Google search operators are special keywords that Google recognizes and uses to help you get the information you want.
Operators can be used in two ways: (1) to refine a search or (2) to specify which pages you want to show for an entire site. You can get actionable results from both input when you search google.
Types…
There are 3 major Types of Google Search Operators. These are Basic, Advanced, and Depreciated. Let’s look at each of them.
Basic Google Search Operators
Basic Search Operators are words and symbols that are used by Google in a particular way to return better results. They are used to search for specific phrases, words, and other content in a larger body of text.
Most importantly, these operators work as an advanced search function. They’re mostly useful for further refining a search by answering questions like “is iPhone 8 US 4G compatible?” or “what are the beaches like in Nicaragua?”.
By using basic search operators, you’ll assuredly find more accurate results when searching Google. Thus especially when searching for something like “marketing,” which could potentially yield millions of results, depending on how broad the search terms are.
The basic Google search operators, altogether, are utilized for combining multiple queries. The operator can be used to manage multiple search commands and to extract the desired result.
Having said that, here are some of the Basic Search Operators from the search engine giant, Google.
1. “ ’’ (Phrase)
By using quotation marks around a phrase, in other words, when you put a word or phrase in quotes, Google will only show results for that exact word or phrase.
This is useful if you’re looking for a specific TERM and want to make sure you get results that only include that term. It’s also helpful for preventing Google from automatically including synonyms or related searches in your results.
For example, if you search for “car” you’ll also get results for “cars,” “vehicle,” and “automobile.” But if you search for “car” in quotes, you’ll only get results for the word “car.”
2. | (OR)
Google’s search engine defaults to a logical OR between terms for all the keywords you enter in a search query. This means that either one of the two terms you specify must be present in the results of a web page.
For example, a search for “cats OR dogs” will show you results for pages that contain either “cats” or “dogs” (or both).
To recap, if you want to see results for pages that contain either “cats” or “dogs” (or both), you can specify this by using the “OR” operator in all caps.
Keep in mind that you can use the “OR” operator with other operators as well, such as “-” (minus). You can use the minus is to exclude certain terms from your results or “+” (plus).
For example, if you search for “cats OR dogs -pigeon”, you will get results that contain “cats” or “dogs”, but not “pigeon “
3. AND
If you are looking for information on both X and Y, the best way to find what you are looking for is to search for both terms simultaneously. This will return only results that are related to both X and Y.
Because the search engine will look for pages that contain both keywords, it’ll return more relevant results. In fact, this is the most efficient way to find information on both topics.
When searching for something on the internet, it is important to use the correct keywords so that you can find what you are looking for more easily.
For example, if you are looking for information on the history of the United States, you would use the keyword “United States history” rather than just “history.”
By using the correct keywords, in the long run, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort in your search for information.
4. ( ) – Parenthesis
Search engines use parentheses to group operators together and control the order in which they execute. This can be useful to control the results of complex queries that match multiple criteria.
On some occasion, you might want to search for a phrase, but only if it is followed by another word. In this case, you would use the parentheses to group the operators together and force the search engine to execute the operators in the order you specify.
For example, let’s say you want to find articles about cats that also mention the color black. You could use the following search query:
“cats” AND “black”
This would return results that mention both “cats” and “black”, but the order of the terms doesn’t matter. However, if you want to specifically find results that mention “black cats”, you can use parentheses to group the terms together like this:
(“black” AND “cats”)
This query will only return results that contain the phrase “black cats”. In addition to that, Parentheses are also useful for finding results that contain multiple words.
For example, if you want to find all articles that mention both “cats” and “dogs”, you would use the parentheses to group the google search operators together and search for the phrase “cats AND dogs”.
5. – (Minus)
When you want to focus your search and exclude certain terms, you can put a minus sign (-) in front of them. This is especially useful if you’re trying to weed out search results that are not relevant to your query.
