Advanced search in Google deals with commands performed directly in the search bar. Through advanced search in Google it is possible to refine the desired results, such as the pages of your website that position websites related to the content you are looking for for certain keywords.
The search filters offered by Google go far beyond the well-known search for terms in quotes. This is because of the search operators (known as search operators or query operators), which are commands used to improve results, making it easier for you to find what you are looking for.
In this post, learn 10 main search commands and parameters and learn how to do an advanced search in Google.
1. How to search for a specific phrase
To search for a phrase, enclose it in quotation marks. It is a relevant suggestion for those who need to search for many terms, as it eliminates insignificant results.
In the same way, By copying and pasting fragments of your content into quotation marks in Google, you can discover if any site is republishing it without permission.
2. How to remove a word from search results
To remove a word from the results, use the minus sign (-) in front of the term you do not want to search for. This is a useful option when your research has two different meanings.
For example, if you search for Lead in the sense of potential Digital Marketing client, you can exclude searches by Lead in the journalistic sense, which is the first paragraph of the news. This helps you save time by eliminating uninteresting results.
3. How to search for terms that you don’t remember what they are
Not sure what words you need to type in your search? Instead of terms you don’t know, put an asterisk (*) and Google will replace it with any word.
This is an important shortcut for finding articles that have a specific title, with a numeral, for example, but you don’t remember what they are. So if you are looking for a list with SEO tips, you can type “* SEO tips”.
4. How to search by document type
You can restrict your search results to specific formats, making it easy to find Word text documents, Excel sheets, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files and any other existing extensions.
To improve your search by a specific format, type “filetype:” or “ext:” before or after the term you want to search for, without spaces. This type of research is especially useful for finding templates and presentation templates, for example.
However, remember that if you do Digital Marketing and want to generate Leads with your materials, it is important that they do not appear in Google. What should appear is the Landing Page with the material and not the material itself.
5. How to search for a term within a site
Some websites have inefficient searches and sometimes googling can be more convenient. To search within a specific site, simply enter the desired term followed by “site:” and the address.
If you want to search for Instagram posts and materials on the RD Station blog, for example, type: instagram site: rdstation.com/co in the search box. You can also search by a specific subdirectory, such as site: rdstation.com/es/blog or subdomain, such as site: rdstation.com/es/resources
The command is also used to check which pages on your site are indexed. Typing just site: rdstation.com in the survey returns 3,600 pages.
In the same search it was possible to check the titles and descriptions and see that they are appearing properly, without breaks.
6. How to search by URL terms
To restrict Google search results to pages that contain one or more words in the URL, use the inurl: or allinurl: commands, respectively.
It is a useful tool when you search for specific pages within a site, for example, combining it with the previous element.
7. How to search for terms in the title of the pages
Do you want to search only for pages that have a keyword in the title? Use the “intitle:” before the term. This is a useful search to check out the competition or to search for existing articles on sites you would like to publish on, for example, to see if similar content no longer exists.
In the same way as with the URL search, using the command “allintitle:” you find multiple terms in the same title.
8. How to search for terms in the body of the text
Take advantage of the “intext:” and “allintext:” commands to search by one word or by several words, respectively, in the body of the text. It works very similar to the previous item.
9. How to find related sites
The “related:” command displays sites related to the one you type in the search.
By entering Google’s own address, for example, the results show other search sites such as Bing and Ask.
10. How to find information on a site
There is a series of information about your site or that of your competitors that you can access through the search operator «info:». By entering the command followed by an address, Google displays links to the following shortcuts:
“Cache:”, which shows the latest version of the website saved by the Google bot;
«Related:», which we already talked about in item 9;
«Site:», as we discussed in item 5.
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Conclusion
We hope these advanced Google searches help you find what you are looking for more easily.
We already talked here on the blog about how to do advanced image searches using the search engine. Read the post Google: Learn everything about Google Image Search to learn!
And if you want to get even more results with Google, download our free eBook Google Tools for Marketing Your Business.