How to exclude popular matches from Google search results?

Question

Say I want to search for images with the keywords wallpaper nirvana. I get lots of images related to the popular band Nirvana. But how can I exclude them and get images, related to the mental state Nirvana. I tried with nirvana mental state or nirvana psychology, but I still get a lot of band-related results.

Another example is the search term against the current, which also returns lots of results related to the music band Against the current. I tried against the current -band -group but that didn't help a lot either. In general the technique I use is to add more specific keywords, but some phrases seem so deep related with certain well known entities (like music bands, movies, shows etc.), that sometimes it is really hard to find relevant info.

Answer 1

If you search in Google Images just with the keyword "Nirvana" it will suggest some related queries, among them "Nirvana Buddhism"

I have clicked that and all of the results are related to Buddhism.

note: remove "wallpaper" or Google won't autosuggest anything.

Answer 2

Put the broader term first, i.e., instead of

nirvana psychology

type

psychology nirvana

The above, because of the order of the terms, is essential. The first term sets the general mood and topicality. The following term narrows the mood, topicality and so on.

Or better, write a request for information, a question. The better the question is constructed, the more chances that Google return relevant results. Provide context using one or two short phrases and make a clear and assertive request. Make sure to be direct and specific.

Google uses machine learning to index content and improve the results' relevance. Most people type on the Google search box as if they were asking something to a person.

Resources

• Learn search tips & how results relate to your search on Google | Google Search Help