google spreadsheet - Cell variable inside COUNTIF -

i have column many words in each cell. want count how many times word in column , use:

=countif(data!c3:c9,"*word*") 

it works fine, want reference cell instead put word. trying this, doesn't work:

=countif(data!c3:c9,"*"+a3+"*") 

how can use cell variable inside criterion?

in google spreadsheet, concatenate 2 or more strings use ampersand, is: "&" try following formula:

=countif(data!c3:c9,"*"&a3&"*") 

or can alternatively try:

=countif(data!c3:c9,concatenate("*",a3,"*"))