SEO specialists and webmasters all around the world are familiar with Google search operators.
Even though most of you already know what search operators are and how to use them, I’ll give a brief explanation to my readers who are unfamiliar with the notion.
What Are Google Search Operators?
Google Search Operators are specific commands that improve your search and assist you in a variety of ways, from performing SEO audits to conducting content research.
Google’s advanced search commands assist you in narrowing your search queries and obtaining precise results.
There’s a lot more you can do with Google search operators than you may think, and it doesn’t require any additional technical knowledge.
The majority of them are brief, easy commands that can help you get closer to your search results while also saving you time. Knowing these specific commands will make your day-to-day work much easier.
Here are some of the best Google search operators list.
Exact Match Searches
If you’re looking for anything specific, you can put your search phrases in quote marks (“”) to get results that match your query exactly.
Syntax for Exact Match Search”
“Find a word”
Your search word, for example, could allude to the books we read or the act of making a reservation. You can use your command as book -“reading” if you want to learn more about reservations.
Take a look at the search result number below if you don’t use the exact match search query.
Examine how the results are refined when you use the exact match search command.
Experiment with the following exact search examples:
- “Content Marketing” is a term used to describe a type of marketing
- “Google Algorithm Update” is a term used to describe a change in Google’s algorithm
Exclude Words
You may use a specific Google search command to hunt for terms that may have many meanings.
You’ll need to type the desired work, then a hyphen (-), and the meaning you wish to be removed from the search results.
Syntax for Exclude Word:
Look up a word
Your search word, for example, could allude to the books we read or the act of making a reservation. You can use your command as book -“reading” if you want to learn more about reservations.
Examine the search result without the exclude word instruction.
Examine the search result using the exclude term command. They’ve been fine-tuned.
Exclude words searches can be done with:
- Steve Jobs and steve Jobs
- On-page SEO and off-page SEO
Exclude Exact-Match Phrases
If you’re still having trouble finding the right result after removing words, you can try omitting an exact-match phrase by typing your search term, then a hyphen (-), and then the phrase you wish to exclude from the search.
Syntax for Exclude Exact-Match Phrase
“Search word” is a term used to describe a search.
Or
-keyword
For instance, if you want to learn technical SEO without first learning about schema markup, you can write technical SEO- “schema markup.”
By adding a hyphen and then putting the specific term you want to exclude within quote marks, you can keep adding phrases to the above command.
Examine the number of search results without using the exclude and precise Match options.
Keep track of the number of search results using the exclude and exact match commands.
When you use the exclude exact match command for a website, such as stanventures.com, Google will filter results for the search phrase you’re looking for from all over the web except from stanventures.com.
This is also a fantastic approach for marketers to assess brand awareness without the use of any technologies.
Exclude-exact terms can be found in the following examples:
- Google’s search engine and “search engine” -google
- “social” media and “social” media
Using OR Command
Use the OR command if you don’t want your search results to be precise but still want control over them.
The OR command instructs Google to display results for either of the two keywords entered before and after OR.
Syntax for OR Command:
a search keyword OR a search word
or
Search for a word or phrase
For example, you may use the command [social media marketing sprout social OR social media examiner] to seek for results for social media marketing.
You can get similar results by substituting the pipe (|) symbol for OR.
Experiment with the OR search command using the following examples:
stanventures OR search engine journal OR sej
Customize OR Command
You can use the OR Google search command to select two specific phrases to look for in the search results.
Syntax for Customize OR Command:
“Search term” vs. “search word”
or
“Keyword” | “Keyword” | “Keyword” | “Keyword” | “Keyword” |
You can attempt as many different search combinations as you want.
Search for “content marketing” or “social media marketing,” for example.
With a variety of search options.
Get More Results With Wildcard (*)
An asterisk (*) denotes the wildcard operator. If you include this asterisk in the search command, it will return all variations of the searched word.
Syntax for Wildcard Command:
Search*word
For instance, how do you write*on
Use the wildcard search operator to find the following terms:
- *Strategy for Link Building
- SEO*2020
Include Words (+)
You can use the plus (+) command to add words in the search, just as you can exclude them.
Syntax for Include Word Command:
Search +keyword
Searching for content marketing +video, for example.
Use these terms with the Include search operator:
Twitter + webmasters
Iron Man +Movie
Find Words Around Each Other
The AROUND (X) operator is one of the few Google search commands that is rarely used. This command can be used to find terms in a sentence that are close to each other.
The number X represents the maximum amount of words that can be used to separate the two terms. This is helpful when you need to find material that connects two topics.
Syntax for Around() Command:
Words to look for ()
You can use the command off-page SEO AROUND (7) link building, for example.
Use the AROUND() search operator to find the following terms:
- AROUND(10) SEO tools audit
- AROUND(15) tools for hashtag research on social media
ALSO READ: What is GREY hat SEO in digital marketing?
Search Specific Sites
If you want to see the search results from a specific website, type site: name of the website where you want to see them.