For example, let’s say you’re looking for articles about cats, but you don’t want any results about dogs. You could search for “cats -dogs” and all of the results would be about cats, with no mention of dogs.
You can also use the minus sign to exclude search operators.
For example, if you don’t want any results that are from the website Wikipedia, you could search for “cats -site:wikipedia.org”. This would exclude any results that are from Wikipedia, even if the term “cats”
Another example, if you want to find articles that mention dogs but don’t mention cats, you would search for “dogs -inurl:cats”. appears on the page.
So the next time you want to fine-tune your search, remember to use the minus sign to exclude the terms and operators you don’t want.
6. * (Wildcard)
An asterisk(*) can be used as a wild-card in search operators. This can be useful when you’re trying to find a specific piece of information but you’re not sure of the exact word that you’re looking for.
For example, if you wanted to find all articles about animals, you could use the search operator “animal*”. This would return articles about animals, animal behavior, animal rights, animal breeding etc.
All around, the asterisk (*) is a wild-card character that can be used in search operators to match on any word. To put it in another way, it means that it will match any word, regardless of what it is.
7. @
The @ symbol is known as the at sign or commercial at. It is most commonly used in email addresses and social media handles. But it can also be used in searches to find results from specific social media sites like Twitter and Instagram.
When you use this symbol in a search, you’ll be able to find results that mention a specific account or profile. This is a great way to find social media posts from a particular person or brand.
To use the “@” symbol, simply type it into the search bar followed by the name of the account or profile you’re looking for.
For example, if you want to find posts from @twitter, you would type “@twitter” into the search bar.
You can also use this symbol to search for specific keywords on social media. So the next time you’re looking for something or someone on social media, be sure to use this Google search operator.
For example, if you want to find posts about dogs, you would type “@dogs” into the search bar.
8. $
When you search for prices with the dollar sign ($), you can combine it with a decimal point or period(.) to get exact prices.
So, for example, if you want to find items that cost exactly $19.99, you would search for “$19.99”.
Searching for $19.99 will only show results for that exact price. This can be useful when you’re trying to find items that are on sale or when you’re trying to compare prices from different vendors.
9. €
If you’re looking for prices of things in Euros, you’ll need to use the Euro sign (€) in your search. Google will usually return results in Euros for searches including the € sign.
For example, “€ 19.99”.
However, if you’re searching for prices in other currencies,, like the British pound (£) or the Japanese yen (¥), you may need to use a different search engine, as most other currency signs don’t seem to be honored by Google.
For example, searching for “10 usd in cad” doesn’t seem to work. Try it for yourself!
10. #…#
When searching for a range of numbers, you can use search operators to narrow your results. This will return all documents that mention the years “from X to Y” or “between X and Y.”
For example, if you want to find articles about the years 2010-2014, you can use the following search operators:
“2010..2014”
“2010-2014”
“2010-14”
Each of these search operators will return results or documents related to the specified range of numbers. You can also use these search operators to narrow your results by date, price, or any other numeric value.
11. in/to
The Search Operator “Convert” can be used to quickly and easily convert one unit to another. You can use it to convert currencies, weights, temperatures, etc.
To use this operator, just type in the value you want to convert into the search bar, followed by the from and to units. The search results will then show you the conversion results.
For example, to convert from pounds to kilograms, you would type “10lbs in/to kg”.
Advanced Google Search Operators
With around 1 billion websites on the Internet it can be very difficult for people to find what they are looking for.
As a result of the above concern, more advanced search operators have been introduced by Google, among others Yahoo!, in an attempt to refine the search results and provide users with better quality results.
Advanced Google Search Operators are special queries that allow you to get better results for your search in more detail than their Basic Google Search equivalents.
These advanced operators are mainly used in the Google Search Console, where several webmasters use them to understand their website’s performance on Google in greater depth.
Once you understand the basics, you can use advanced operators to find pages that don’t show up in your site’s official index on Google, learn how many people clicked on your website after finding it in the search results (called “hits”), and much more.
