Words and phrases
| Operator | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
"…" | This exact phrase, same words in the same order | "manual coffee grinder" |
- | Leave out pages with this word | coffee grinder -electric |
-"…" | Leave out pages with this phrase | coffee grinder -"espresso machine" |
OR | Either one is enough (write it in capitals) | "manual coffee grinder" OR "hand coffee grinder" |
| | Same as OR | "manual coffee grinder" | "hand coffee grinder" |
( ) | Group the alternatives into one part | (manual OR hand) coffee grinder |
* | Inside quotes: any word, or several | "manual * grinder" |
Learn it with exercises: Google search OR operator, exact phrase and exclude words
Sites and sections
| Operator | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
site: | Results from this site only, with its subdomains | site:amazon.com coffee grinder |
site: + path | Results from one section of a site | site:amazon.com/-/es |
site: + ending | Any site ending this way | site:gov.uk coffee |
-site: | Every site except this one | "manual coffee grinder" -site:amazon.com |
Learn it with exercises: How to search within a website on Google with site:
Titles, URLs and page text
| Operator | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
intitle: | This word in the page title | intitle:grinder |
intitle:"…" | This exact phrase in the title | intitle:"manual coffee grinder" |
allintitle: | Every word after it in the title, in any order | allintitle:manual coffee grinder |
inurl: | This word in the page URL | site:amazon.com inurl:dp grinder |
allinurl: | Every word after it in the URL | allinurl:shop coffee grinder |
intext: | This word or phrase in the page text | intext:"manual coffee grinder" |
allintext: | Every word after it in the page text | allintext:manual coffee grinder burr |
allintitle:, allinurl: and allintext: take every word after them, so they don't mix well with other operators. If you need site: too, put intitle: before each word instead.
Learn it with exercises: Google intitle and allintitle
Learn it with exercises: Google inurl and intext search operators explained
Files and dates
| Operator | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
filetype: | Files of this type: pdf, xlsx, xls, csv, docx, pptx | filetype:pdf coffee market report |
ext: | Same as filetype: | ext:xlsx coffee prices |
after: | Pages dated on or after this day (year-month-day) | coffee grinder after:2025-01-01 |
before: | Pages dated before this day | coffee grinder before:2025-01-01 |
Learn it with exercises: Google filetype search
Learn it with exercises: Google search by date
Boolean operators on Google
Google's boolean logic is simpler than most databases'. Every word you type is already required, so there's no AND to write. For OR you write OR (or |), and for NOT you use the minus sign.
| Boolean | On Google | Example |
|---|---|---|
| AND | Just a space: every word is required | coffee grinder burr |
| OR | OR in capitals, or | | grinder (manual OR hand) |
| NOT | A minus sign touching the word | coffee grinder -electric |
| Grouping | Brackets | ("coffee grinder" OR "coffee mill") -electric |
Operators that stopped working
You'll still see these in old lists. Google switched them off, so they return nothing useful.
| Operator | What it used to do | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
cache: | Google's saved copy of a page. Removed in 2024 | URL Inspection in Search Console |
link: | Pages linking to a URL | The Links report in Search Console, or a backlink tool |
info: | Information about a page | URL Inspection in Search Console |
related: | Sites similar to a site | Search your keywords and exclude the big sites with -site: |
AROUND(3) appears in many lists: words within three words of each other. Google never documented it, and it doesn't behave consistently, so don't build anything on it.
Settings that go in the search link
Some things can't be typed in the box: the time range, the kind of results, the country. They go in the results page's link.
| In the link | What it does |
|---|---|
udm=14 | Web results only, with no AI Overview |
tbs=qdr:h6 | The past 6 hours (h hour, d day, w week, m month, y year, plus a number) |
tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:1/1/2025,cd_max:6/30/2025 | A custom date range |
tbs=li:1 | Verbatim: no synonyms and no corrections |
gl=us | Results for a country |
hl=en | Google's interface language |
filter=0 | Show the similar results Google hides |
num=100 | Stopped working in September 2025: use start=10, 20… to page |
The full table, with how to read and edit a search link: Google search URL parameters. And to search without AI Overviews every time: how to turn off AI on Google.
Search operators for SEO tasks
| Task | Query |
|---|---|
| Check what Google knows of a site section | site:ebay.com/shop |
| Find pages competing for one phrase | site:ebay.com intitle:"manual coffee grinder" |
| Find smaller competitors | "manual coffee grinder" -site:amazon.com -site:ebay.com |
| Find guest post pages | coffee intitle:"write for us" |
| Find brand mentions off your site | "Peet's" -site:peets.com |
| Find reports and statistics | site:usda.gov filetype:pdf coffee |
Each of these, with how to read the results: Google search operators for SEO.