Here is a list of advanced Google search strings and operators you need to know to make most out of Google results. Instead of just searching casually, use these advanced search phrases to get a more accurate results for the data you are looking for.
Exact “search term”
Gets you the exact match in your search results.
Just like: “startup fortune”
OR
Search for X or Y. This will return results related to X or Y, or both. Note: The pipe (|) operator can also be used in place of “OR.”
Just like: startup OR fortune // startup | fortune
AND
Search for X and Y. This will return only results related to both X and Y. Note: It doesn’t really make much difference for regular searches, as Google defaults to “AND” anyway. But it’s very useful when paired with other operators.
Just like: startup AND fortune
The ‘-‘ command
– excludes a term or phrase in your search string.
Just like: startup -fortune (brings results about startup without the term fortune in it)
The ‘*’ command
Acts as a wildcard and will match any word or phrase.
Just like: startup * fortune
The ‘()’ command
Group multiple terms or search operators to control how the search is executed.
Just like: (startup OR blockchain) startupfortune
The ‘$’ command
Search for prices. Also works for Euro (€), but not GBP (£)
Just like: ipad $329
define:
A dictionary built into Google, basically. This will display the meaning of a word in a card-like result in the SERPs.
Just like: define:entrepreneur
cache:
Returns the most recent cached version of a web page (providing the page is indexed, of course).
Just like: cache:startupfortune.com
filetype:
Restrict results to those of a certain filetype. E.g., PDF, DOCX, TXT, PPT, etc. Note: The “ext:” operator can also be used—the results are identical.
Just like: startupfortune filetype:pdf / startupfortune ext:pdf
site:
Limit results to those from a specific website.
Just like: site:startupfortune.com
related:
Find sites related to a given domain.
Just like: related:startupfortune.com
intitle:
Find pages with a certain word (or words) in the title. In our example, any results containing the word “startupfortune” in the title tag will be returned.
Just like: intitle:startupfortune
allintitle:
Similar to “intitle,” but only results containing all of the specified words in the title tag will be returned.
Just like: allintitle:startupfortune blockchain
inurl:
Find pages with a certain word (or words) in the URL. For this example, any results containing the word “startupfortune” in the URL will be returned.
Just like: inurl:startupfortune
allinurl:
Similar to “inurl,” but only results containing all of the specified words in the URL will be returned.
Just like: allinurl:startupfortune blockchain
intext:
Find pages containing a certain word (or words) somewhere in the content. For this example, any results containing the word “startupfortune” in the page content will be returned.
Just like: intext:startupfortune
allintext:
Similar to “intext,” but only results containing all of the specified words somewhere on the page will be returned.
Just like: allintext:startupfortune blockchain
AROUND(X)
Proximity search. Find pages containing two words or phrases within X words of each other. For this example, the words “startupfortune” and “blockchain” must be present in the content and no further than four words apart.
Just like: startupfortune AROUND(4) blockchain
weather:
Find the weather for a specific location. This is displayed in a weather snippet, but it also returns results from other “weather” websites.
Just like: weather:san francisco
stocks:
See stock information (i.e., price, etc.) for a specific ticker.
Just like: stocks:aapl
map:
Force Google to show map results for a locational search.
Just like: map:silicon valley
movie:
Find information about a specific movie. Also finds movie showtimes if the movie is currently showing near you.
Just like: movie:avengers
in
Convert one unit to another. Works with currencies, weights, temperatures, etc.
Just like: $329 in GBP
source:
Find news results from a certain source in Google News.
Just like: startupfortune source:the_verge
#..#
Search for a range of numbers. In the example below, searches related to “WWDC videos” are returned for the years 2010–2014, but not for 2015 and beyond.
Just like: wwdc video 2010..2014
inanchor:
Find pages that are being linked to with specific anchor text. For this example, any results with inbound links containing either “startupfortune” or “blockchain” in the anchor text will be returned.
Just like: inanchor:startupfortune blockchain
allinanchor:
Similar to “inanchor,” but only results containing all of the specified words in the inbound anchor text will be returned.
Just like: allinanchor:startupfortune blockchain
Here are the Google search operators that have been discontinued and no longer work.
+
Force an exact-match search on a single word or phrase.
Just like: jobs +startupfortune – You can do the same thing by using double quotes around your search.
~
Include synonyms. Doesn’t work, because Google now includes synonyms by default. (Hint: Use double quotes to exclude synonyms.)
Just like: ~startupfortune
allinpostauthor:
Similar to “inpostauthor,” but removes the need for quotes (if you want to search for a specific author, including surname.)
Just like: allinpostauthor:startup fortune
inposttitle:
Find blog posts with specific words in the title. No longer works, as this operator was unique to the discontinued Google blog search.
Just like: intitle:startupfortune blockchain
info:
Find information about a specific page, including the most recent cache, similar pages, etc. Note: The id: operator can also be used—the results are identical.
Just like: info:startupfortune.com / id:startupfortune.com
daterange:
Find results from a certain date range. Uses the Julian date format, for some reason.
Just like: daterange:11278–13278
phonebook:
Find someone’s phone number. (Deprecated in 2010)
Just like: phonebook:Mayan MV
#
Searches #hashtags
Just like: #startupfortune