1. Site:
Wondering how to search for something on a specific website?
The site: search operator will limit your results to those from a particular website. This can be useful if you’re looking for a specific piece of information on a large website or if you want to find all the websites that mention a certain topic.
Here’s how to use the site: search operator to limit specific search results:
– Type “site:” into the Google search bar, followed by the website you want to search.
For example, if you want to search for information on website123.com, you would type “site:website123.com” into the search bar.
– Type your search query after the website.
For example, if you want to find all the websites that mention the word “cat”, you would type “site:website
The site: search operator is a powerful tool to use when you want to find all articles on a particular topic from a specific website, or when you want to find all mentions of your company on the internet.
2. Map:
Google search results can be customized to show map results for a locational search by using the “map” search operator. This is useful if you want to find local businesses or landmarks.
The map search operator will force Google to show map results for a locational search.
To use the “map” search operator, simply type “map” into the Google search bar followed by a locational search term.
For example, “map Los Angeles.” will return a map of Los Angeles with various points of interest labeled. You can then click on any of the labeled points of interest to learn more about it.
So the next time you’re looking for a specific place or trying to find nearby businesses, be sure to use the “map” search operator to help you find it.
3. Time:
Users can now search for specific times and dates using the “time” search operator to get specific information about a location and its history. This can be used to find details about past events or to get results for future events.
To use the “time” search operator, simply type “time” followed by the date and time you are looking for.
For example, “time August 12 3pm.” This will return results for August 12 at 3pm in the user’s current time zone.
If you want results for a specific location, you can add the “location” search operator.
For example, “time August 12 3pm location New York.” This will return results for August 12 at 3pm in New York time.
The “time” Google search operators is a great way to get specific results for events that are happening in different time zones. So if you’re ever curious about the time and date of a particular event, be sure to use it.
4. Movie:
Just enter a movie title to find information about it on google search bar. You can also find movie showtimes if the movie is currently showing or playing in theaters near you.
The other thing is that when you search for a movie, you can find information about that movie, including the cast, the director, and user ratings.
5. Cache:
The cache is a temporary storage area on your computer where web pages and other files are saved for quick retrieval.
When you visit a website, your browser checks the cache to see if there is a saved copy of the page you are requesting.
If a cached version is available, it is loaded from the cache instead of loading the page from the server. This can lead to faster page loading times, as the page does not need to be downloaded from the server again.
The cache can also be used to store files that are not web pages, such as images, CSS files, and JavaScript files. These files are also retrieved from the cache when they are needed, which can lead to faster loading times as well.
The cache is a vital part of your browser’s operation, as it helps to improve loading times and reduce bandwidth usage.
Having said that, the Cache feature in Google search returns the most recent cached version of a web page. This can be useful if the page has been removed or is otherwise unavailable.
To use this feature, simply enter “cache:” followed by the URL of the page you’re looking for.
For example, “cache:website123.com”
6. Define:
When you search for a word or phrase, you may see a card-like result that gives you the definition of that word or phrase. This feature is called Define and it allows you to quickly and easily find the meaning of a word without having to leave Google.
In other words, it is a dictionary of a collection of words and their definitions. A dictionary built into Google that will display the meaning of a word in a card-like result in the SERPs.
To use Define, simply enter the word or phrase you want to define into the Google search bar.
If define is available for that word or phrase, you will see a card-like result in the SERPs that gives you the definition. You can also click on the word or phrase itself to bring up the Define Card.
Define is a useful tool for quickly finding the meaning of a word or phrase. However, it is important to note that the definitions provided by Define are sourced from a variety of sources, so they may not always be the same.
7. Stocks:
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about stocks and the stock market. But if you’re curious about how a particular stock or specific ticker is doing, the Search Operator can help you out.
Just type in the ticker symbol followed by “stock” (without the quotation marks) and you’ll see the current stock price, as well as other information such as its 52-week or day’s high and low.
