SEO 3: Help Searching on Google(Google Search Operators)

I’ve always been great with shortcut keys, EX:
Windows: ctrl+shift+esc(system processes), ctrl+alt+del(task manager), window+r(run prompt), windows+d(drop to desktop)

Firefox shortcuts: ctrl+t(new tab),  ctrl+shift+t(re-open last closed tab), ctrl+f4(close tab), ctrl+tab(next tab), ctrl+n(new window)

etc etc etc

But I’ve always felt in the dark when it comes to searching on google.  I’ve had a number of times that a site has searched google for me, and I see all this “-allintitle” or “location:” thrown into the search engine for me.  I’ve never actually run into a page that set out these terms for me.

Here is google’s page Google Advanced Search Operator Guide *update*(this is a much better Search Operator guide) where you can find all of the terms you available to you.

Here’s some exercises to see just how good you are at searching Google:

Exercises

1. Use the site: operator to search for armchairs on IKEA’s site, www.ikea.com.
2. Use the Advanced Search form to find the page whose title is “Some Ways to Detect Plagiarism.” When the title is entered in lowercase letters, the query box on the results page contains [allintitle:  “ways to detect plagiarism” ].
3. Find all pages on google.com but not on answers.google.com nor on directory.google.com whose titles include the words “FAQ” or “help.”
4. Use the link: operator to see who links to googleguide.com, your company’s website, or your favorite website.
5. Find pages whose titles include surfing that are not about surfing the World Wide Web.
6. Find out where the upcoming international conference on AIDS is being held.
7. How can you search for [ google help ] on Google Guide, www.googleguide.com, and on the UC Berkeley library website, www.lib.berkeley.edu?

I mean, can you do these?  If not, you’re probably not using the internet to your fullest capacity.
For hints and answers to selected problems, see the Solutions page.

—-

Here is a list of all of the search operators complete with links:

Product Search allintext:, allintitle:

Search Service Search Operators Web Search allinanchor:, allintext:, allintitle:, allinurl:, cache:, define:, filetype:, id:, inanchor:, info:, intext:, intitle:, inurl:, phonebook:, related:, site:

—-

And here are the ones that apply to the other types of searches Google offers:

Image Search allintitle:, allinurl:, filetype:, inurl:, intitle:, site:

Groups allintext:, allintitle:, author:, group:, insubject:, intext:, intitle:

Directory allintext:, allintitle:, allinurl:, ext:, filetype:, intext:, intitle:, inurl:

News allintext:, allintitle:, allinurl:, intext:, intitle:, inurl:, location:, source:

—

Here is a series of videos from CBC introducing all of the advanced Google features you could need:

And finally:

Advertisement