Google Search Operators: Best queries to know in 2023

Have you ever used those thousands of excel shortcuts? Well, Google Search Operators work in a similar way and they're here to make your life easier. 

If you want to save time and quickly find what you need to finish your report or research, with these commands you can do it in no time.

If you're a marketer or have a deep interest in becoming a content strategist, you need to know these shortcuts that will allow you to know in detail just the information you need. 

Google is still an Iceberg and the first search engine results don't always give you all the data you need to know.    

Interested in learning about search operators? Learn more about them below:

What are search operators?

We could say that search operators are shortcuts that allow you to find an answer faster than through traditional methods.

Let's get this straight: when you do a search, Google returns millions of results based on the phrase you have entered. 

If you search with the operators, they will show you only the results you need, because there are commands that work as a kind of filter.

It's a way to speed up your day-to-day work, so it's time to find out which the best operators are so you can start using them.  

Google search operators

There are many search operators available today. Let's take a look at the most commonly used ones below:

“...” 

This is a very useful operator because it returns the pages that contain the exact information that appears between the inverted commas.

If only the phrase: "social networks" is inside them, Google will show you those websites that talk about social media, the rest will be discarded. 

OR

In this case, Google will only show you sites that include the words that appear in the search.

An example would be: "Facebook OR Twitter OR Instagram". Here it would leave out Facebook to focus on the other two networks. 

-

Google will exclude any words after the hyphen. So, if we put in "social media-Instagram", the search engine will return results for everything related to social media and exclude Instagram, as it appears after the hyphen.

*

There's not much to say in this case. The asterisk works as a sort of wildcard that matches any word.

#..#

This is a very useful command for when you're doing numerical searches. In short, it reflects the numbers you include in the range.

Let's see an example: "British crown changes #2013...2016#". The system will show you only what happened between those two years and ignore everything else.

site:

It's very simple: you enter the command "Site" and next to it you add the website you want to enter. Google will only show you results for that site. 

Advanced search operators

Did you like the search operators? If you do,then you'll love the following commands that are intended for more advanced searches. Let's take a look at some of them in the following list:

intitle:

You just type in the word "intitle" and then add what you want to find. It's widely used to search for websites that reflect something very specific, such as a particular player's stats.

allintitle:

This is similar to the previous one, only here it returns results for any of the specified words. Let's say it's not as precise as the previous one, but it can still get you out of any predicament.

inurl:

Here you'll see the exact results but not for a specific page but on the URL in general.

intext:

This command gets straight to the point. It shows you the exact phrase in the body of the site, so you won't waste any time looking for what you need.

Alternatives and search tools 

Let's now look at some tools that will allow you to find items that would take you a long time to find in the traditional way.

• Weather

How many times have you wondered what the weather is like in a specific place? Maybe you're interested because you want to go there in a few minutes or you're just curious.

Now you can find out in a matter of seconds with the "weather" command. Just type this word, add a city and Google will show you the weather information for that place. 

• Translator

In a nutshell, it's the google translator. Just enter this word, the language you want to translate and in a short time you will have it in front of your eyes.

• Tip calculator

Just as there are very useful commands, there are others that are useful and curious. 

In this case, it's an operator that allows you to calculate the tip you should leave. It's a kind of calculator that adjusts to the place where you are, so it can be of great help in very specific moments.

• Time

We've all been confused by the time zones in other cities or countries. Sometimes it can be very complicated to know what time it is in that place, but we have just found the perfect tool.

It's the "Time" command: place it next to the name of the city and in a few seconds you'll know what the exact time is.

• Stocks 

Have you ever wanted to know the exact stock of your competitors? Nothing is a secret to Google and now you can find out with the Stocks command.

Place it next to the name of the company and you'll know how many units of each product they have left. 

Advantages of using search operators

Google's search operators offer many advantages that are worth looking into. Take a look at them if you're not quite sure of their benefits yet:

Saving time

That's right, we couldn't start any other way. 

On many occasions we only have a few minutes to do a search, and if we do it the traditional way, it'll take us a long time to find what we need.

Use some of the commands we've given you and you'll see how much faster you'll work. It's time to optimize your time to the maximum. 

Increased productivity

Closely linked to the previous point. 

If you save time you will be able to work more and this translates into more productivity. Searching for information can add up to hundreds of minutes if you add up all the queries you make in a day.

Imagine you can save up to 50% of that? Your results will triple in no time. 

Precise segmentation

Google is a blessing, we can't say otherwise. However, when we're in a hurry, we hate that it shows so much information that doesn't match what we need.

This is where you can take advantage of search operators. With just one command you will get the exact result you need without embellishments.

It's been a blessing for us and it's time for you to benefit too. What are you waiting for to try them out? Use Google search operators and take your productivity to the next level.