For example, if you want to see the stock information for Apple, you would type in “AAPL stock.”
You can also use the Google Search Operators to find stock information for a specific company. Just type in the company name followed by “stock” and you’ll see the same information as you would for a ticker symbol.
For example, if you want to see the stock information for Microsoft, you would type in “Microsoft stock.”
So next time you’re wondering how your stocks are doing, or you want to check out a friend’s stock portfolio, give the Search Operator a try.
Keep in mind that the Search Operator will only show you information that is already available on the market or gets public.
8. Group:
The “Group” operator lets you search for articles in a specific newsgroup. This can be useful if you want to find all articles from a particular group, or if you want to restrict your search results to a specific group.
To use the “Group” operator, simply type “group:” followed by the name of the group you want to search.
For example, if you want to find all articles or messages from the “alt.news” group, you would type “group:alt.news” into the search box.
You can also search for multiple groups by separating the group names with a comma.
For example, “group:alt.news,alt.news.iota” would search for articles in both the “alt.news” and “alt.news.iota” groups.
This can be a great way to find specific information from a group that you wouldn’t be able to find using a general search. In the future, try using the “group:” operator to narrow down your results if you want to look for something specific from a Google Group.
9. Source:
If you want to find news results from a specific source in Google News, you can use the “source” search operator. Just enter “source:[name of source]” into the search bar, and you should see news results from that source.
For example, if you want to find news results from the BBC, you would enter “source:bbc” into the search bar.
This search operator can be useful if you want to find articles or types of story from a specific and reliable news source, or if you want to make sure you’re only seeing results from a certain country or region.
If you want to find news results from multiple sources, you can use the “OR” operator.
For example, if you want to find news results from the BBC and the Guardian, you would enter “source:bbc OR source:guardian” into the search bar.
10. Author:
Group result pages show all articles from the newsgroup, regardless of who posted them. To see only articles written by the author you specify, use the Author: search operator.
For example, the query [Author: John Doe] will return all articles written by John Doe.
This search operator can be useful if you’re looking for a specific piece of information written by someone.
11. Related:
The related: search operator will return sites that are related to a target domain. This is a great way to find similar sites to a site you already know about.
For example, “related:website123.com.”
Besides, this search operator is helpful for finding competitor websites or to find new sites that are related to your field of interest.
However, this search operator only works for larger domains. So if you’re trying to find sites related to a small site or individual blog, you won’t have much luck. But for larger domains, this search operator can be a valuable tool.
12. Weather:
When you search for weather on Google, you’ll see relevant information – current conditions, a forecast, and even precipitation and wind data – right on the search results page.
If you’re wondering what the weather is like in a specific location, you can now find out using the Search operator. Just type in “weather” followed by the location you’re interested in.
For example, if you want to know what the weather is like in New York, you would type in “weather New York.”
This operator will show you the current weather conditions for the location you specified, as well as the forecast for the next few days. All this comes from a weather snippet, which is powered by the Weather Channel.
In addition to the weather snippet, you’ll also see results from weather websites when you search for weather. These results can include 10-day forecasts, hourly forecasts, radar maps, and more.
So if you’re planning a trip or just curious about the weather in a particular place, the Search operator is a great way to get the information you need.
You can also view a map of the current conditions, which can be helpful in determining whether to expect rain or snow.
13. Translate:
With the release of Google Translate’s new search operator, you can now search for the translation of a specific word or phrase.
The “Translate:” advanced search operator is useful when you’re trying to communicate with someone who speaks a different language or when you’re trying to learn a new language yourself.
To use this new search operator, simply type “translate” followed by the word or phrase you want to translate.
For example, to translate the word “hello” into Spanish, you would type “translate hello into Spanish”. This will bring up a list of translated results into Spanish from Google Translate.
If you’re not sure what language you want to translate into, you can specify the source language and Google Translate will try to detect the language for you.
