🔎 Search Operators (find stuff using google)
by Belinda Nerlove (YupItzBel!) · 46 things on Twos
- BASIC OPERATORS
- | Operator | Function |
- | AND | Links conditions together; the results must match all the specified words/phrases
- | OR | Links conditions together; the results must match one of the specified words or phrases
- | NOT | Excludes terms from the search results
- | AROUND(X): | A proximity condition; finds terms within X words of each other
- | IN:| Performs quick conversions between different units/currencies, etc.
- | define:| Returns a definition of the specified search term
- | weather:| Displays a detailed weather forecast for the desired destination
- ADVANCED OPERATORS
- Operator Function
- site:
- The Google search command site: allows users to view all indexed pages of a domain. Combining the command with a search term means all subpages will be shown that contain this keyword:Edward Snowden site:nytimes.com The example query instructs Google to search through the subpages of nytimes.com for the phrase Edward Snowden. In addition, this search command can also be used with basic operators to exclude certain domains during the search. For example, you can block Wikipedia from appearing in the results: Edward Snowden -site:wikipedia.org
The site request is especially useful for website operators that want to optimize their project for the search engine. You can check whether all relevant pages of your website are listed on Google. The search operator also provides suggestions for internal linking since topic-relevant subpages can be filtered out by using the command in combination with a keyword.
- related:
- The Google operator related: doubles up as a research platform. Adding a website after this command tells Google that you’re searching for similar websites. If you’re looking for celebrity news similar to what eonline.com offers, you will be shown sites such as radaronline.com, usmagazine.com, and tmz.com if you enter: related:eonline.com Website operators can also search for their competition this way.
- OR:
- Search queries where alternative wording could be used can be linked together through the Google operator OR. This lets the search engine know that sites are also relevant if they contain any of the mentioned search terms: Test "chrysler dodge" OR "chrysler jeep"
- info:
- Google users who are searching for information about a domain can use the info: command. You will get info about the web address, the cached version of the page, any similar pages, and find out about any pages that link to that site.info:google.com
- intext:
- The Google search operator intext: used in conjunction with a search term instructs the search engine to only deliver links to websites that contain the given search term in blocks of text on their site. intext:Edward Snowden Only websites are shown that have the phrase Edward Snowden in their text element. The Google search operator intext: used in conjunction with a search term instructs the search engine to only deliver links to websites that contain the given search term in blocks of text on their site. intext:Edward Snowden Only websites are shown that have the phrase Edward Snowden in their text element.You can alternatively use the search command allintext:.
- allintext:
- The Google search operator allintext: has the same purpose as intext:, but includes all terms in the inquiry. Websites are then displayed that contain all the keywords of the search query in the text. allintext:Edward Snowden PRISM NSA Guardian
- allinanchor:
- The command tells Google to restrict results to pages that contain all query terms specified in the anchor text.
Use allinanchor: in combination with the corresponding keywords: allinanchor:apache http server download
In this example, you’ll be shown pages that contain these words: 'apache', 'http', 'server', and 'download' in their anchor text.
- inanchor: While the commands intext: and allintext: target search terms in blocks of text, the Google operator inanchor: instructs the search engine to find the keyword in anchor texts. The following request narrows down the Google search to include only websites that have apache in their anchor text:inanchor:apache
- intitle:
- Google users that want documents with specific keywords in the title should use the intitle: command. intitle:wordpress In this example, documents would be displayed to you that have wordpress written in the title.
- allintitle:
- This Google search operator should be used when you want to search for more than one search term in the title. allintitle:wordpress tutorial beginner
- inurl:
- If you want Google to look out for a keyword in the URL, this is where the operator inurl: comes into play. The search engine only displays results of websites that contain this search term in their URL. This is especially helpful if the search should be limited to certain web offers: Audi A4 inurl:forum This limited search will provide you with forums in which internet users swap information and chat about Audi A4 cars. You can alternatively search this way: [Search term] inurl:showthread [Search term] inurl:topic
- allinurl:
- The URL search can be expanded to the whole keyword set: allinurl:technical blog linux
- filetype:
- The search command filetype: can be used when Google users want to narrow down the search results to certain file types. Wordpress Tutorial filetype:pdf A request like this indicates that only results in PDF format should be included in the web search. The search engine then compiles a list of freely accessible PDF documents that contain the relevant keyword. Additional examples of file types that Google supports include doc and jpg.
- define:
- The Google operator define: doesn’t just restrict the search results to definitions, but also delivers explanations for each search term. If you write define:blog you will be provided with a definition of what a blog is.
- With the link:
- search operator Google offers website owners an opportunity to see links that point to that URL. The list will show webpages that link to the respective domain. The operator works quite sporadically and doesn’t provide a comprehensive backlink profile. For a complete overview website operators should enlist the help of specialized providers like Ahrefs.
- Search News.
- source: Specify the source of a news item
- “source” is used in the journalistic sense to find results from one of the news sources listed in Google
- For instance, suppose you wanted to find articles about a collapsed building in Florida, written by CNN.
You would enter:
- Collapsed building Florida source:CNN