Google search is powerful on its own but you can take it to the next level by using advanced search operators. These operators allow you to refine your search and find exactly what you’re looking for faster. In this blog post, we’ll cover more than 30 plus of the best advanced Google search operators you should know about.
Site Search operator: site:
The site: operator allows you to search within a specific website or domain. This is useful if you want to find all pages on a site mentioning a particular topic. For example, to search only google.com for “advanced search” you would type:
site:google.com “advanced search”
Related search operator: related:
The related: operator shows you related topics to the search term. It’s helpful when you want to expand your search to related keywords. For example, to see related searches to “google” you would type:
related:google
Definition search operator: define:
To search for the definition of a word, use the define: operator. Google will show you the dictionary or Wikipedia definition. For example:
define:serendipity
Time range search operator: after:, before:
The after: and before: operators allow you to search for results within a specific time range. This is useful when researching news events or finding old blog posts and articles.
For example, to find results about climate change after 2010:
climate change after:2010
To find results about the iPhone before 2007:
iPhone before:2007
Currency search operator: currency:
The currency: operator lets you convert currency amounts when searching. For example, to convert 150 Euros to USD:
150 Euros currency:USD
File type search operator: filetype:
Use filetype: to search for files of a certain extension. This is helpful when you need a specific file format like PDFs or images. For example:
vacation ideas filetype:pdf
funny cats filetype:jpg or png
Stocks search operator: stock:
To get stock information and charts for a company, use the stock: operator. Try:
stock:AAPL
stock:TSLA
Patent search operator: patent:
Searching for patents is easy with the patent: operator. You can find patents by number, title or inventor name. For example:
patent:”bicycle brake”
patent: inventor:Wright
Definition search operator: define:
Want to see the dictionary definition of a word right in Google? Use the define: operator. For example:
define:serendipity
Calculator search operator: calculate:
Do math calculations easily using the calculate: operator. For example:
calculate: 5 + 3
calculate: 10% of 500
calculate: sqrt(25)
Weather search operator: weather:
Check the current weather or forecast using weather: and the city or zip code. For example:
weather: Seattle, WA
weather: 90210
Unit conversion operator: convert:
Quickly convert between units like currencies, lengths, volumes and more using convert:. For example:
convert: 50 euros to usd
convert: 5 feet to meters
convert: 2 cups to tablespoons
News search operator: news:
Find the latest news articles about a topic using news:. You can also specify a timeframe. For example:
news: climate change
news: biden after:2021-01-20
Number range search operator: “..”
Use two periods “..” to search for a number range. This is useful when searching prices, ages, and other quantified data. For example:
shoes price:$50..$100
best movies of 1990..2000
houses for sale $300,000..$400,000
Search within a page operator: intitle: intext:
The intitle: and intext: operators let you search within the contents of a single page rather than the whole web. Intitle: searches the page title, intext: searches the full text. For example:
intitle:”contact us”
intext:”how to apply”
Search by image operator: image:
Find websites containing a certain image using image: and the image URL or search terms related to the image. For example:
image:”cats sleeping”
image: https://i.imgur.com/xyz123.jpg
Link search operator: link:
Find web pages that link to a specified page using link: and the URL. This shows you related and authoritative pages on a topic. For example:
link:google.com
link: wikipedia.org/climate_change
Info search operators: info:, allintext:
Info: shows additional information snippets for a query from sources like Wikipedia, and allintext: searches the full text of pages for all query terms.
For example:
info:coffee
allintext:”how to bake a cake”
Exclusion operator: –
Use the minus sign – to exclude terms from the results. This is great for filtering out undesired topics. For example:
“science”-physics
hiking -“yosemite national park”
“apple” -iphone -macbook
Wildcard operator: *
The asterisk * acts as a wildcard and will match zero or more characters. Use it when you’re not sure of the exact spelling or words. For example:
restaur* near me
modern architec*
colorad* vacation
Auto-suggest operator: ~
Using the tilde ~ before a search term displays search suggestions from Google. This can help you find related topics or the best way to phrase your query. For example:
~movies to watch
~learning to code
This shows suggested searches without having to run the full query.
Language search operator: lang:
The lang: operator restricts results to pages in a certain language. This ensures you don’t get results in a foreign tongue. Try:
wind energy lang:es
machine learning lang:fr
news lang:pt
Search by domain: domain:
Find pages on a specific domain like .edu, .gov or country codes using domain:. For instance:
dreams domain:.edu
politics domain:.gov
travel domain:.ca
Related images search: related_images:
See other images similar to one you specify using related_images: and the image URL. For example:
related_images: https://i.imgur.com/xyz123.jpg
Search by color: color:
Find images containing specific colors using color: followed by the color name or hex code. For instance:
landscapes color:green
logo color:#3366FF
Search within a site: site:
Limit searches to specific sites using site: and the domain. Helpful for research or work tasks.
training site:exampletrainingportal.com
vacation spots site:tripadvisor.com
Cache search: cache:
View cached snapshots of pages that may have changed using cache: and the URL. For instance:
cache:google.com
cache: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet
Personalized results:
To remove personalized search filters like location and previous history, add pws=0 to the end of queries. This ensures more universal results.
laptops pws=0
So in summary, these advanced Google search operators allow you to narrow, filter, and refine your searches to get exactly the information you need efficiently. With a bit of practice, they can really enhance your Google-fu. I hope this list of 44 top search operators has given you some powerful new tools for your searches. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Range search operator: ..
