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Google Advanced Search
Google Search Advanced Commands: A Complete Table Summary (with Examples) - EvanLi’s Blog
Search Strategy
Problem-Solving Approach
- Extract keywords
- Refine
- Reverse-engineer
- Convert & transform
Syntax
Commonly used syntax:
| Search Operator | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
" " |
Search for results containing a specific word or phrase. | “steve jobs” |
OR |
Search for results related to X or Y. | jobs OR gates |
| |
Same as OR. |
jobs | gates |
AND |
Search for results related to both X and Y. | jobs AND gates |
- |
Exclude results containing a specific word or phrase. | jobs -apple |
* |
Wildcard that matches any word or phrase. | steve * apple |
( ) |
Group multiple search conditions. | (ipad OR iphone) apple |
define: |
Search for the definition of a word or phrase. | define:entrepreneur |
cache: |
Find the latest cached version of a webpage. | cache:apple.com |
filetype: |
Search for a specific file type (e.g., PDF). | apple filetype:pdf |
ext: |
Same as filetype:. |
apple ext:pdf |
site: |
Search for results from a specific website. | site:apple.com |
related: |
Search for websites related to a given domain. | related:apple.com |
intitle: |
Search for pages with a specific word in the title tag. | intitle:apple |
allintitle: |
Search for pages with multiple words in the title tag. | allintitle:apple iphone |
inurl: |
Search for pages with a specific word in the URL. | inurl:apple |
allinurl: |
Search for pages with multiple words in the URL. | allinurl:apple iphone |
intext: |
Search for pages with a specific word in the content. | intext:apple iphone |
allintext: |
Search for pages with multiple words in the content. | allintext:apple iphone |
weather: |
Search for the weather in a specific location. | weather:san francisco |
stocks: |
Search for stock information. | stocks:aapl |
map: |
Force Google to show map results. | map:silicon valley |
movie: |
Search for information about a movie. | movie:steve jobs |
in |
Convert one unit to another. | $329 in GBP |
source: |
Search for results from a specific source on Google News. | apple source:the_verge |
before: |
Search for results published before a specific date. | apple before:2007-06-29 |
after: |
Search for results published after a specific date. | apple after:2007-06-29 |
Notes:
- Use English colons.
- No space before the colon.
- Separate commands with a space, e.g.,
C++ filetype:pdf— there’s a space beforefiletype.
Userscript
For convenience, I also put together a simple script:
Advanced Search Assistant for Google
Raw Data Below
| # | Syntax | Description | Example | Example Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | + |
Same as AND; searches for results containing multiple keywords. | Search + engine |
Finds pages containing both “search” and “engine”. |
| 2 | OR |
Or. | Search OR engine |
Finds pages containing either “search” or “engine”. |
| 3 | - |
Minus sign; excludes pages containing the word after the minus. | Search engine - Baidu |
Finds pages about “search engine” that exclude “Baidu”. |
| 4 | " " |
Double quotes; exact match. | “search engine” | Finds pages that exactly match the phrase “search engine”. |
| 5 | * |
Asterisk; wildcard, fuzzy search; the asterisk stands in for a word. | Search * engine |
The asterisk can stand for any word. |
| 6 | @ |
Put @ before a word to search social media. |
trump@twitter |
Searches Trump’s Twitter. |
| 7 | $ |
Put $ before a number to search for a specific price. |
camera $400 |
Searches for cameras priced at $400. |
| 8 | # |
Search for a # hashtag. |
#throwbackthursday |
Searches the hashtag throwbackthursday. |
| 9 | .. |
Two dots; put .. between two numbers to run a number range search. |
camera 500..1000 |
Searches for cameras priced between 500 and 1000. |
| 10 | filetype |
Search for resources of a specific file type. | C++filetype:pdf |
Searches for C++ web resources in PDF format. |
| 11 | site |
Search within a specified site. | C++site:https://www.zhihu.com |
Searches Zhihu for pages related to C++. |
| 12 | cache |
View Google’s cached version of a website; shows the cached page. | cache:weibo.com |
Views Weibo’s Google cache. |
| 13 | info |
Put info: before a URL to get website details. |
info:github.com |
Searches for details about the GitHub website. |
| 14 | related |
Search for pages related to a certain website. | related:sina.com |
Searches for other sites similar to Sina. |
| 15 | link |
Returns all web pages that link to a specific URL. | link:www.csdn.net |
Searches for all pages containing a link to www.csdn.net. |
| 16 | inurl |
Search for pages where the query appears in the URL. | inurl:search engine |
Finds pages with “search engine” in the URL. |
| 17 | intitle |
Search for pages where the query appears in the page title; supports Chinese and English. | intitle:search engine |
Finds pages with “search engine” in the title. |
| 18 | intext |
Search for pages where the query appears in the body text; supports Chinese and English. | intext:SEO intext:search engine |
Searches for “SEO” within pages whose body contains “search engine”. |
| 19 | inanchor |
Search for pages where the link anchor text contains the search term. | inanchor:front-end |
Finds pages whose link anchor text contains “front-end”. |
| 20 | allinurl |
Pages with multiple keywords in the URL. | allinurl:SEO search engine optimization |
Equivalent to: inurl:SEO inurl:search engine optimization |
| 21 | allintitle |
Pages with multiple keywords in the title. | allintitle:SEO search engine optimization |
Equivalent to: intitle:SEO intitle:search engine optimization |
| 22 | allintext |
Pages with multiple keywords in the body text. | allintext:SEO search engine optimization |
Equivalent to: intext:SEO intext:search engine optimization |
| 23 | allinanchor |
Pages whose link anchor text contains multiple keywords. | allinanchor:SEO search engine optimization |
Equivalent to: inanchor:SEO inanchor:search engine optimization |
| 24 | weather |
weather/time/sunrise/sundown + city name; returns the city’s weather/time/sunrise/sunset. |
weather:beijing |
Shows Beijing’s weather. |
| 25 | music |
Or use songs; artist name + music/songs. |
Jay Choumusic |
Returns Jay Chou’s songs. |
| 26 | imagesize |
Limit image size (search on Google Images). | imagesize:2560x1440 |
Valid Search Operators
| Search Operator | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
" " |
Search for results containing a specific word or phrase. | “steve jobs” |
OR |
Search for results related to X or Y. | jobs OR gates |
| |
Same as OR. |
jobs | gates |
AND |
Search for results related to both X and Y. | jobs AND gates |
- |
Exclude results containing a specific word or phrase. | jobs -apple |
* |
Wildcard that matches any word or phrase. | steve * apple |
( ) |
Group multiple search conditions. | (ipad OR iphone) apple |
define: |
Search for the definition of a word or phrase. | define:entrepreneur |
cache: |
Find the latest cached version of a webpage. | cache:apple.com |
filetype: |
Search for a specific file type (e.g., PDF). | apple filetype:pdf |
ext: |
Same as filetype:. |
apple ext:pdf |
site: |
Search for results from a specific website. | site:apple.com |
related: |
Search for websites related to a given domain. | related:apple.com |
intitle: |
Search for pages with a specific word in the title tag. | intitle:apple |
allintitle: |
Search for pages with multiple words in the title tag. | allintitle:apple iphone |
inurl: |
Search for pages with a specific word in the URL. | inurl:apple |
allinurl: |
Search for pages with multiple words in the URL. | allinurl:apple iphone |
intext: |
Search for pages with a specific word in the content. | intext:apple iphone |
allintext: |
Search for pages with multiple words in the content. | allintext:apple iphone |
weather: |
Search for the weather in a specific location. | weather:san francisco |
stocks: |
Search for stock information. | stocks:aapl |
map: |
Force Google to show map results. | map:silicon valley |
movie: |
Search for information about a movie. | movie:steve jobs |
in |
Convert one unit to another. | $329 in GBP |
source: |
Search for results from a specific source on Google News. | apple source:the_verge |
before: |
Search for results published before a specific date. | apple before:2007-06-29 |
after: |
Search for results published after a specific date. | apple after:2007-06-29 |
Unstable Search Operators
| Search Operator | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
#..# |
Search within a range of numbers. | iphone case $50..$60 |
inanchor: |
Search for pages with backlinks containing specific anchor text. | inanchor:apple |
allinanchor: |
Search for pages with backlinks containing multiple words in anchor text. | allinanchor:apple iphone |
AROUND(X) |
Search for pages where two words or phrases appear within X words of each other. | apple AROUND(4) iphone |
loc: |
Find results from a specific location. | loc:”san francisco” apple |
location: |
Find news from a specific location on Google News. | location:”san francisco” apple |
daterange: |
Search for results within a specific date range. | daterange:11278-13278 |
Deprecated Search Operators (No Longer Effective)
The following search operators are no longer effective and have been dropped by Google:
| Search Operator | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
#..# |
Search within a range of numbers. | iphone case $50..$60 |
inanchor: |
Search for pages with backlinks containing specific anchor text. | inanchor:apple |
allinanchor: |
Search for pages with backlinks containing multiple words in anchor text. | allinanchor:apple iphone |
AROUND(X) |
Search for pages where two words or phrases appear within X words of each other. | apple AROUND(4) iphone |
loc: |
Find results from a specific location. | loc:”san francisco” apple |
location: |
Find news from a specific location on Google News. | location:”san francisco” apple |
daterange: |
Search for results within a specific date range. | daterange:11278-13278 |