No matter what you're looking for, start with a simple search like where's the closest airport?. You can always add a few descriptive words if necessary.

If you're looking for a place or product in a specific location, add the location. For example, bakery seattle. 


When you're deciding what words to put in the search box, try to choose words that are likely to appear on the site you're looking for. For example, instead of saying my head hurts, say headache, because that’s the word a medical site would use. 


  • Spelling. Google's spell checker automatically uses the most common spelling of a given word, whether or not you spell it correctly. 
  • Capitalization. A search for New York Times is the same as a search for new york times.

For many searches, Google will do the work for you and show an answer to your question in the search results. Some features, like information about sports teams, aren't available in all regions. 

  • Weather: Search weather to see the weather in your location or add a city name, like weather seattle, to find weather for a certain place.
  • Dictionary: Put define in front of any word to see its definition. 
  • Calculations: Enter a math equation like 3*9123, or solve complex graphing equations.
  • Unit conversions: Enter any conversion, like 3 dollars in euros.
  • Sports: Search for the name of your team to see a schedule, game scores and more. 
  • Quick facts: Search for the name of a celebrity, location, movie, or song to find related information.