The range operator “..” allows you to search for a range of numbers. This comes in handy when searching price ranges, ages,chapter numbers etc.
For example:
- Books price $5..$10
- Houses built 1990..2000
- Bible chapter 1..10
Search within a specific site: site:
The site: operator restricts searches to a particular domain. This is useful when you want results only from a specific website.
For example:
- Recipes site:allrecipes.com
- Jobs site:linkedin.com
- Products site:amazon.com
Search by file type: filetype:
Use filetype: to search for pages with a particular file extension like PDF, DOC, XLS, JPEG etc.
For examples:
- Resumes filetype:doc
- Tax forms filetype:pdf
- Vacation pictures filetype:jpeg
Search within a specific page: intitle:, intext:
intitle: searches only the title of pages while intext: searches within the full text.
For example:
- intitle:”contact us”
- intext:”company headquarters”
Search by author: author:
To search books, blogs or articles by a specific author, use author:
For example:
- author:john grisham
- author:dr. joseph mercola
- author: jk rowling
Search within a specific time period: after:, before:
Limit searches to a date range using after: and before:
For examples:
- Climate change after:1990
- Y2K before:2000
- Covid-19 after:2019
Search for related topics: related:
The related: operator displays topics related to the search term.
For example:
- related:python
- related:web development
- related: machine learning
I hope these additional advanced Google search operators help in narrowing down your search results even further. Let me know if any need more explanation.
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People Also Ask:
What is the site: operator and how can I use it?
The site: operator allows you to search within a specific website or domain. This is useful when you want to find all pages on one site that are relevant to your query. For example, if you search “smart home devices” site:cnet.com, it will only return results from CNET about smart home devices.
How do I search for a specific file type like PDFs or images?
To search for pages with a particular file extension like PDF, DOC, XLS or image file types, use the filetype: operator followed by the file extension. For example, filetype:pdf will return only PDF files, and filetype:jpg or filetype:png will restrict results to image files.
How can I search for a word or phrase only in page titles?
To search for a word or phrase that appears only in the page titles, use the intitle: operator followed by the word or phrase in quotation marks. For example, intitle:”contact us” will return only pages that have the phrase “contact us” in the title.
How do I search for a word or phrase within the full text of pages?
Use the intext: operator to search for text that appears anywhere within the full content of pages. For example, intext:”company headquarters” will return any pages that contain that full phrase in the body text.
How can I exclude certain words from my search results?
To omit results containing undesired words or topics, use the minus sign “-” operator before the excluded terms. For example, “dresses -wedding” will return dresses but not wedding dresses.
How do I search for a range of numbers like price ranges?
You can search number ranges using two dots “..” between the minimum and maximum values. For example, “dvd players $50..$150” will give results between $50-150. Similarly cars from 1990..2000 will return cars made between those years.
How do I find images similar to one I provide?
To see other images similar to one on the web, use the related_images: operator followed by the full image URL. For example, related_images:https://example.com/image.jpg will display other very similar photos.
How can I view the definition of a word on Google?
To search for and view the dictionary definition of a word directly from Google search, use the define: operator followed by the word. For example, define:serendipity will show you the definition from sources like Google Dictionary or Wikipedia.
How do I search within specific date ranges?
Use the after: and before: operators to restrict results to certain time periods. For example, smartphones after:2010 before:2020 will return results launched in that decade range.
How can I search only specific languages?
To filter results to pages in a particular language, use the lang: operator followed by a language or locale code. Common choices include lang:en, lang:es, lang:hi, lang:zh, etc.
How do I search for topics related to my search term?
The related: operator displays topics related or closely associated to the original search term. It can help expand or direct the search scope. For example, related:python shows related programming languages, frameworks or libraries.
How do I convert between different units of measurement?
Google’s convert operator quickly and easily converts between units of measurement. For example, convert:5 feet to meters converts a length, and convert:2 cups to tablespoons handles volume/weight.
How can I see stock information and charts for companies?
Use the stock: operator followed by a ticker symbol to view current stock prices, historical charts and other financial data for a publicly traded company. For instance, stock:AAPL shows Apple Inc. stock details.
How do I view cached snapshots of pages that may have changed?
The cache: operator allows seeing archived versions of pages as Google has cached them at certain points in time. This can be helpful if a page has been removed or altered. For example, cache:wikipedia.org shows a cached snapshot of Wikipedia.
Is there a way to search without personalized results?
Adding pws=0 to queries removes personalization filters like location and history from results. This ensures more universal,generic listings without influence from user-specific data. Useful when searching from public/shared devices.
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