Syntax for Specific Site Search Command:
“Search term”: yourwebsite.com
You can also specify a keyword or key phrase that you’re looking for on that specific website. As a result, the command will look somewhat like this: site:stanventures.com “Cumulative Layout Shift” is a term that refers to a change in the layout of a
Search Related Sites
This command is used to locate sites that are linked to ones you are already familiar with. You should use the related:site name command.
Syntax for Search Related Sites Command:
site name is related to
Consider the following examples for the search related sites command:
- related:google.com
- Related:moz.com
See Cached Versions
The cache:site name command is used to determine when Google indexed the most “latest” cached version of a web page.
Syntax for Cached Version Command
name of the cache:site
The last time Google crawled the google.com site, as shown in the image above, was on August 30, 2020, at 11:53:44 GMT.
Search Specific Domain Type
If you wish to see search results from a certain domain, such as.org, you can use the site:net command.
Syntax to search specific domain type
type of site:domain
With these examples, try searching for a certain domain type command:
- Site:.edu
- ssite:.org
Search Using a Range of Numbers
Google has the ability to find results involving a wide range of integers. To define the range, you must add two periods (..) between the two numbers.
Syntax to Search Using a Range of Numbers
number of ranges to begin with..number of ranges to end with
For example, if you have a set budget for a laptop and don’t want to see models that cost more than that, you can utilise the google search tool [laptop price $200…$600].
Find Keywords in Page Titles
Use the Google search command intitle:keyword to find a specific keyword within a page title.
Syntax to Find Keywords in Page Titles
intitle:keyword
Use the intitle command with the following examples:
intitle:SEO
Intitle:marketing
Find Phrases in Page Title
Use the Google search command intitle:keyword to find a specific keyword within a page title.
Syntax to Find Phrases inPage Title
allintitle:phrase
Try using the allintitle command with these examples:
Allintitle:seo services
Allintitle:content marketing services
Find a Keyword in Page Content
You can use the intext: keyword operator to find pages that contain specific words anywhere in the content.
Syntax to find Keyword in Page Content
intext:phrase
Use the intext command with the following examples:
intext:seo
intext:content
Find Phrases in Page Content
The command allintext: phrase may be used to find phrases in the body text in the same way it can be used to find words in the page title.
Syntax to find Phrases in Page Content
allintext:phrase
Use the allintext command with the following examples:
- seo services allintext
- allintext:services for content marketing
Find Keyword or Keyphrase in the Anchor Text
Simply enter inanchor:keyword to find a term in the anchor text.
You’ll need to use the Google search operator command allinanchor: key to discover a key in the anchor text.
Syntax to Find Keyword in the Anchor Text
anchor:keyword
Use the inanchor command with the following examples:
inanchor:seo
Inanchor:marketing
Syntax to Find Keyphrase in the Anchor Text
allinanchor:phrase
Use the allinanchor command with the following examples:
- seo services allinanchor
- content marketing services allinanchor
Find Keyword or Keyphrase in the URL
Simply type the command inURL: keyword to find a term in a URL.
Syntax to Find Keyword in the URL
inurl:keyword
Use the inurl command with the following examples:
- inurl:seo
- inurl:content
You’ll need to use the Google search operator command allinURL: key to find a key in the URL.
Syntax to Find Keyphrase in the URL
allinurl:phrase
Use the allinurl command with the following examples:
- SEO services in allinurl:seo
- content marketing services (allinurl)
Finding Content by a Specific Author
Using the Google search operators list-[allinpostauthor: name of the influencer/blogger], you can simply find content produced by your favourite influencer or guest blogger.
Syntax for Finding Content by a Specific Author
allinpostauthor:name
For example, type allinauthor:Barry Schwartz to see content written by Barry Shwartz.
Narrow Down Search to a Specific Location
Location-based searches are always required for local SEO improvement.
As a result, you can use the loc: location name command to filter down the results for location-based searches.
You can use the command SEO agency loc: London, for example, to find an SEO agency in London.
Syntax to Narrow Down Search to a Specific Location
loc:the location’s name
Use the loc command with the following examples:
- loc:birmingham
- loc:paris
Identity Pages that Aren’t Secure
Run a command like site:etsy.com -inurl: https to find out which pages are potentially hazardous.
Get Definition
Do you want to know what a search word means? Define the search word with the Google Search Command.
Syntax to Get Definition for a Search Term
define:keyword
Use the define command with the following examples:
- digital marketing is defined as
- define:schema markup
Search by Filetype
If you’re seeking for a certain file format, such as PDF, use the search term filetype: pdf followed by the command. Only PDF files will appear in the results.
Syntax to Search by Filetype
Filetype: choose a file format.
Use the filetype command with the following examples:
- Filetype:.pdf
- sfiletype:.gif
Conclusion
If you’ve read this far, you’re clearly interested in knowing the Google search operators list.
We recommend bookmarking this page and going through the commands again and again until you’ve mastered them completely, which isn’t a big deal.
Use the Google search operator list to your advantage. It’s a terrific resource for all those aspiring SEO specialists and digital marketing enthusiasts.