You can also use these Google search operators to translate a word or phrase into multiple languages. To do this, simply type “translate” followed by the word or phrase you’re looking for, and then a list of languages you want the translation to be in.
14. Insubject:
When using Google Groups, you can search for restricting articles to the specified terms in the subject. This can be useful when you want to find groups that discuss a specific topic.
In order to search for restrictions in Google Groups, you will need to use the following search operators: insubject:
To do this, simply enter the terms you want to search for in the search bar and press enter. Google Groups will then show you a list of all the groups that have discussed the topic you’re interested in.
For example, if you wanted to find all the articles in Google Groups that were restricted to the term “cheesecake,” you would use the following search query: insubject:cheesecake.
You should then see a list of all the articles that contain the specified terms in the subject. From there, you can choose to either read the articles or restrict them to the specified terms.
15. Postauthor:
The modern world is one that is increasingly reliant on the internet. This is true for both individuals and businesses alike. As such, it is important to be able to find the content that you need quickly and easily.
In fact, in the current world of online publishing, it is often difficult to find content that is written by specific authors. This is especially true if you are looking for articles or blog posts written by a particular author or group of authors.
One solution for this is to search for content written by specific authors using the Postauthor: search operator. This can be especially useful if you are looking for high-quality content from trustworthy sources.
For example, “postauthor:John Smith”
16. Allpostauthor:
The Allpostauthor: search operator allows you to find posts written by a specific author. This can be useful if you’re looking for posts by a particular person or if you want to find all the posts written by someone with a common surname.
To use this search operator, simply enter Allpostauthor: followed by the author’s name or surname.
For example, a search for Allpostauthor: John Smith would return all posts written by John Smith.
You can also use this search operator to find posts written by multiple authors.
For example, a search for Allpostauthor: John Smith, Jane Doe would return all posts written by both John Smith and Jane Doe.
So if you’re looking for posts written by a specific author or authors, be sure to give the Allpostauthor: search operator a try.
17. Location:/Loc:
The internet is a great resource for finding information about a specific place.
You can use a search engine like Google to find websites, articles, and other resources that can give you more information about a specific location.
However, the results of your search may not always be reliable. This is because anyone can create a website or post an article about a place, regardless of whether or not they have accurate information.
As such, it’s important to take the information you find online with a grain of salt and to verify it with other sources before you use it.
The Loc: search engine is a great tool for finding information about a specific place. But the results are sometimes unreliable.
For example, try searching for “restaurants in New York.” TheLoc: will show you a list of restaurants in New York, but the results may not be accurate.
The same goes for other searches, like “hotels in Paris” or “attractions in London.” TheLoc: is a great tool for finding general information about a place, but it’s not always 100% accurate.
If you’re looking for specific, reliable information about a place, it’s best to use a different search engine, like Google or Bing.
18. SRC:
One of Google’s Advanced Search Operators is “SRC” which lets you search for pages that contain a specific image URL.
The SRC search operator can be useful if you’re trying to find websites that have used a certain image or if you’re trying to find the original source of an image.
To use this operator, simply type “SRC” into the Google search bar followed by the URL of the image you’re looking for. Surround the URL with quotation marks so that Google knows to search for that exact URL.
For example, if you’re looking for websites that have used this image of a cat, you would search for “SRC:http://i.imgur.com/ASdruigslist.jpg”.
Give it a try and see what you can find!
19. Inurl:
Adding “inurl:” to your search query will help you find documents that contain a specific word or phrase in the URL.
The “inurl” command is a Google search operator that is used to find pages that contain a specific word or phrase in the URL. This can be useful if you want to find pages that are related to certain KEYWORDS.
For example, if you want to find pages about dogs, you could search for “inurl:dogs” and Google would return results that contain the word “dogs” in the URL.
You can also combine the “inurl” operator with other search operators to narrow down your results, such as “site” or “filetype.”
