List of 42 Google Advanced Search Operators you should know

Learn about Google Advanced Search Operators

Google advanced search operators are a set of commands that you can use to improve your search results. They can help you search for specific information that would otherwise be more difficult to find. By mastering these Google search commands, you can save time and get more relevant results.

What is a Google Search Operator?

Delivering much more specific results

One of the main benefits of Google search operators is that they can help deliver much more specific results. For example, if you’re looking for a particular phrase, you can use the quotation marks operator to only search for pages containing that exact phrase. Additionally, you can use operators such as site: and inurl: to search for results within a specific website or URL.

Enhancing your SEO efforts

Google advanced search operators can also help you take your business SEO strategies to the next level. By using operators such as intitle: and allintitle:, you can find pages that have specific keywords in the title.

This will help you find statistics for your content and suitable link building opportunities. Also, it can be especially useful for finding competitors and analyzing their content or looking for link building opportunities.

You can also use operators such as filetype: to find specific file types, such as PDFs or spreadsheets.

Search operator rules to follow

When using Google advanced search operators, it’s important to follow a few rules to get the best results. First, make sure to use the correct syntax for each operator. This will ensure that your search results are accurate and relevant. Additionally, try to be as specific as possible with your search terms, as this will help narrow down your results. Finally, be patient and experiment with different combinations of operators until you find the results you’re looking for.

The complete list of Google Advanced Search Operators

Google advanced search operators are a powerful tool that can help you find more specific and relevant search results. Here is a complete list of Google search options that you can use to refine your search queries:

“search term”

The quotation marks operator allows you to search for an exact phrase or word. For example, searching for “social media” will only return pages that contain that exact phrase.

 

Google Search Operator “searchterm”

OR

The OR operator allows you to search for pages that contain one of two or more keywords. For example, searching for “pizza OR pasta” will return pages that contain either “pizza” or “pasta”. Instead of “OR”, you can also use the character |.

AND

The AND operator allows you to search for pages that contain all of the keywords you specify. For example, searching for “apple AND orange” will only return pages that contain both “apple” and “orange”.

Google Search Operator “AND”

–

The hyphen operator allows you to exclude a specific word or phrase from your search results. For example, searching for “apple -fruit” will return pages that contain the word “apple” but not “fruit”.

Google Search Operator “-“

*

The asterisk Google advanced search operator is a wildcard that can be used to replace any word in a search query. For example, searching for “best * in Chicago” will return pages that contain any word in place of the asterisk.

Google Search Operator “*”

()

The parentheses operator allows you to group multiple search terms together. For example, searching for “(apple OR orange) AND juice” will return pages that contain either “apple” or “orange” and “juice”.

$

The dollar sign operator allows you to search for prices. For example, searching for “laptop $500” will return pages that sell laptops for $500.

Google Search Operator “$”

define:

The define: operator allows you to search for the definition of a word. For example, searching for “define:serendipity” will return the definition of the word “serendipity”.

Google Search Operator “define:”

cache:

The cache: operator allows you to see a cached version of a website that Google has stored. For example, searching for “cache:https://www.example.com” will show you a cached version of the website.

Google Search Operator “cache:”

filetype:

The filetype: operator allows you to search for specific file types. For example, searching for “SEO filetype:pdf” will return only PDF files related to SEO.

Google Search Operator “filetype:”

site:

The site: operator allows you to search within a specific website or domain. For example, searching for “site:wikipedia.org dogs” will only return pages from Wikipedia that contain the word “dogs”.

Google Search Operator “site:”

related:

The related: operator allows you to find websites related to a specific site. For example, searching for “related:nytimes.com” will show you a list of websites that are similar to the New York Times.

Google Search Operator “related:”

intitle:

The intitle: operator allows you to search for pages that contain specific words in the title. For example, searching for “intitle:SEO tips” will only return pages that have the words “SEO” and “tips” in the title.

