Have you ever been frustrated when you are trying to search for something specific on Google? For example, every time you search for what you want, 8 million results come back, but none of the results seem to match exactly what you’re actually looking for? If this is all too common for you, don’t worry. We’re going to show how you can utilize Google’s built-in search operators to get exactly what you are looking for the first time around!
Google has a whole host of special characters and commands called “search operators” built in that can help tailor and narrow your Google search results. Google is more than just a search engine – it can perform calculations, convert measurement units, and foreign currency. Plus, with the rise of devices like smart speakers, you can now use voice search to find what you need. All you have to do is ask.
That said, we’re going to take a deep dive into the many things that Google is capable of with a five-part series. To kick off this series, we’ll explore Google’s Search Operators and their amazing usefulness in refining web searches, but be sure to follow us for more details on parts 2-5 which will cover the following:
A Few Disclaimers: Please keep in mind this is by no means an exhaustive list, and according to Google, “not all search operators return exhaustive results.” Google does remove and deprecate search operators from time to time, so results may vary.
Google Search Operators consist of special command words and predefined characters to construct your search query in order to narrow down your search results. We have broken down Search Operators into three types: Basic, Boolean, and Advanced. When you combine these powerful options, you are truly taking advantage of Google’s advanced search capabilities but only if you know how to use them!
A basic Google search assumes the word “and” in between each word that you type in the Google search bar. Basic searches like this in Google will return very broad search results. For example, if you search for “website design companies”. Google will return results based on all three of these words on an individual basis. Meaning, any websites, articles, news content, etc. that contain information that relates to, “website,” “design,” or “companies,” will be served-up as options for you to select from via the Google search results page (or Google SERPS).
If you want to narrow down your search, using specific characters can help tell Google exactly what you are looking for vs. what you would like to exclude. An example of this would be using quotations around a specific word or phrase to let Google know you want search results to match that exact word or phrase. Similarly, using a minus or hyphen sign in your search, will let Google know that you’d like to exclude or omit specific search terms. Here are some examples of this:
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- |
Example |
“ “ |
Example |
* |
Example |
.. |
Example |
# |
Example |
Technically these types of searches are considered part of basic search operators, but we want to make the distinction that true Boolean searches do behave a little differently. When you apply these concepts to a search query it could mean either, or, or both, almost like a variable which is where the term Boolean originates from. Meaning, a binary variable, having two possible values or outcomes. For example true or false. I am afraid of spiders → True/False or my favorite color is pink → True/False.
Here are a few examples:
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AND |
Example |
OR |
Example |
| |
Example |
+ |
Example |
Google Advanced Search is defined as a more detailed method of finding information on Google as it uses a variety of search operators and consists of both special characters and commands combined to go beyond a “normal” google search. Here are some real-world examples below to illustrate:
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allintitle: and intitle: |
Example |
allintext: and intext: |
Example |
allinurl: and inurl: |
Example |
around(x) |
Example |
ext.: or filetype: |
Example 1 |
related: |
Example |
site: |
Example |
source: |
Example |
In summary, if you want to use Google more efficiently to get the search results you are looking for, here are the key takeaways:
If you're interested in learning more about how to get your business ranked in Google search results we can help! Contact us to speak with a Marketing Specialist and let us help you get the most out of your online experience!
Published on: April 18, 2022 by Sheena Salmon, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist