20Advanced Google Search Modifiers in 2023
It may be a challenging task to remember these operators in the beginning But, once you master these commands, Google searching becomes a cakewalk Here is the SEO operators list:
1. cache:
By using the cache: operator, you can view the most recent cached version of a specific website or web page It is mainly useful when you have recently updated your site’s content or design This operator lets you know if and when Google has crawled the latest changes in your website
Syntax- cache:website.com
Example: cache:seoboard com
2. site:
The site: operator allows you to search for content in a particular domain When you use this operator, Google provides results only from the websites mentioned in the command use case but not others Additionally, it helps you determine the number of pages Google has indexed for a specific domain
Syntax- site:command use case
Example: site:seoboard com
As you can see from the above screenshot, Google displays the content in the domain seoboard.com when you use the operator site:
3. related:
This google operator is used to find out websites that are related or similar to the websites mentioned in the command use case But, you should observe that it is only effective for larger domains It is an excellent way of understanding who your competitors are and how Google categorizes your site and your competitors.
Syntax- related:your question
Example: related:iphone
See how Google recommends alternatives and related devices to iPhone using the commands google search.
4. intext:
You can opt for this command case when you want to search for a specific word or phrase in the content. It can be used for finding link-building opportunities for related words or phrases.
Syntax- word one intext: word two or intext: word
Example: marketing intext:SEO
5. allintext:
You can refine your search by using this allintext: operator. It allows you to search for only pages that include all of the terms you have searched in the text
Syntax- allintext: your word
Example: allintext: marketing SEO
Using allintext: google search modifier has eliminated over 45,000,000 search results It is to be noted that this operator results in the words that are exactly present on the page. It doesn’t account for the proximity of the words on that particular page
6. inurl:
If you want to find a page with specific words in the URL, inurl: is the right Google search operator to use This operator is extremely helpful to find out the websites with the strongest on-page optimization for the topics you have researched.
Syntax- inurl: command use case
Example: inurl:guest-post
In the example above, Google has displayed over 1,420,000 pages with guest-post in the URLs
7. allinurl:
The allinurl: operator is an advanced search operator of the inurl: operator that narrows down the search and displays the pages containing all of the defined words mentioned in the URLs.
You can observe that the search results have refined to 3,320 by entering the operator allinurl: all these pages contain guest post sites in their URLs
Syntax- inanchor:command use case Example: inanchor:digital marketing
8. inanchor: This is an advanced Google search operator which is used to locate pages containing inbound links with the anchor text specified.This operator is mainly useful while evaluating link-building opportunities or competitive link audits However, the data provided is only a sample and isn’t accurate
In the example above, using the inanchor: operator recommends pages with anchor text that includes the word ‘digital’or the word ‘marketing’.
9. allinanchor:
If you want to research pages that include all of the words mentioned in the anchor text, use the allinanchor: search operator
Syntax- allinanchor: command use case
Example: allinanchor:digital marketing
In the example, using the allinanchor: operator refines the search to 39,900,000 results which means these many pages have anchor text including both the words digital and marketing
10. intitle:
The intitle: search operator allows you to locate pages that are targeted for certain words or phrases It is a great function for finding out guest posting opportunities and evaluating the competitiveness of keywords depending on the search results.
Syntax- intitle:command use case
Example: intitle: write for us
The search operator shows 23,500,000 results containing any of the words mentioned in the command use case.
11. allintitle:
The allintitle: command refines the results and recommends the pages which contain all the words mentioned in the command use case
Syntax- allintitle:command use case
Example: allintitle: write for us
In the above example, the search is narrowed down from 23,500,000 to 241,000 results after using the allintitle: search operator
12. filetype:
When you use the filetype: command in combination with a keyword, Google will return the results of the keyword in the specified file formats.These file formats include PDF, SWF, PS, HTML, DOC/DOCX, PPT/PPTX, XLS/XLSX, GPX, HWP,TEXT, BAS, CS, JAVA, XML, etc
Syntax- filetype:command use case
Example: SEO filetype:ppt
Using the filetype: command, we are asking for content on SEO in the PPTfile format and Google produces the same
13. around()
This operator is useful for proximity search It lets you locate pages containing two words or phrases within X words of each other.
Syntax- around(x):command use case
Example: apple around(3) iphone
In the example shown above, the pages with the words “apple” and the “iPhone” are displayed in content no further than three words apart.
14. OR
This is a Google search operator you might have used several times without actually knowing its significance If you want to combine two searches, insert OR between the search terms (search term1 OR search term2) Google will recommend results that satisfy either the first search term or the second search term but not both. If you are unable to use caps lock, you can use the symbol “|” instead of “OR” to obtain identical results
Syntax- OR:command use case
Example: seo OR ppc
15. “Keywords”
When you want to search for exact terms, you place the words under quotes during a Google search Google recommends every web page that has this exact term either in its body copy, title, or description Using the “ “ google search modifier is one of the most effective ways of knowing if your content has been duplicated or not. Place the paragraph under quotes and you will find out if someone has copied your work or not
Syntax- “Keyword” command use case
Example: “search engine optimization”
The above search results in all the web pages contain the term “search engine optimization” . Thus you can quickly get what you want using this operator
16. Exclude words(-)
The minus sign “” indicates exclusion You can use this operator when you want to exclude certain words or phrases from the search results
Syntax- -Keyword command use case
Example: seo -ppc
17.Add words(+) The plus “+” search operator allows you to include specific words in the search results Syntax- +Keyword command use case Example: “content marketing + SEO”
By using the plus operator between the two words, Google recommends pages with content marketing and SEO together
18.AND
Use this Google Search Operator to get a search containing both the words mentioned in the command You should note that Google includes ‘AND’in its search results by default Thus, you don’t find much difference for regular searches. But, it is very helpful when combined with other operators
Syntax- AND:command use case
Example: off-page SEOAND on-page SEO
19. source:
You can use this google operator to search specific sources for a given topic within Google News.This operator also lets you know about the potential link partners or article resources who have written about a similar topic as mentioned in the command
Syntax- source:command use case
Example: “seo”source:searcheginejournal com 20.Asterisk (*)
When you use this asterisk search operator, you would get more search results related to the entered keyword. Generally, it is used at the end of the keyword to find out the remaining phrases of the most searched terms If used in between the words, you end up getting all variations of the phrases.This operator is mainly helpful for finding phrases and quotes.
Syntax- *command use case
Example: digital marketing*
Wrapping Up!
In this blog post, we have provided the top 20 Google search operators to level your SEO strategy. But, this is not all.There are many other different types of advanced search operators available to make the most of Google. From conducting technical audits to content research, search operators help you enhance your marketing efforts in several ways Thanks for reading!