Google Search Operator “intitle:”

allintitle:

The allintitle: operator allows you to search for pages that contain all of the words in the title. For example, searching for “allintitle:SEO tips tricks” will only return pages that have all the words “SEO”, “tips”, and “tricks” in the title.

Google Search Operator “allintitle:”

inurl:

The inurl: operator allows you to search for pages with specific inurl keywords. For example, searching for “inurl:SEO guide” will only return pages that have the words “SEO” and “guide” in the URL.

Google Search Operator “inurl:”

allinurl:

The allinurl: operator allows you to search for pages that contain all of the words in the URL. For example, searching for “allinurl:SEO guide tutorial” will only return pages that have all the words “SEO”, “guide”, and “tutorial” in the URL.

Google Search Operator “allinurl:”

intext:

The intext: operator allows you to search for pages that contain specific words in the body text. For example, searching for “intext:SEO techniques” will only return pages that have the words “SEO” and “techniques” in the body text.

Google Search Operator “intext:”

allintext:

The allintext: operator allows you to search for pages that contain all of the words in the body text. For example, searching for “allintext:SEO techniques tips” will only return pages that have all the words “SEO”, “techniques”, and “tips” in the body text.

Google Search Operator “allintext:”

AROUND(X)

The AROUND(X) Google advanced search operator allows you to search for pages where two or more words appear within X number of words of each other. For example, searching for “SEO AROUND(3) techniques” will return pages where the words “SEO” and “techniques” appear within 3 words of each other.

Google Search Operator “AROUND(X)”

weather:

The weather: operator allows you to see the current weather for a specific location. For example, searching for “weather:new york” will show you the current weather in New York.

 

Google Search Operator “weather:”

stocks:

The stocks: operator allows you to see the stock information for a specific company. For example, searching for “stocks:GOOG” will show you the stock information for Google.

Google Search Operator “stock:”

map:

The map: operator allows you to see a map of a specific location. For example, searching for “map:paris” will show you a map of Paris.

Google Search Operator “map:”

movie:

The movie: operator allows you to see movie information, including reviews and showtimes. For example, searching for “movie:avengers endgame” will show you information about the movie, including reviews and showtimes.

Google Search Operator “movie:”

in

The in: operator allows you to search for pages that contain specific words in a particular location. For example, searching for “SEO in:title” will only return pages that have the word “SEO” in the title.

Google Search Operator “in”

source:

The source: operator allows you to see the source of a specific news article. For example, searching for “source:BBC” will show you news articles from the BBC.

Google Search Operator “source:”

_

The _ operator allows you to find terms that are related to the term you searched for. For example, searching for “SEO _ guide” will return pages that have terms related to “guide” and “SEO”.

Google Search Operator “_”

#..#

This operator allows you to search for numbers within a specific range. For example, if you were searching for information about houses with prices between $500,000 and $1,000,000, you could use the operator “#500000..1000000”.

Google Search Operator “#..#”

inanchor:

This operator allows you to search for a specific word or phrase in the anchor text of a web page. For example, if you want to find web pages that have “machine learning” in the anchor text, you can search “inanchor:machine learning”.

 

Google Search Operator “inanchor:”

allinanchor:

This Google advanced search operator helps you search for multiple words or phrases in the anchor text of a web page. For example, if you want to find web pages that have both “machine” and “learning” in the anchor text, you can search “allinanchor:machine learning”.

Google Search Operator “allinanchor”

blogurl:

This operator allows you to search for blogs hosted on a specific domain. For example, if you want to find all the blogs hosted on “example.com”, you can search “blogurl:example.com”.

Google Search Operator “blogurl:”

loc:placename

This operator allows you to search for results in a specific location. For example, if you want to find all the results related to “pizza” in New York, you can search “pizza loc:new york”.

Google Search Operator “loc:placename”

location:

This operator allows you to search for results based on a location. For example, if you want to find the nearest coffee shop, you can search “coffee shop location:current location”.

