It’s not often that a company provides a service so popular that it becomes a verb, but you probably have heard the phrase “Just Google it” many times. Doing a search using Google has become part of most people’s daily routine: 4.4 billion worldwide searches every single day.
But did you know that Google is much more than just a search engine? It is also a high
ly complex math calculator, a real-time currency converter, a sophisticated multi-lingual translator, a digital dictation machine and more. In fact, Google has so many hidden talents built into its search bar, these five may be only scratching the surface of what Google search can do for you effective.
Here are 5 things that you can do with Google search shortcuts that you may not know about, but may save you an enormous amount of time.
Image search with an image
We all know how powerful Google is for searching images, but did you know you can give Google an image and it can search for the same or similar images? When you click on the image search option in Google, you will notice a small camera icon will appear. Click on the camera icon and Google will ask for a URL to the image you want to find like images, or it will let you upload an image from your computer to find similar images. The origin of the images found and other details also will be provided.
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Math machine
Google knows math. You can do basic arithmetic right inside the search bar, including adding, subtracting, dividing or multiplying: such as “2 * 3 * 7.” But you can also do exponential equations, such as entering “4^10” or “4**10”, and percentages, such as “15% of 93.45.” Now here’s the scary part: you can also do Advance Math in the search bar if you know the shortcuts, including Trigonometry. You can find out more here. Or if you want to see a quick online calculator, then just search on Google.com “Google Calculator.”
Convert currency
Google knows money. How many Euros for 1 US dollar? Write “1 USD to Euro” and Google gives you the day’s rate of .89. “2 CAD to USD,” and you just converted 2 Canadian dollars to US at 1.48. “2 CAD to Pesos,” and you learn the 2 Canadian dollars equals 27.63 Mexican Pesos. Google tracks and can help you convert over 180 different currencies.
Translation tool
Google knows more than 100 languages. If you enter “translate help to Spanish” in the search bar, the Google translator appears, as does the Spanish word “ayuda.” The versatility and power of the Google translator is nearly breathtaking, considering it’s free. There’s even an app for that: Google Translate is available for Android and iOS and the app version can even translate 37 languages via a photo. Take a picture of the sign that says “Alto” and the app shows “Stop.”
Convert measurements and units
Google loves to help you convert things: Miles to kilometers, days to seconds, watts to amps, liters to gallons, bits to bytes, dozens to gross, and acres to square feet. All you have to do is simply write the brief calculation you are trying to figure out in the search bar and Google will do the heavy lifting. For example, write “0.5 acres to sq ft” and Google will bring up its Area Calculator and display the answer as 21,780 square feet.
5 Quick Tips: instant timer, track a flight, get a stock quote, check the weather or movie times
Google is quick and flexible. If you need to time something – say, how long you it takes you to input a new listing on the MLS, just for fun: enter the word “timer” and a 5-minute countdown timer will appear. Or click on the tab at the top and you have the s
topwatch option. Picking a client up at the airport? Check the flight just using the abbreviation of the airlines and the flight number: AA 1024 – gives you the status of American Airlines Los Angeles to Miami. How is your company’s stock doing? Just type “quote: RMAX” or whatever your firm’s stock symbols are for its most recent price. What’s the weather like for your Open House today? Just type “weather Orlando” or “weather,” and the zip code and your latest report appears. What movie is playing next at your local theaters to send your sellers to and get them out of the house for a showing? Type “showtimes,” and your zip code or city name and a list of current films with showtimes and at which theater instantly comes up.
Google has a galaxy of search shortcuts, tips and tricks and it just keeps getting more and more powerful all the time. It’s become so easy to look something up, that scientists have already demonstrated that the Internet is changing what we remember: we are more likely to recall where the facts are – because we can easily Google them – as opposed to recalling the facts themselves. You know how I know this? I Google’d it.
If you have a favorite Google search shortcut, tip or trick you’d like us to share with readers in the future, send it to us via Facebook message.
By Kevin Hawkins, an award winning freelance writer on real estate and technology topics.
