be listed for your convenience.

To have your residential or business phone and address information removed from the Google PhoneBook, click here.

Search By Number

Parcel tracking IDs, patents and other specialized numbers can be entered into Google's search box for quick access to information about them. For example, typing a FedEx tracking number will return the latest information on your package. Other special search by number types include :

UPS tracking numbers example search: "1Z9999W99999999999"
FedEx tracking numbers

example search: "999999999999"

USPS tracking numbers example search: "9999 9999 9999 9999 9999 99"
Vehicle ID (VIN) numbers example search: "AAAAA999A9AA99999"
UPC codes example search: "073333531084"
Telephone area codes example search: "650"
Patent numbers example search: "patent 5123123"
Remember to put the word "patent" before your patent number.
FAA airplane
registration numbers
example search: "n199ua"
An airplane's FAA registration number is typically printed on its tail.
FCC equipment IDs example search: "fcc B4Z-34009-PIR"
Remember to put the word "fcc" before the equipment ID.

example:  
Are there other types of numbers you'd like Google to search? Please email us at suggestions@google.com.

Similar Pages

When you click on the "Similar Pages" link for a search result, Google automatically scouts the web for pages that are related to this result.

The Similar Pages feature can be used for many purposes. If you like a particular site's content, but wish it had more to say, Similar Pages can find sites with similar content with which you may be unfamiliar. If you are looking for product information, Similar Pages can find competitive information so you can make direct comparisons. If you are interested in researching a particular field, Similar Pages can help you find a large number of resources very quickly, without having to worry about selecting the right keywords.

The more specialized a page is, the fewer results Google will be able to find for you. For example, Similar Pages may not be able to find related pages for your personal home page if it does not have enough information to authoritatively associate other pages with yours. Also, if companies use multiple URLs for their pages (such as company.com and www.company.com), Similar Pages may have little information on one URL, but lots on the other. In general, however, Similar Pages works well for the majority of web pages.

Google
... Advertise with Us - Business Solutions - Services & Tools - Jobs,
Press, & Help ©2004 Google - Searching 4,285,199,774 web pages.
www.google.com/ - 3k - Mar 26, 2004 - Cached -
» Similar pages «


Site Search

The word "site" followed by a colon enables you to restrict your search to a specific site. To do this, use the site:sampledomain.com syntax in the Google search box. For example, to find admission information on Stanford's site, enter:


example:  

Spell Checker

Google's spell checking software automatically looks at your query and checks to see if you are using the most common version of a word's spelling. If it calculates that you're likely to generate more relevant search results with an alternative spelling, it will ask "Did you mean: (more common spelling)?". Clicking on the suggested spelling will launch a Google search for that term. Because Google's spell check is based on occurrences of all words on the Internet, it is able to suggest common spellings for proper nouns (names and places) that might not appear in a standard spell check program or dictionary.

Stock Quotes

To use Google to get stock and mutual fund information, just enter one or more NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, or mutual fund ticker symbols, or the name of a corporation traded on one of the stock indices. If Google recognizes your query as a stock or mutual fund, it will return a link that leads directly to stock and mutual fund information from high quality financial information providers.

Stocks

Look for the link for your ticker symbol query (e.g. "SUNW") at the top of your search results. If you search on a company name (e.g. "Sun Microsystems"), look for the "Stock Quote:" link on the final line of Google's result for that company's homepage (e.g. www.sun.com).

www.sun.com/ - 31k - Cached - Similar pages - » Stock Quote: SUNW «

example:  

Google's financial information providers have been selected and ordered solely on the basis of their quality, based on factors including download speed, user interface, and functionality. Please note that Google is not affiliated with the financial information providers that are used. If you have a provider that you'd like to suggest we include, please email us at suggestions@google.com.

Street Maps

To use Google to find street maps, enter a U.S. street address, including zip code or city/ state (e.g. 165 University Ave Palo Alto CA), in the Google search box. Often, the street address and city name will be enough.

example:  

When Google recognizes your query as a map request, it will return links from high quality map providers that will lead you directly to the relevant map. These map providers have been selected solely on the basis of their quality. Please note that Google is not affiliated with the map information providers that are used. If you have a favorite map provider you'd like to suggest we include, please email us at suggestions@google.com.

Travel Information

To see delays and weather conditions at a particular airport, type the airport's three letter code followed by the word "airport." For example, San Francisco International Airport updates can be found by searching for "sfo airport."

example:  

To check the status of a U.S. flight, type the name of the airline followed by the flight number. For example, to see the status for United Airlines flight 134 search for "United 134."

example:  

Web Page Translation

Google breaks the language barrier with this translation feature. Using machine translation technology, Google now gives English speakers access to a variety of non-English web pages. This feature is currently available for pages published in Italian, French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese.

If your search has non-English results, there will be a link to a version of that page translated into English.

For more information about this feature, please read the translation FAQ.

Répertoire Web de Google - World > Français - » [ Translate this page ] «
... Modifié par Google - ©2003 Google Aide du répertoire
Google - À propos - Google in English.
directory.google.com/Top/World/ - 7k - Mar 26, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

Who Links To You?

Some words, when followed by a colon, have special meanings to Google. One such word for Google is the link: operator. The query link:siteURL shows you pages that point to that URL. For example, link:www.google.com will show you pages that point to Google's home page. You cannot combine a link: search with a regular keyword search.

example:  
o ooO