Full List of Google Search Operators with Examples (PDF)

Do you ever find yourself drowning in a sea of irrelevant search results? Are you tired of sifting through pages and pages of links just to find the information you need? Look no further, because we have the ultimate cheat sheet of 48 Google search operators with practical examples to help you use them like a pro! With these little-known Google search tricks, you’ll be able to refine your searches, filter out unnecessary noise and become an expert at finding exactly what you’re looking for. So fasten your seatbelts as we take off into the world of advanced searching with Google search operators!

Google search operators are words or symbols that perform specific actions in a search engine. In Google, you can use operators to narrow down your searches by excluding certain terms, finding specific types of content, and more. The operators are divided into two categories: basic and advanced. Basic operators are the most commonly used and can be combined with each other to create more complex searches. Advanced operators are less commonly used but can be extremely powerful when you know how to use them.

There are several other Google search tips and tricks beyond the search operators mentioned below that you can use to get the most out of Google.

List of Google Search Operators with Examples

Mastering the power of Google search operators is an important tool for anybody who wants to get the most out of their online research. These 48 essential operators are a great starting point, covering almost any type of query imaginable. Whether you’re looking for a specific piece of information or simply want to find out more about something, using these advanced search operators can help you quickly locate exactly what you need.

"keyword" ➞ Searches for an exact phrase or duplicate content. For example: "flower arrangements"
# ➞ Put # in front of a word. For example: #trendingreels
* ➞ Wildcard searches for partial matches. For example: fl*wers
~ ➞ The tilde sign (~) is used as a Google search operator to include synonyms in your search. For example, if you want to find articles about cats that also mention felines, you could search for cats ~felines.
() ➞ Use parentheses to group together related terms. For example, searching for (resourceful journalist OR content marketer) will return results that contain either of the two terms within the parentheses.
+keyword ➞ This operator allows you to include a word or phrase in your search. For example, if you want to find articles about cats, you could search for cats +articles.
-keyword ➞ This operator allows you to exclude a word or phrase from your search. For example, if you want to find articles about dogs but not cats, you could search for dogs -cats.
#..# ➞ Search for a range of numbers. For example: mwc video 2015..2023
AND ➞ Adds an additional filter to your search. For example: flowers AND roses
AROUND(X) ➞ Returns only results that contain words within a certain distance of each other. For example: roses AROUND(5) bouquets
NOT ➞ Narrows your search results by excluding a certain term. For example: flowers NOT roses
OR ➞ Expands your search results. For example: flowers OR roses
book: ➞ Finds books related to your search query. For example: book:[book title]
cache: ➞ Displays the cached version of a webpage from Google’s servers. For example: cache:www.example.com
calculator: ➞ Displays an online calculator with your query. For example: calculator:[math problem]
daterange: ➞ Limits search results to those posted between two dates. For example: daterange:[20230101 TO 20241231] flower arrangements
define: ➞ Gets you the definition of a term. For example: define:philosophy
ext: ➞ Searches for files with a certain extension. For example: ext:pdf flower arrangements
filetype: ➞ Limits results to a specific file type. For example: filetype:pdf flowers
group➞ Limit your search results to specific groups that have been created on Google. For example: group:google search operators
groupbyurl: ➞ Groups search results by URL to eliminate duplicates. For example: groupbyurl:[city name] florist
in ➞ Converts one unit into another. For example: 10 pounds in dollars
inanchor: ➞ Searches for phrases in anchor text. For example: inanchor:flower arrangements
allinanchor: ➞ Searches for a specific phrase within the anchor text. For example: allinanchor:flower arrangements
inbody: ➞ Searches for phrases within the body of webpages. For example: inbody:flower arrangements
info: ➞ Displays basic information about a website or webpage. For example: info:www.example.com
insubject: ➞ Searches for phrases within the subject line of emails. For example: insubject:flower arrangements
intext: ➞ Searches only within the body of web pages. For example: intext:flower arrangements
allintext: ➞ Searches for text within the body of web pages. For example: allintext:flower arrangements
intitle: ➞ Searches only within titles of webpages. For example: intitle:flower arrangements
allintitle: ➞ Searches for a specific phrase within titles of webpages. For example: allintitle:flower arrangements
inurl: ➞ Searches only within URLs of webpages. For example: inurl:flower arrangements
allinurl: ➞ Searches for a specific phrase in URLs. For example: allinurl:flower arrangements
link: ➞ Finds pages that link to a certain page. For example: link:www.example.com
location: ➞ Confines the search results to a specific location or area. For example: loc:"san francisco" apple
location: ➞ Limits search results to a specified geographical area. For example: location:[city name] flower arrangements
map: ➞ Displays a map of a certain city or location. For example: map:new york city
movies: ➞ Finds theatres and showtimes for movies near you. For example: movies:[city name]
music: ➞ Finds music related to your search query. For example: music:[artist name])
numrange: ➞ Limits search results to those between two numbers. For example: numrange:[1 TO 10] flower
phonebook: ➞ Finds contact information for businesses or people. For example: phonebook:[city name] florist
postauthor: ➞ Find the content created by a specific author. For example: postauthor:rakesh
related: ➞ Finds websites that are similar to another website. For example: related:www.example.com
site: ➞ Limits results to a specific website or domain. For example: site:www.example.com flowers
source: ➞ Restricts your search content from a specific source with the ID you specify. For example: election news source:washington_post
stocks: ➞ Finds stock information for a certain company. For example: stocks:GOOGL
time: ➞ Finds the current time in a certain city or location. For example: time:london
weather: ➞ Finds weather information for a certain city or location. For example: weather:barcelona

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Guide to Use Google Advanced Search Operators

Google search operators are powerful tools that can be used to find exactly what you’re looking for on the internet. By using the right operator in your search, you can narrow down your results, find specific information, and more. Below is a full list of Google basic and advanced search operators that you should use to search the web like a pro.

1. -keyword

This can be used to exclude certain words from your search results. For example, if you’re looking for information on cats but don’t want results about cat food or cat toys, you could use the search query ‘cats -food -toys’. This would return results about cats in general, but exclude any pages that mention cat food or toys.

-[keyword to exclude] [keyword to include]

[keyword to include] -[keyword to exclude]

For example, if you’re searching for information on smartphones but want to exclude Samsung smartphones from the search results, you would search for smartphones -samsung.

2. +keyword

With this Google search trick, you can include additional terms in your search. If you want to make sure that your results include a certain word or phrase, you can use the plus sign (+). For example, if you’re searching for information on cats but also want to make sure that results include the word ‘kittens’, you would search for cats +kittens.

3. “keyword”

Double quotes are used to search for an exact phrase across the web. For example, searching for "content marketing" will return results that contain this exact phrase.

4. OR

Using the ‘OR‘ search operator allows you to search for multiple keywords at the same time. This is especially useful when you’re not sure which keyword will yield the best results. Simply separate your keywords with OR (capitalized). For example, if you wanted to find information on cats or dogs, you would search for cats OR dogs. If you don’t use OR in capital letters, Google will take it as a part of your keyword.

5. AND

AND is a Boolean operator that allows you to combine two or more search terms. When you use the ‘AND’ search operator, all of the terms must be present in the results in order for them to be displayed. For example, if you were searching for information on cats and dogs, you would use cats AND dogs as the search query. This would return results that contain both ‘cats’ and ‘dogs’. If one of the terms was not present in the results, they would not be displayed.

6. Wildcard: (*)

When you use the asterisk (*) on a Google search, it acts as a wildcard and will return results for any word that matches the part of the word that comes before or after the asterisk. Google uses an asterisk (*) as the wildcard character and for proximity searches. The wildcard searches for variations in words and can replace a whole word for proximity searches.

For example, if you search for test* you’ll get results for ‘testing’, ‘tests’, and ‘tester’, etc. Similarly, if you don’t remember the first, middle, or last name of a famous person, the full name of a movie, or part of some title, saying, or lyric, etc., you can use an asterisk (*) as a placeholder for the missing letters or words. Google will retrieve the missing

Try the following examples:

7. #..#

If you’re looking for a specific number within a range of numbers, the best way to search is by using the ‘..‘ (2 periods) operator. This allows you to specify the range that you want to search within and narrows down the results. For example, if you wanted to find all numbers between 10 and 20, you would use the following query: camera $50..$100. This would return all results that fall within that range. You can also use this operator to find information that falls within a range of dates, for example.

Try the following examples:

8. @

You can easily search for someone on different social media platforms by using ‘@‘ in front of a word. For example, you can use @technastic to find our website’s social media pages.

9. define:

Using the “define:” search operator, you can find the definition of a word on Google. For example, if you enter define:epistemology into Google, the first result will be the definition of the term.

10. etymology:

If you want to find the origin and history of a word, you can use ‘etymology:‘ search operator followed by the word. For example, to check the origin of the word ‘religion’, you can search for etymology:religion.

11. site:

You can also use search operators to find results from a specific website or domain. For example, if you want Google to display web pages from Technastic.com, you can use site:technastic.com. Similarly, in order to find all instances of a certain topic (Google, for example) on this website, you can use the site:technastic.com google. You can also use this operator to find websites that use a specific TLD (top-level domain). For example, if you want to search for veg curry recipes from websites in India, you can use veg curry recipes site:.in.

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12. inurl:

There are two search operators that let you search for terms in an URL. For example. if you want to find all the URLs containing ‘Google’, you can use inurl:google. Similarly, to search for all Google URLs that contain ‘Android’, you should enter allinurl:google android into the search bar.

Other examples:

You can also use the inurl: search operator to download full movies, documents, or any file. There are various online repositories that maintain an index of movies in MKV and MP4 formats. Using the following syntaxes, you can get direct links to download movies for free. Try the following examples:

inurl:mp4+movie_name
inurl:mkv+movie_name
intitle:index.of? mkv movie_name
movie_name -inurl:(htm|html|php|pls|txt) intitle:index.of “last modified” (mp4|mkv|wma|aac|avi)

13. intitle:

To find web pages that have specific word/words mentioned in their titles, you can use the ‘intitle:‘ search operator. For example, if you want Google to list all pages that contain “Windows 11” in their title, you would enter intitle:windows 11 into the search box. Similarly, if you are looking for WordPress blogs that use the words “best themes” in their title, you can search for wordpress blogs intitle:best themes.

There is also a variation of this search operator using which you can find all the specified words in a web page title. You can use ‘allintitle:‘ as in allintitle:google android to file all web page titles containing ‘Google’ and ‘Android’.

14. intext:

The ‘intext:‘ and ‘allintext:‘ search operators can be used to find all of the instances of a particular word or phrase on a web page. This can be useful for locating specific information on a page, or for finding all instances of a particular word or phrase on a site. The allintext: search operator can also be used in conjunction with other search operators, such as the intitle: or inurl: operators, to further narrow down your search results.

Examples:

15. related:

The ‘related:‘ search operator can be used to find web pages that are similar to a specific website or deal with similar topics. Take a look at the following examples:

16. filetype: or ext:

There is a handy search operator that lets you restrict Google search results to those that contain a certain file type for a specific topic. You can use ‘filetype:‘ or ‘ext:‘ for that. Try the following examples:

The file types might include:

.c, .cc, .cpp, .cxx, .h, .hpp
.doc, .docx
.dwf
.html
.java
.pdf
.ppt, pptx
.ps
rtf
.svg
.swf
.text
.txt
.wml, .wap
.xls, .xlsx
.xml

17. source:

The ‘source:‘ search operator tells Google to show results from only a specific website or domain. This can be useful if you want to find information on a specific topic from a particular site. For example, if you wanted to find information about Google from The Verge, you would use the following search query: google source:technastic.com.

18. in

While Google search has a built-in unit converter, there is also a simple search operator that lets you convert one unit into another quickly. For example, if you want to convert centimeters into inches, dollars into pounds, one language into another, and so on, you can use it as shown below.

19. movie:

Google search also lets you find detailed information about movies. Just use “movie:” followed by the name of the movie and you will find its showtimes, cast, IMDB rating, user reviews, and OTT platforms where it can be watched. Example: movie:shawshank redemption

Download PDF: Google Search Operators PDF

Conclusion

With these tips in hand, you are now ready to start using powerful Google advanced search operators like a pro. Whether you’re looking for a specific type of information or just want to see the entire range of search results on one page, there’s an operator available that can help. Being able to navigate through Google and quickly find what you need with ease can help boost your productivity levels and make searching easier than ever before!

Hopefully, this article has shed some light on how to use these powerful tools in your own research and make your online searches easier than ever before!