For example, if you want to find PDF files about dogs, you could search for “inurl:dogs filetype:pdf.”
20. Intext:
The intext: search operator allows you to search for a word or phrase, but only in the body or document text.
As one of an advanced google search operators, the intext: can be useful if you want to find a specific word or phrase or mention of a product or service in a review, but you don’t want to include results from the title, URL, or other parts of the page.
To use the intext: search operator, simply type intext: followed by the word or phrase you want to search for.
For example, if you wanted to find all documents that mention the word “iPod” in the body text of a page, you would type intext: “iPod” into the search box.
You can use the intext: to find multiple words or phrases on a page. Simply enclose the words or phrases you want to find in quotation marks.
In addition, you can also use the intext: search operator to find a word or phrase in a specific language. To do this, simply add the language code after the word or phrase you’re searching for.
21. Intitle:
When you use the intitle: operator, Google will restrict your search results to only those pages whose title contains the word or phrase you’re searching for.
The intitle: search operator allows you to search only in the title of a page for a particular word or phrase. This can be useful if you want to find a specific page on a website or if you want to find pages that mention a specific keyword or phrase.
To use the intitle: operator, simply type “intitle:” followed by the word or phrase you’re searching for.
For example, if you search for “intitle:cats” on Google, you’ll only get results for pages that have the word “cats” in their title.
You can also use intitle: to find pages that mention a specific phrase.
For example, if you search for “intitle:”cats and dogs”” on Google, you’ll only get results for pages that have the phrase “cats and dogs” in their title.
Keep in mind that the intitle: operator is case sensitive, so be sure to use the correct capitalization when you type in your search.
22. Allinurl:
allinurl: is a Google search operator that allows you to search for a given term in the URL of a website.
The allinurl: command is a powerful search tool that allows you to search for every individual term following “allinurl:”. This is similar to using multiple inurl:’s, but with the allinurl: command, you can search for terms that are not adjacent to each other.
Basically, this operator can be useful if you’re looking for a specific page on a website or trying to find all instances of a given term on a website.
To use allinurl:, simply type “allinurl:” followed by the term you’re searching for.
For example, if you wanted to find all instances of the word “cat” on a website, you would type “allinurl:cat” into the search bar.
You can also use multiple allinurl: commands to search for multiple terms at once in a single search.
For example, if you want to find all instances of “cat” and “dog” on a website, you would search for “allinurl:cat allinurl:dog”.
23. Allintext:
The allintext: search operator allows you to search for a specific word or phrase in the body text of a webpage. This search instruction will search the body text of every individual term following “allintext:”. Same as multiple intexts:’s.
You can use allintext: to find pages that mention a specific product or service, or to find pages that mention multiple products or services.
To use this operator, simply type “allintext:” followed by the word or phrase you want to search for.
For example, if you want to find pages that mention both “cats” and “dogs”, you would search for “allintext: cats dogs”.
As you can see, this can be useful if you want to find documents where all of the terms you specify are included in the text, rather than just some or none of them.
24. Allintitle:
Google’s allintitle: allows you to search for a particular phrase where all of the terms appear in the page title. It is a great way to narrow down your results and find exactly what you’re looking for.
The allintitle: search operator is a powerful tool that can be used to find pages that contain all of the terms you specify. This can be useful for finding pages where the terms you’re searching for are featured prominently.
For example, say you want to find pages about the new iPhone. You could search for allintitle: new iPhone to find pages where the phrase “new iPhone” appears in the page title.
You can also use allintitle: to find pages that mention multiple terms.
For example, allintitle: new iPhone release date would find pages where both “new iPhone” and “release date” appear in the page title.
Allintitle: searches are case insensitive, so you can search for allintitle: New iPhone and allintitle: new iphone to get the same results.
25. Filetype:/ext:
The filetype: /ext: search operator is a powerful tool that can be used to narrow down your search results to only include files of a specific type.
