Intro
If you’ve used the internet for more than 5 minutes, then chances are that you’re already familiar with this magical tool called Google. This search engine has become so popular that there’s even a verb for it — whenever you need to find something, you just google it.
What you might not know however, is that behind that simple search bar there are various search operators that we can use to refine a search query and get more precise results.
What is a search operator?
Search operators are symbols or words that you can attach to a regular text query to get a more granular control of the search results.
For example, if we wanted to search for JavaScript tutorials from 2018 to 2022 that aren’t from YouTube, we could use the following query:
"JavaScript" tutorial 2018..2022 -site:youtube.com
In this case, we’ve used 4 different search operators: " ", .., - and site:.
Or, if we wanted to search for the subdomains of a website, we could use the following query:
site:*.github.com -www
Just keep in mind that there must not be any spaces between the operator and the search term. For example, site:youtube.com will work, but site: youtube.com will not. By default, Google tends to ignore punctuation that isn’t part of a search operator.
Google used to have a vast amount of search operators, but many of them have become deprecated over time. Below is a list of the currently active operators, as of Jun 6, 2022.
Basic operators
" " → Search for an exact match, preventing the use of synonyms. For example: "artificial intelligence" will show results containing both terms.
| or OR → Used to search for X or Y. By default, Google uses the logical AND between terms, you can specify the logical OR by adding the | or OR operator (all caps). For example: python | javascript will show results related to Python or JavaScript.
- → Exclude a term from the results. For example: git -github will show results for Git, but not GitHub.
* → Acts as a wild-card, use it to match any term. For example: how to build a * with javascript will replace * for any term.
.. → Find results within a range of numbers. For example: react course 2020..2022 will limit results from 2020 to 2022. This operator is sometimes a little clumsy, in my opinion.
() → Group operators to control the execution order. For example: (react | vue) component library will first resolve the | operator.
@ → Search for social media results. For example: elon musk @twitter will show Twitter results.
# → Search for hashtags. For example: #teamseas will show hashtag results.
$ or € → Search for prices. For example: laptop $1500 will limit to the specific price tag.
in or to → Convert two equivalent units. For example: 38 C in F will convert 38 degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit.
Advanced operators
site: → Limit results to a specific site or domain. For example: css flexbox site:mozilla.org will limit search results to the mozilla.org website.
filetype: or ext: → Find results containing a specific filetype. For example: getting real filetype:pdf will show results in PDF format.
related: → Search for websites related to a domain. For example: related:unsplash.com will show websites similar to unsplash.com.
cache: → If the website is indexed, shows the most recent version of the website cached by Google. For example: cache:https://yunger.dev/ will show the latest cached version of yunger.dev.
before: → Find results before a specific date. For example: react components before:2019 will show results before 2019.
after: → Find results after a specific date. For example: react components after:2019 will show results after 2019.
intitle: → Search for pages with a specific term in the title. For example: intitle:charmander will search for the term inside of a page’s title.
allintitle: → Same as intitle:, but searches for every term following it. For example: allintitle:charmander evolution will search for both terms inside of a page’s title.
inurl: → Search for pages with a specific term in the URL. For example: inurl:bulbasaur will search for the term inside of a page’s URL.
allinurl: → Same as inurl:, but searches for every term following it. For example: allinurl:bulbasaur shiny will search for both terms inside of a page’s URL.
intext: → Search for pages with a specific term in the page’s content. For example: intext:squirtle will search for the term inside of a page’s text content.
allintext: → Same as intext:, but searches for every term following it. For example: allintext:squirtle moveset will search for both terms inside of a page’s text content.
AROUND(n) → Search for terms that are around n words of each other. For example: ash AROUND(4) pikachu will search for both terms in the content and return results that are 4 words of distance from each other.
define: → Shows the meaning of a word. For example: define:intrinsic shows the word definition and related information.
weather: → Shows the weather forecast for a specific location. For example: weather:london shows weather information and related results for London.
stocks: → Shows stock information for a specific ticker. For example: stocks:AAPL shows stock information for Apple.
map: → Shows a map of the specified location. For example: map:new york shows a map of New York.
movie: → Shows information about a specific movie. For example: movie:matrix shows movie information.
source: → Limit news results to a specific source. For example: fukushima disaster source:cnn will limit the news to CNN.
imagesize: → Search for an exact image size, in pixels. For example: aurora borealis imagesize:1920x1280 will search for images that have a width of 1920px and a height of 1280px.
Conclusion
There is a wide variety of search operators that Google has to offer, and we can combine them in countless different ways. Be sure to play around with them, and try to integrate a few in your daily workflow.
Although googling it seems simple on the surface, there is actually a lot of depth to it. These operators are merely the ones you can use in the main website, but there’s even more operators that can be used in other places, such as Google Drive and Gmail.
Google is a very powerful tool, and to a digital craftsman, mastering one’s tools is exceptionally important.
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