Many Internet users are aware of the search capabilities of Google. Almost every user knows about such an operator as site: , with the help of which the ability to search within a single website is achieved. But in fact, the number of available operators is much greater. Today we will consider the main Google search operators and the possibilities of their application.
Search operators and their application
Of course, it won’t be difficult to remember them – after all, such commands are usually short. But when it comes to using them, not all users know how to make the search really effective. The simplest solution is to write down the necessary Google search operators on a piece of paper or create a text document or table containing the commands directly on your computer. This way, they will always be at hand, which will significantly simplify and optimize the process of searching the Internet.
The most important commands
So, let’s look at some of the most popular and useful commands. The following search query operators are the most in demand:
- The quotation mark » « . Makes the query more precise.
- Minus sign . This can be used to exclude results containing a certain word from the search results. For example, if you want to find reviews of a book, but exclude results related to the film of the same name.
- OR, or the | sign , allows you to merge the results for two queries at the same time.
- The bracket sign ( ) groups queries.
Operators Useful for SEO Search
The following search operators are commonly used for SEO purposes:
- site: — the search is performed on a single site. It is important to specify the desired page without a space, immediately after the command. This operator is very convenient, as it allows you to display all available results on the desired portal.
- cache: – this operator displays the cache of a web page. The command is used to find out whether the latest changes are visible to the search engine.
- related: — searches for web pages that are similar to each other. In this case, you can find those web resources that contain similar content. But it is often difficult to predict in advance whether the search will be effective — for many, the logic of the search carried out by Google remains unclear.
- filetype: – this operator allows you to search for pages containing specific files. In this case, the search results will only show those pages that contain a file of the required format. For example, you can find files available for queries pdf, doc and others.
- intext: – the command searches for the required word in the text of the page.
- intitle: — the required word is searched for in the resource title.
- inurl: – the command allows you to find those pages that contain the search word in their URL. When using this command, it is important to write the required word correctly. Otherwise, the search will be carried out with an error.
Widgets
There are also operators that update a particular search engine widget. Chances are you’ve accidentally used one or more of these commands more than once. The most popular ones are:
- Weather (analogous to the Russian operator “weather”) – you can find out the weather in a particular locality. For example, the request “weather Kaliningrad” will give a widget with the weather in the specified city.
- Source (news). Displays news on request in the search engine.
- Map (map) – Entering this command will display a Google map.
- Define (meaning). The widget helps to search through dictionaries.
So, we hope that the listed operators in Google search queries will be useful for you. Note that over time, the search engine may introduce new commands; others, on the contrary, may become obsolete. Therefore, watch for updates – after all, a search engine operator may always appear that will be most useful for your search.