Web admins and SEO specialists often spend hours googling different keywords for content creation and SEO purposes. Usually, the content quality largely depends on the amount of time spent researching to craft a perfect copy.
However, a significant amount of time is spent on trying to find the right search results on Google, not on reading and acquiring valuable information.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, there are several Google search tricks and Google commands that’ll help anyone get the exact results they are looking for. These types of search functionality make your search results more precise and allow you to improve productivity significantly while getting things done faster.
Now, let’s learn all the Google search codes.
Advanced Google Search Operators
Cache: Find the most recent cache of a webpage
The ‘cache’ operator helps you find the most recent cache of a specified web page. When you use this operator, Google shows the most recent cache instead of the SERP, and you can see the date at the top of the page. You can identify when a web page was last crawled using this operator.
Example:
cache:domainname.com
Allintext: Find web pages that have all the search terms in the content
This operator shows results that have all your search terms in the text of the web page.
Example:
allintext:sponsored tag seo
Intext: To find web pages with at least one of the search terms in the text content
This operator is similar to ‘allintext,’ but more global as it shows results with at least one or more search terms in text, title, URL, or other parts of the web page.
Example:
intext:tesla
Inposttitle: Find blog posts with specific terms in the title
The ‘inposttitle’ operator helps you find blog posts with your search query in the title. This can be very useful when performing research for content creation.
Example:
Inposttitle:avoid manual action Google
Allintitle: Find web pages with all the search terms in the title
This operator is a great way to find web pages with all the keywords in the title, and it is really helpful when you want to find blogs that match the content you’re writing about. You can use this command for YouTube advanced search as well.
Example
allintitle:advanced image seo
Intitle: Find web pages with specific search terms in the title
The previous operator shows web pages with all the search terms in the title, whereas this one shows results with at least one of the search terms in the title. Intitle also works as a YouTube search operator.
Example:
intitle:how to write case studies
Allinurl: Find web pages with all the search terms in the URL
URLs also contribute to SEO, and thus web admins include the most important keywords in the permalink. The Allinurl search command allows you to find web pages that have all the search terms in the URL of the page.
If you want to narrow down the results to a single domain, you can also enter the domain name.
Example:
allinurl:moz.com backlink statistics
Inurl: Find web pages with specific keywords in the URL
You can use the ‘inurl’ operator to find web pages that have at least one of the search terms in the URL of the page. Just like Allinurl, you can add the domain name to narrow down the search results to a single website.
Example:
inurl:Google site search syntax
Allinanchor: Find anchor texts with all the search terms
This operator comes in handy when you’re building backlinks or researching others’ off-page SEO tactics. By using this command, you can find backlinks that have all the search terms in the anchor text.
Example:
allinanchor:Google search tools
Inanchor: Find anchor texts with some of the keywords
This operator shows links with at least one of the search terms in the anchor text.
Example:
inanchor:optimize images for SEO
Source: Find news from a specific source
You can use this operator to find news results from a particular source on Google News.
Example:
Tesla source:the_guardian
Filetype: Search for specific file types on Google
The ‘filetype’ operator is beneficial when you want to narrow down the search results to specific file types. You can add any extension such as JPEG, PNG, PDF, etc., and Google will return results matching the extension.
This operator is helpful when you want to find whitepapers and study reports for creating infographics.
Example:
Backlink building filetype:pdf
Around(): Find results that have your Google search terms close to each other
The ‘around()’ operator helps you find web pages with your search terms close to each other. You can enter a number, let’s say X, in the parentheses, and Google will return matching results that have your search terms within X words of each other.
Example:
Google AROUND(2) operators
This query will show results with the search terms ‘Google’ and ‘operators’ within two words of each other.
OR (|): Find results that match with one phrase or the other
The ‘OR’ operator returns web pages that match with one phrase or the other we type into the search bar. You can type ‘|’ instead of ‘OR’ as well.
Example:
Inbound links OR backlinks
In: Convert from one unit to another
When you want to convert between two equivalent units, you can use the ‘in’ operator. You can convert currencies, measurements, etc., using this command.
Example:
1 AUD in USD
Quotes(“phrase”): Find exact match results
To find web pages that have exact matching terms to your Google search keywords, you can add the search terms inside double-quotes.
Example:
“How to build backlinks”
Exclude(-): Exclude certain domains or words
If you want to exclude a site from Google search or see results without certain terms, you can employ the minus sign.
Example:
Acrylic paint -amazon.com
This query will show you all the relevant web pages except those from the domain amazon.com.
Add words: (+)
You can use the plus sign to include certain words in the search results.
Example:
Boolean operators +list
Wildcard: (*)
An asterisk in Google search works as a wildcard that could be filled by any word.
Example:
Top * Google ranking signals
#..#: Google custom range search
Do you want to find news published between certain dates? Or do you want to see results that match any integer between two numbers? Just use (..) between those numbers.
Example:
Apple event 2019..2021
Site: Search within a domain
Also known as the insite search, the ‘site’ operator allows you to narrow down the Google search to a specific site.
Example:
Backlink building site:moz.com
Related: Find related websites and domains
You can find sites related to a domain using the ‘related’ search operator.
Example:
related:moz.com
Weather: Get the weather report in a snippet
The ‘weather’ operator is used to find the weather of a specific location. You can add any location after the operator, and Google will show the weather report in a snippet.
Example:
weather:London
Stocks:
Want to see stock information for a specific ticker? Just use the ‘stocks’ operator followed by the stock name.
Example:
stocks:AAPL
Map: View the map of a specific location
You can use the ‘map’ operator to look at maps of specific locations.
Example:
map:San Francisco
Movie:
Want to find information about a specific movie? Just use the ‘movie’ operator followed by the movie name.
Example:
movie:interstellar
