Google Search Operators [Complete List]

Are you tired of scrolling through endless pages of irrelevant search results on Google? 

If so, using Google search operators can help you refine your search and get exactly what you’re looking for. 

In this detailed guide, we will explain what Google search operators are and how to use them effectively with practical examples. 

Let’s get started!

1 What Are Google Search Operators?

Google Search Operators are a set of special symbols or words that you can use in your Google search to narrow down or expand your search results. They are highly effective in providing more precise and relevant information. 

You can use these operators to search for exact phrases, exclude certain terms, search within a specific website or domain, find related websites, and much more. 

Using Google search operators is simple; all you need to do is type the command along with your search term or domain.

However, before you start using them, it’s important to remember a few tips.

• Avoid spacing between the search operator and your search term to avoid errors. 
• Note that Google ignores punctuation marks unless they are used as part of a search operator.

Google search operators can be categorized into basic and advanced operators, each with their own functions. Let’s list them in the next section.

2 Basic Search Operators

Basic operators are essential for effective search on a search engine. They are easy to remember and frequently used. 

Refer to the table below for an overview of their functions and examples:

3 Advanced Search Operators

Google’s advanced search operators refine search results but need practice to use them effectively. They offer deeper control and specialized functionalities.

The table below shows useful advanced operators, functions, and examples:

4 Ways to Use the Google Search Operators

Let’s dive into using these search operators effectively to enhance your research and get better results.

Mastering these commands will improve your Google skills and help you uncover valuable information.

4.1 Advanced Content Research

Usually, when you research on Google, you start by entering keywords or phrases. Google then shows results based on these inputs. 

To improve accuracy, you can use quotation marks around specific keywords, like "content writing strategy" for more relevant results.

But, if you’re seeking a post that discusses both the meaning and strategies, not just content writing, you can guide Google to prioritize the main keyword while including the rest of the information. 

To do this, enclose the most important keywords in quotation marks, as shown below.

4.2 Find Guest Post Opportunities

If you’re looking for guest post opportunities on email marketing, you’ll want to find web pages that contain phrases like “write for us.”

To do this, start by searching for your topic, email marketing, and then use the intitle: search operator to find pages that include your desired phrase.

For instance, searching for email marketing intitle:"write for us" will help you discover websites actively accepting guest contributions.

To refine your search further, you can use a wildcard (*) within phrases like email marketing "submit * guest post".

This allows you to match variations such as “submit your post,” “submit a post,” or “submit blog post.”

You can uncover a wider range of guest posting opportunities by tweaking the search terms strategically.

4.3 Track Indexed Pages

To monitor your website’s visibility on search engines, track indexed pages using the site: operator with your domain name. 

For example, search site:rankmath.com will reveal all the indexed pages of our website.

To check the performance of a specific page on search results, use the site: and intitle: operators. 

For example, search site:rankmath.com intitle:free SEO tools on Google.

This query will search for Free in titles with SEO tools or its variations on the site.

Regularly checking the indexed pages helps ensure that Google crawls and indexes your website and allows you to detect any potential indexing issues.

Additionally, you can use this approach to discover your competitors’ indexed pages by entering their domain and relevant keywords.

4.4 Research Topics and Keywords

You can use the operator intitle: to search for a particular keyword across multiple websites, such as intitle:"healthy eating" to find pages with that keyword.

4.5 Discover Pages Containing a Keyword

If you want to narrow down your search to specific websites within your niche, you can utilize the site: operator. 

For instance, you can use the query site:gardenista.com organic gardening to explore relevant topics about organic gardening, specifically within the Gardenista website. This is a broad search.

To look for pages that contain a particular phrase, add quotes around the key phrase. For instance, use site:gardenista.com “organic gardening“. You will get all the pages that contain the particular key phrase.

4.6 Find Social Media Profiles

To find social media profiles, use the site: operator with the social media domain and the person or brand name. 

For example, to search for the Twitter profile of Rank Math, use site:twitter.com “Rank Math”

4.7 Using the OR command

The OR command broadens search results by including multiple synonyms or alternative terms. Use it by typing your search query, then adding OR followed by another term or phrase.

Example: "pizza restaurants" OR "pizzerias" OR "Italian restaurants"

• You can also use parentheses to control the order of operations, like (“pizza” OR “pasta”) AND “vegetarian”.
• To search based on a specific website, use “cheese pizza” OR “pepperoni pizza” site:dominos.com.
• To find websites that syndicate content, use intext:”syndicated from” OR intext:”originally published”.
• For question-and-answer platforms, use intext:”ask a question” OR intext:”post a question”.

4.8 Find Specific File Types

You can use Google Search’s filetype: operator to find specific file types. Type your search query, followed by filetype: and the desired file extension (e.g., pdf, doc, ppt, xls).

Example: Search for PDF documents related to climate change using climate change filetype:pdf.

This will help you find relevant PDF documents related to climate change.

By adding quotes to the key phrase, you can find the file type that contains the exact match of the key phrase.

4.9 Get Definitions

The define: operator in Google search is indeed useful for obtaining definitions of specific terms or words. 

