We all use Google – but if you want to refine your results to get exactly what you’re looking for, there are things called “operators” – a kind of variable you can add to your search term to help find specific things, narrow the search results and remove the clutter.
Bookmark this post and come back any time you’re having trouble finding this something!
✅ BASIC SEARCH OPERATORS
"exact phrase"
Find the exact phrase as typed.
Example: "artificial intelligence"
OR
Either term can appear (acts as a logical OR).
Example: Windows OR Mac OR Linux
-
Excludes the following word.
Example: apple -fruit
*
Wildcard to replace unknown terms.
Example: "top * phones"
(term1 OR term2)
Grouped logic for advanced filtering.
Example: (gaming OR streaming) laptop
🧠 ADVANCED OPERATORS
site:
Limits results to a specific site or domain.
Example: site:nintendo.com Pokémon
inurl:
Word must be in the URL.
Example: inurl:login
allinurl:
All words must be in the URL.
Example: allinurl:admin dashboard
intitle:
Word must be in the page title.
Example: intitle:"freelance tools"
allintitle:
All words must be in the page title.
Example: allintitle:media kit
intext:
Word must appear in the page body.
Example: intext:"best antivirus"
allintext:
All words must appear in the body text.
Example: allintext:student loan forgiveness
inanchor:
Word must be in anchor (link) text.
Example: inanchor:"buy now"
allinanchor:
All words must be in anchor text.
Example: allinanchor:cheap hotel deals
AROUND(X)
Finds two words within X words of each other.
Example: climate AROUND(5) crisis
define:
Shows the dictionary definition of a word.
Example: define:ephemeral
related:
Finds sites related to a given domain.
Example: related:spotify.com
cache:
View the cached version of a page.
Example: cache:bbc.com
📅 DATE & RANGE OPERATORS
before:YYYY-MM-DD
Finds results before this date.
Example: google updates before:2023-01-01
after:YYYY-MM-DD
Finds results after this date.
Example: elon musk after:2022-12-01
YYYY..YYYY
Number or date range.
Example: iPhone 2018..2024
daterange:start..end
(Julian calendar only, rarely used)
Example: daterange:2459580..2459680
🖼️ IMAGE SEARCH OPERATORS
imagesize:WxH
Filters images by exact dimensions.
Example: minimal wallpaper imagesize:1920x1080
filetype:
Filters by image or file type (jpg, png, gif, etc).
Example: fire transparent background filetype:png
site:
Use with image search to limit to a source.
Example: dragon art site:deviantart.com
📰 NEWS-SPECIFIC OPERATORS
source:
Shows results from a specific news source (best in Google News).
Example: source:cnn.com inflation
location:
Filters news by region or country.
Example: wildfire location:Australia
📂 DOCUMENT & FILETYPE OPERATORS
filetype:
Finds specific document formats (pdf, docx, pptx, xlsx).
Example: resume template filetype:docx
(Combine with other operators for best results.)
Example: cybersecurity policy site:gov.uk filetype:pdf
🌍 SPECIAL DATA & TOOL OPERATORS
map:
Opens a map result directly.
Example: map:Kyoto
weather:
Displays the forecast.
Example: weather:Lisbon
stocks:
Current stock information.
Example: stocks:NFLX
movie:
Movie details or showtimes.
Example: movie:Interstellar
💬 FORUM & SOCIAL OPERATORS
site:reddit.com
Search Reddit posts only.
Example: site:reddit.com best noise cancelling headphones
site:twitter.com
Show results from Twitter/X.
Example: site:twitter.com ai ethics
inposttitle:
Word(s) must be in the forum/blog post title.
Example: inposttitle:"gaming PC build"
postauthor:
Show posts from a specific author online
Example: YouTube postauthor:HeroVibes
🧾 DEPRECATED / LIMITED OPERATORS
link:
(Deprecated) – Used to show pages linking to a URL.
Example: link:example.com
info:
(Deprecated) – Formerly showed basic info about a site.
Example: info:cnn.com
🎯 POWER COMBO EXAMPLES
Now that you understand the basics, here’s how you can combine them to get incredibly specific results!
Minimal White Wallpaper imagesize:1920x1080 filetype:png site:deviantart.com
Get wallpapers or images of eagles with exact resolution, type and source.
site:gov.uk filetype:pdf intitle:"tax guide"
Only government PDF documents with “tax guide” in the title.
"budget travel" -expensive AROUND(3) Europe
Looks for mentions of “budget travel” and “Europe” with the word “expensive” excluded.
Nintendo Switch 2 source:nintendo.com after:2025-04-02 location:US
News on the Nintendo Switch 2 directly from Nintendo after it’s official reveal date.
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