Health tips, job updates… 10 things Google Search can do for you

Millions of people make use of Google Search to get answers and information every day.

A lot of us aren’t harnessing the full power of Google, though. Google Search’s web, image, video, news, maps and more tabs can help ensure you get the kind of results you are after.

Beyond simple queries, there is a lot more you can achieve with Google Search. Here are ten useful things that Google Search can do for you.

1. Search jobs

By searching for “jobs near me” or specifically for the job position you seek, you can find options that you are interested in and apply for them. Google offers a quick and easy way to find your next job whether it is full-time, part-time or an internship.

2. Search lyrics

Search for lyrics to your favourite songs. By typing, ‘song name’ plus “lyrics” in the search bar, you get the lyrics displayed at the top of the search results page. This is useful for fans, music lovers, during karaoke, or for a chorister who wishes to learn how to sing a song.

3. Weather updates

Get weather updates for any city on any day. Simply search “weather” plus “city name”, and the day you are interested in and you get the current forecast.

This is particularly useful for travellers and when planning for a choice of clothing for an outing. Additionally, having knowledge about the weather can help keep you safe.

4. Stop watch

Google Search provides a personal time keeper that helps you measure the speed of an activity. While stopwatches are great for sporting events, you can also use the stopwatch on Google Search to time yourself as you work. Just type “timer’” or “stopwatch” into the search box.

5. Get recipes for meals

Beef up your cooking skills by searching for the recipe for any meal you can imagine on Google Search. You will get web and video results for your search and can also search for drink recipes to accompany your meal.

6. Ask about calories

If you are being careful about what you eat for health and fitness reasons, you can check up information about the food you are planning to eat.

Search for specific information to determine the calories in your food. For example, try searching for how many calories are in rice.

7. Get real time game scores

For fans of sporting events, Google Search provides real-time information about ongoing games and scores. You can also search the name of a sports team or league to get a summary of recent matches.

8. Search by voice

Don’t want to type? Use voice search instead. Simply click on the microphone icon, say what you want to search for, and watch Google reveal the results. You can find the microphone icon on the right-hand side of the Google Search bar. Go ahead, click and speak.

9. Just for fun

Take a break with Google Search and play games or enjoy other fun activities. Try a one minute breathing exercise by typing, “breathing exercise” in the search bar.

This helps you to calm down and refocus your brain in-between work hours or when you need to meditate. You can also play games like Atari Breakout, Google Pacman, Solitaire, or Snake by simply searching for them.

10. Search health conditions

You can search for health conditions and get snapshots of the condition, its symptoms and possible treatment in Google Search using health knowledge panels.

Google collaborated with a team of medical experts from institutions such as the University of Ibadan and the Mayo Clinic to ensure that medical facts gathered represent real-life clinical knowledge.

Even with the health information available via Google Search, users are advised to consult a medical professional regarding actual health concerns.