For example, if you want to find the definition of the word serendipity you can use the search query: define:serendipity 

Google will display a summary definition in the search results, along with information from dictionaries and other reliable sources.

4.10 Discover Plagiarized Content

To detect plagiarism of your content, use an exact-match unique phrase from your text with the “intext:” operator in quotes. Also, you can exclude your site with -site: operator.

For example, we detected plagiarism in our Divi SEO post using this operator. Here is the post with the highlighted paragraph used for detection.

And this was the result.

4.11 Find Niche Forums For Engagement

To discover forums and communities related to your niche, use the search operator intext:forum along with a keyword specific to your industry. 

For example: "fitness" intext:forum

4.12 Identify Pages That Aren’t Secure

You can use operators to identify any insecure pages that may have been indexed by Google. For instance, by using the following search operator:

site:ebay.com -inurl:https

You will find that the displayed pages have HTTP URLs. However, when you click on them, they will redirect you to a secure HTTPS connection. 

This indicates that these insecure pages have already been indexed by Google and have since been updated to a secure connection.

4.13 Build Internal Links

Instead of manually researching your competitor’s site, you can use search operators to find pages on your own website that contain a specific keyword. This can help you identify opportunities for internal linking and improve your site’s SEO.

For instance, let’s say you’ve written a blog post titled “Internal Linking for SEO.” To build internal links, you want to find existing pages on your site that mention the phrase “internal links” so you can link them to your new post.

To do this, go to Google and use the site: search operator followed by your website’s domain and the exact match phrase.
site:example.com "internal links"

This will display all the pages on your website that include the phrase “internal links.” You can then visit those pages and add links to your new blog post where relevant.

Another way to achieve the same result is by using the allintext: search operator. Instead of site:example.com "internal links", you can search:
allintext:"internal links" site:example.com

Both methods will return similar results, but be cautious when using allintext: with other operators. If you place allintext: after site: (e.g., site:example.com allintext:"internal links"), the search may not work correctly or might return irrelevant results. If you’re not getting the expected outcome, try adjusting the order of the operators.

So, look for articles or pages on your website where you can add internal links using relevant anchor text. 

4.14 Make Research Based on Domain Types

To refine your research based on domain types, use search operators such as site:.edu for educational institutions, site:.gov for government websites, and so on. 

You can combine these operators with relevant keywords for narrowed results. 

For instance, site:.edu photosynthesis will generate search results on photosynthesis from educational websites.

Additionally, you can use parentheses and the OR command to search for multiple domain types, such as photosynthesis (site:.edu OR site:.com).

4.15 Find Alternate Domain TLDs

To find alternate domain top-level domains (TLDs), you can use the following search operator:

site:amazon.* -site:amazon.com

This search operator limits the search results to the specific domain amazon.com and shows you variations of the domain with different TLDs. 

4.16 Find Brand Mention Opportunities

Let’s say you’re WP Rocket, a WordPress speed optimization plugin, and you want to find blog posts that target the keyword “best plugins for speed optimization” but don’t mention your brand, you can use a simple Google search technique.

Identifying these blog posts allows you to reach out to site owners, introduce your product, and potentially get it added to their list.

To do this, search for:
best plugins for speed optimization -“WP Rocket”

The dash (-) operator excludes any results that mention your brand name. This way, you’ll find articles discussing the best speed optimization plugins without including WP Rocket.

Suppose one of the top results is from WP Engine, a direct competitor. Since they are unlikely to mention WP Rocket, you can verify by opening the page and using Ctrl + F (Windows) or Command + F (Mac) to search for “WP Rocket.” If the brand isn’t mentioned, this presents an opportunity to reach out to the site owner.

Repeat this process for other search results. If you find multiple sites that haven’t included WP Rocket or your brand, consider contacting them to introduce your product and request inclusion.

This method helps uncover brand mention opportunities, allowing you to expand your visibility in relevant content.

4.17 Identify Author Credibility

If your website is well-established, you’ll likely receive guest post submissions from external writers. However, not all contributors will meet your quality standards, so it’s important to check their credentials before accepting their content.

To assess a writer’s credibility, start by searching for their name in quotes on Google. This ensures that the search results only include web pages where their name appears.

To further narrow the results, use the intext: search operator and a relevant keyword. This helps you find pages where the author’s name appears concerning the topic of interest.

Finally, add -site: followed by your domain, to exclude any content they may have already published on your site. This step helps you determine whether they have written about the topic elsewhere, offering a clearer picture of their expertise.

For instance, suppose you run WP Rocket and receive a guest post submission from an author named Marine Larmier. Since the article is about WordPress, you want to verify her credibility in this niche. You can search on Google using:
"Marine Larmier" intext:WordPress -site:wprocket.com

This search will return results where her name appears in connection with WordPress, excluding any content on your own site.

To verify her expertise, you can visit the pages in the search results.

5 Conclusion

We’ve covered the Google Search Operators and provided practical examples of how to use them. However, if you feel uncomfortable dealing with search operators, you can feel free to use the Google Advanced Search tool to refine your searches.

When applying these techniques, remember to replace the domains and words in the examples with your own.

If you like this guide, let us know by Tweeting @rankmathseo.