7 Google hacks to find the best online discounts

From a search engine to a thing you do, the term “Google” as grown in popularity in use of a noun, verb and adjective. Google has become a common name that most recognize and utilize on a daily basis.

It’s helpful to find the title of the song you’ve been thinking about or find popular restaurants nearby when you don’t feel like cooking dinner. It’ll help you research where to go for your next vacation and also catch you up on the latest news and top stories.

And, Google can also be your key to finding great discounts online, too. Google offers a plethora of opportunities to find information and deals to help you along in life. Here, we share six Google hacks that you can use to get the best value out of using this specialized search engine.

1. Use Quotes for Exact Discount – One of the most popular tips for using Google to find great deals is including quotation marks in your search phrase. When you add these little marks around a phrase or word, Google will search for that exact phrase. An article from Time by Jack Linshi says that with quotation marks, Google only pulls up pages with that phrase in that exact order. This is especially important when you’re trying to discover a particular deal or coupon for your use. Rather than scrolling through pages and pages or irrelevant deals, Google can get you the deals you want quickly and efficiently.
2. Use “Site:Domain.com” Feature – Google can do so much more than search all website for a particular word or phrase. Using certain features, you can narrow down your search to just include the word or phrase found on a particular website. Do you have coupon sites you love? With this feature, you can focus your attention on these helpful and trustworthy deals sites. When you set up your search term in Google to include both the keyword and the name of the website you want to search, you can find results just on that page. For example, say you wanted to find all the references to the phrase “discount code” was found on Blippr.com. To set up this search in Google, you would format it as “discount code site:blippr.com”. When you hit search, you’ll discover all the ways you can save with discount codes just on Blippr.com. This tip is great if you’re on the lookout for particular discounts from particular sources you trust. You’ll save time – and money – in finding the deals you want rather than the ones you won’t use.
3. Search Using Images – One of the the many cool features of Google is the opportunity to search for images using another image. Linshi from Time.com notes that you can save a picture on your phone – of a coupon for example – and use that image to search for similar images. When you have a coupon and want to find similar ones that you can use, this Google search feature can really come in handy. Rather than looking for text that matches what you want to find, you can use the power of images to discover new deals and coupons right from your convenient search engine.
4. Find Great Deals on Flights – You Google search engine is also a great spot to find great deals on airfare when planning your next trip. Using the feature Google Flights, you can search an abundance of flights in order to ensure you get the best price. It’s a great tool to help you track prices, dates and available flights to ease your trip planning. Johnny Jet from Forbes.com mentions several tips to get the most out of searching with Google Flights. He mentions that you can receive price alerts right to your phone so that you know when a good deal is available based on your dates and locations of travel. In addition to being able to track current flight prices, Jet also notes that you can use Google Flights to view historical data of the flight you’re looking into. This valuable information can help you determine when is the best time to purchase your tickets based on previous trends. With a quick glance at the easy-to-read graph that Google provides, you can be on your way to scheduling out when to purchase your tickets and save the most money.
5. Remove What You Don’t Want -With Google searches, you can select the keywords you really want to show up in your search. But did you know that you can also pick out the words in your search that you don’t want to show up? This tip can be used for many search needs and especially comes in handy when trying to find great deals. Get the deals you want and not the ones you don’t. In an article on Lifehack, author Joseph Hindy writes that you can exclude words from your search by using the hyphen or minus sign in the search field. Being able to exclude words in your search helps you refine your results and help you get to the savings you actually want.
6. Find Related Websites – You have your favorite coupon and deals sites that you visit often. But have you ever wanted to expand your search for savings to other websites and unsure of where to start? Thankfully, Google has a neat trick to help you find related websites. Hindy from Lifehack notes that you can format your search by including the tag “related” and then including the domain name of your website you visit often. So, if you are looking for more websites like the popular Amazon.com, your search field in Google would look like: “related:Amazon.com.” In this case, Amazon links won’t be included in your results. Rather, retailers that are similar to Amazon will appear, allowing you to find similar retailers easier.
7. Use Google While You Shop – You probably already use the Internet as one of your top places to find great deals and discover new things you’ve been looking for. Why not let your search engine help you as well. By following these six easy Google hacks, you can find the best online discounts on your purchases from across retailers.