The Internet can be a great tool for saving money on major (and minor) purchases, but actually finding the best bargains can be time consuming and frustrating. Here are some tips for making the most of your time and money. Whether you’re looking to buy a new sports car or find a bankruptcy lawyer, Google can help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Similar Terms

Rather than searching several times using slightly different words (say, to find a coupon or a discount for a major purchase you want to make), try some of these search engine manipulation techniques:

• The ~ symbol: Like its use in mathematics, think of the ~ key as meaning approximately equals. Inserting this symbol before a word allows you to look for it and words with similar meanings. So typing camera ~ discount would give you results for discounts, coupons, promotions, deals, etc.
• The word OR: Typing OR between related terms you’re interested in is another way to search for specific (but slightly broadened) results. Looking for a good price on a camera would look like this: camera (discount OR coupon OR bargain).
• The * symbol: Known as the wildcard, this helps people who aren’t sure exactly what they want to buy. For example, if you wanted a digital camera but weren’t sure what brand or model. By typing something like * camera discount, you could explore discounts for a variety of models.

Find Exactly What You Want

If your search results are bringing up too many inaccurate results, you can search for specific terms, or exclude certain terms from the results.

• Put in in quotes: Use double quotes to search for a specific term of phrase, such as discount digital camera.
• Use the + sign: Likewise, putting a plus sign directly in front of a word will only include results with that word. So, if you’re only searching for discount Nikon cameras, you can search discount camera +Nikon.
• Exclude terms with the - sign: Understandably, the minus sign is the opposite of the plus sign, and it will return results that do not include the specified word. So, if you know you don’t want a Nikon, you can search discount camera -Nikon.

Find Relevant and Recent Results

Few things are more frustrating than spending time tracking down a great offer that has already expired. Luckily, Google provides tools that can help ensure the results you get are up to date. Here’s how to do it:

• Begin your search. Type in a search term. When you get to the results page, you should see a show options button toward the top of the page.
• Set time preferences. Click show options and scroll down until you see date and time parameters. Limit your search so that you know the results you’re getting are fresh.

Search a Specific Site

While many Internet users simply go to their favorite web sites to hunt for money-saving deals, sticking with Google may increase your odds of finding a stellar bargain. Because of the tools mentioned above (and others, found in advanced search options), you can do a much more detailed search using Google than you often can in a specific site.

To make this happen, simply type the command site:sitename.com along with the search terms.

Advanced Product Search

Now, using all of these functions in a single search may take a lot of patience. Luckily, Google has a shopping search that can help you find the products you want at the price you want. Their Advanced Product Search lets you set a minimum and maximum price, and include and exclude specific terms.

Happy money (and time) savings!

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