As one of a great advanced Google search operators, this can be especially useful when you’re looking for a specific type of document, like a PDF or an Excel spreadsheet.
To use this search operator, simply include filetype: /ext: followed by the file extension you want to search for.
For example, if you wanted to only search for PDF files, you would use the search query “filetype:pdf.”
You can also use this operator to find both PDF and PowerPoint files or other multiple file extensions in your search query, such as DOC, XLS, PPT, and TXT.
Remember, the filetype: /ext: search operator is a great way to find the exact file of what you’re looking for, so be sure to use it.
However, keep in mind that not all files are indexed by Google, so you may not always find what you’re looking for.
26. AROUND(X):
The AROUND(X) search operator returns results where the two terms/phrases are within (X) words of each other. This can be useful for finding documents where the terms are used in close proximity to each other, such as in a sentence or paragraph.
To use the AROUND(X) search operator, simply type the two terms/phrases you want to search for, followed by the AROUND(X) operator, where X is the number of words between the two terms.
For example, to find documents where the terms “cat” and “dog” are within 10 words of each other, you would use the following search query: cat AROUND(10) dog.
27. Image Size:width x height
The Image Size search operator allows you to find Exact Image Size in pixels. You can use this operator to find images that are a specific size. This operator is especially useful if you need to find an image for a specific purpose.
To use this operator, simply enter “Image Size:width x height” into the search bar.
For example, if you need an image for a website that is 400×300 pixels, you would enter “Image Size:400×300” into the search bar to find an image that is the exact size you need.
If you need help finding the perfect image, try using the Image Size search operator today! The search operator “size:width x height” results in the exact image size in pixels.
Deprecated Google Search Operators
Deprecated Search Operators are search operators that have been retired or removed from Google. They are those that will no longer be supported by the search engine.
In a nutshell, deprecated means that Google no longer supports the feature, it is no longer recommended to use them, because they may stop working in future versions.
Note that this doesn’t mean they are no longer a part of the Google algorithm, just that they have been deprecated and therefore need to be used with caution when searching or not at all.
1. +:
The +: search operator was used to force exact-match on a single phrase. However, this operator is no longer supported with the launch of Google+.
2. ~:
The tilde (~) operator is used to search for a word, or words similar in meaning to the word, that you specify. This operator is also known as the synonym operator.
When you use the tilde operator, the search engine looks for pages that are similar in meaning to the word or phrase you specify. The search engine does this by looking at the other words on the page and the context in which the word or phrase is used.
For example, if you search for~cat, the search engine would return results that include not only the word cat, but also results that include the words feline, kitty, and so on. This is because those words are similar in meaning to the word cat.
The tilde operator can be useful when you’re not sure of the exact word you want to use in the search bar.
However, this operator is not always reliable. Sometimes it will fail to include synonyms, and other times it will include synonyms that are not relevant to your search.
For the above reason, it is best to use the default synonym inclusion feature in most search engines.
3. #:
The # sign is known as a hash sign, or more formally, the octothorpe. It’s most commonly used in Twitter and other social media sites, like Instagram to denote a hashtag.
A hashtag is a keyword or phrase, with no spaces, that is preceded by a pound sign (#). On social media sites, the # sign is used more like a tag. That is, it’s used to categorize content so that it can be easily found by other users.
For example, #Olympics, # lovely, or # Nike. Hashtags are used to group messages or track topics on Twitter.
The #: Google search operators was introduced by Google+ and allowed users to search for content that was tagged with a particular hashtag. However, this feature was later deprecated and is no longer available.
4. Link:
The link: operator was used to find pages that link to the target domain. However, this operator was deprecated in early 2017 and is no longer supported by Google.
5. Info:/Id:
The Info:/Id API call has been deprecated as of 2017. This API call was used to find information about a specific page, including the most recent cache, similar pages, etc.