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Google Search Operator “location:”

+

This operator is used to indicate that a word or phrase must be included in the search results. For example, if you want to find results related to “machine learning” and the word “python” must be included, you can search “machine learning +python”.

Google Search Operator “+”

~

This operator is used to include synonyms of a word in the search results. For example, if you want to find results related to “machine learning” and include synonyms such as “artificial intelligence” and “deep learning”, you can search “machine learning ~artificial intelligence ~deep learning”. However, Google now includes synonyms by default, making this operator redundant.

Google Search Operator “~”

inpostauthor:

This operator allows you to search for results created by a specific author. For example, if you want to find all the results created by “John Smith”, you can search “inpostauthor:John Smith”.

Google Search Operator “inpostauthor:”

allinpostauthor:

This operator allows you to search for results created by multiple authors. For example, if you want to find all the results created by both “John Smith” and “Jane Doe”, you can search “allinpostauthor:John Smith Jane Doe”.

Google Search Operator “allinpostauthor:”

inposttitle:

This operator allows you to search for keywords within the title of a blog post. For example, if you want to find all blog posts with the word “marketing” in the title, you can use the operator “inposttitle:marketing”.

Google Search Operator “inposttitle:”

link:

This operator allows you to find pages that link to a specific URL. For example, if you want to see all of the pages that link to your company’s website, you can use the operator “link:yourcompanywebsite.com”.

Google Search Operator “link:”

info:

This operator provides information about a specific URL, including the cached version of the page, the pages that link to the URL, and pages that contain similar content. For example, you can use the operator “info:yourcompanywebsite.com” to see information about your company’s website.

Google Search Operator “info:”

daterange:

This operator allows you to search for pages that were published within a specific date range. For example, if you’re researching a topic and only want to see pages that were published in the last year, you can use the operator “daterange:20220101-20221231”.

Google Search Operator “daterange:”

phonebook:

This operator allows you to search for phone numbers. For example, if you’re trying to find the phone number for a local business, you can use the operator “phonebook:businessname city”.

Google Search Operator “phonebook:”

#

This operator allows you to search for hashtags on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. For example, if you want to see all of the posts related to #marketing on Twitter, you can use the operator “#marketing”.

 

Google Search Operator “#”

Ways to Use Google Search Operators

Google advanced search operators can be very useful for finding specific information on the web. Here are some ways to use them:

Find indexation errors

If you want to check whether all pages of your website are indexed by Google, use the “site:” operator followed by your domain name. This will give you a list of all the pages that Google has indexed for your website. If the results do not match the number of pages your website has, you may have indexation errors that need to be fixed.

Use the ‘site:’ operator to check website indexing

Find non-secure pages (non-https)

If you want to check whether your website has any non-secure pages (i.e., pages that are not using HTTPS), use the “site:” operator followed by your domain name and the “inurl:” operator followed by “http”. This will give you a list of all unsecured pages on your website. You should consider switching these pages to HTTPS to ensure that they are secure.

Use the ‘site:’ operator with ‘inurl’ operator to check for HTTPS

Find duplicate content problems

If you want to check whether your website has any duplicate content, use the “site:” operator followed by your domain name and the “intext:” operator followed by a phrase that appears on your website. This will give you a list of all the pages on your website that contain that phrase. If you find the same phrase on multiple pages, you may have duplicate content that needs to be addressed.

Use the “site:” operator with “intext’’ operator to find duplicate content

Find odd files on your domain

If you want to check whether your website has any unusual files that shouldn’t be there, use the “site:” operator followed by your domain name and the “filetype:” operator followed by a file extension (e.g., pdf, doc, xls). This will give you a list of all files on your website with that extension. If you find any files that shouldn’t be there, you may want to investigate.

To use the ‘site:’ operator with ‘filetype’ operator to find odd files

Find guest post opportunities

If you want to find blogs that accept guest posts, use the “site:” operator followed by the domain name of a popular blog in your niche and the “inurl:” operator followed by “guest-post”. This will give you a list of all the pages on that blog with “guest-post” in the URL. You can then reach out to the blog owner to see if they accept guest posts.

Use the ‘site:’ operator with ‘inurl:guest post” operator to find guest post

Find resource page opportunities

If you want to find resource pages in your niche to potentially get a link from, use the “site:” operator followed by a keyword related to your niche and the “intitle:” operator followed by “resources” or “links”. This will give you a list of all the pages on that site that have “resources” or “links” in the title. You can then reach out to the site owner to see if they would be willing to include your link on their resource page.

Use the ‘site:’ operator with “intitle:resources” operator to find resource page

Find sites that feature infographics

If you want to find sites that feature infographics, use the “site:” operator followed by a keyword related to your niche and the “intitle:” operator followed by “infographic”. This will give you a list of all the pages on that site that have “infographic” in the title. You can then reach out to the site owner to see if they would be interested in featuring your infographic.

Use the ‘site:’ operator with ‘intitle:infographic” operator to find websites that allow publishing infographic

Find more link prospects and check how relevant they really are

By using search operators such as “related:”, “site:”, and “intitle:”, you can find more link prospects and evaluate their relevance to your website. For example, you can use “related:” to find websites that are similar to your own, “site:” to find relevant pages within a particular domain, and “intitle:” to find pages that contain a specific keyword in their title.

Use the ‘site:’ operator to find relevant pages within a particular domain

Find social profiles for outreach prospects

If you’re looking for outreach prospects, you can use search operators like “site:” and “inurl:” to find social profiles related to your niche. For example, you can use “site:twitter.com” to find Twitter profiles related to your industry, or “inurl:linkedin.com/in/” to find LinkedIn profiles of professionals in your field.

Use the ‘site:twitter on digitals’ to find Twitter profiles of On Digitals

Find internal linking opportunities

By using the “site:” operator in combination with a specific page or section of your website, you can find internal linking opportunities. For example, if you want to find pages on your website that mention a particular topic, you can use “site:yourwebsite.com keyword” to find relevant pages.

Use the ‘site:’ operator to find internal link opportunities

Find PR opportunities by finding competitor mentions

By using the “inurl:” and “intext:” operators, you can search for mentions of your competitors online. This can help you identify potential PR opportunities and keep tabs on your competitors.

Use the ‘site:’ operator with ‘intext:” operator to find PR opportunities

Find sponsored post opportunities

You can use the “intitle:” and “inurl:” operators to search for websites and pages that offer sponsored post opportunities. This can help you find new advertising channels for your brand.

To use the ‘intitle:’ operator to find sponsored post opportunities

Find Q+A threads related to your content

The “intitle:” and “inurl:” operators can also be used to find relevant Q&A threads related to your content or niche. This can help you identify questions that your target audience is asking, and provide answers or solutions to those questions.

Use the “intitle:” operator to find related questions about SEO

Find how often your competitors are publishing new content

By using the “site:” and “daterange:” Google advanced search operators, you can find out how often your competitors are publishing new content. This can give you an idea of their content strategy and help you adjust your own content creation schedule accordingly.

Use the ‘site:’ operator with ‘daterange:” operator to find content update frequency

Find sites linking to competitors

The “link:” operator can be used to find websites that are linking to your competitors. This can help you identify potential link prospects and reach out to them for a link to your own website.

 

Use the ‘link:’ operator to find sites linking to other website

Find out more: Is it possible to delete Google review?

Final thoughts

In conclusion, Google advanced search operators are powerful tools that can help you to refine your search and obtain more accurate and relevant results. By mastering these Google advanced search techniques, you can save time, increase productivity, and uncover valuable information that might have been overlooked otherwise.

With this comprehensive list of 42 Google advanced search operators, you now have valuable resources to help you take your search game to the next level. So go ahead and explore, experiment, and see what kind of insights and opportunities you can uncover with this google search functions list.