If you are looking for information about a specific page, we recommend using the Page:/Id API call instead. This API call will return all the available information about a page, including the cached version, similar pages, etc.
6. Blogurl:
When you use the “blogurl” search operator in Google, you are specifically searching for blog URLs that are associated with a given domain.
blogurl: can be a useful way to find blog posts that are relevant to your research, as well as to understand what kind of blog content is out there for a given topic.
However, it’s important to note that “blogurl” will also return some results in a regular Google search. This is because there are some domains that are known to be associated with blogs, such as “blogspot.com” and “wordpress.com”.
If you want to be sure that you’re only getting results from blogs, you can use the “site” search operator to specify that you only want to see results from a given domain.
7. Inanchor:
The “inanchor” command can be used to find pages that are being linked to with specific anchor text.
As a search operator, this can be useful for finding pages that are popular among certain groups of people, or for finding pages that are being linked to in a particular way that are relevant to a certain keyword or phrase.
To use the “inanchor” command, simply enter the following into a search engine: inanchor: followed by the anchor text you are interested in.
For example, if you wanted to find pages that are linked to with the anchor text “cat food,” you would search for “inanchor:cat food.”
If you want to find pages that are being linked to with multiple pieces of anchor text, you can use the “OR” operator.
For example, if you wanted to find pages that are linked to with the anchor text “cat food” or “dog food,” you would search for “inanchor:cat food OR dog food.
8. Inblogtitle:
This search option lets you find pages that have all the words or phrases you specify in the title. This can be useful if you’re looking for a specific concept or term and want to find all the pages that discuss it.
To use this search option, simply enter the words or phrases you want to find in the title into the search box. Make sure to include quotation marks around any phrase you want to keep together.
Once you hit enter, all the pages with those words or phrases in the title will be displayed.
Example, inblogtitle:books, inblogtitle:”sold books”
9. Inposttitle:
The inposttitle: search operator lets you search for posts with all the specified words or phrases in the title.
Example, inposttittle:books, inposttittle:”sold books”
No longer works.
10. Daterange:
The daterange: function allows you to return results within a specified date range. However, this function can be inconsistent and require Julian dates.
11. Phonebook:
The phonebook: search operator will let you find someone’s phone number. (Deprecated in 2010)
12. Allinanchor:
The allinanchor search operator is a powerful tool that can be used to find pages with all individual terms after “inanchor:” in the inbound anchor text. This can be a useful way to identify relevant pages for a given topic.
To use this operator, simply include the allinanchor: modifier in your Google search.
For example, a search for “allinanchor: SEO tips” would return results for pages that have the terms “SEO” and “tips” in the inbound anchor text.
Keep in mind that the allinanchor as one of the Google search operators is case sensitive, so be sure to use the correct capitalization when using this operator.
13. Inpostauthor:
If you want to find blog posts written by a specific author and you want to read them all in one place, you can use the inpostauthor: search operator.
To use this search operator, simply type in inpostauthor: followed by the author’s name.
For example, if you wanted to find blog posts written by John Smith, you would search for inpostauthor:John Smith.
Keep in mind that this search operator only works in Google Blog Search, not in regular Google.
So if you’re trying to find blog posts written by a specific author, be sure to use Google Blog Search instead of regular Google.
14. Allinpostauthor:
“All in post author” is a phrase used to describe someone who is the author of an entire post, as opposed to just a part of it.
The phrase is often used when the author’s name is not known, or when the author is not credited for their work.
For example, if you were to read a post on a blog that was unsigned, you could describe the author as “all in post author.”
Similarly, if you read a post that was credited to a pseudonym, you could also describe the author as “all in post author.”
In some cases, “all in post author” is used to describe the work of a ghostwriter or someone who has written content for another person.
Summary…
Google search operators are part of a subset of advanced Google search techniques from its products that content creators can use to narrow down search results for better quality.
While some Google search operators are fairly common, others are less well known and still minorly useful in producing keyword-specific results.