How to Use Google Search Operators to Find Exactly What You Need

Search operators are short commands you type into Google to narrow results. A few of them turn a vague search into exactly what you need. These are the ones that still work.

The essentials

• "exact phrase": quotes find those words in that order. "blue light filter"
• -word: excludes a word. jaguar -car
• site: searches one website, or a type of site. site:bushe.co dark mode, site:gov tax forms
• OR: either word, in capitals. laptop OR notebook

Find specific kinds of pages

• filetype: finds PDFs, spreadsheets and slides. filetype:pdf user manual
• intitle: words in the page title. intitle:review standing desk
• inurl: words in the address. inurl:pricing
• before: and after: limit results by date. chrome update after:2026-01-01

Fill in the blanks

An asterisk inside quotes stands for any word: "the * of the year". It's useful when you remember most of a quote, a song title or a product name.

Combine them

• site:reddit.com "standing desk" -ad: discussions about standing desks on Reddit.
• filetype:pdf site:gov "energy efficiency": government reports.
• intitle:"vs" "notion" "obsidian": comparison articles.

Everyday examples

• Find an old manual: "model number" filetype:pdf.
• Search a site with a poor search box: site:example.com refund policy.
• Find recent news only: add after: with last month's date.
• Find a quote's source: put the part you remember in quotes, with * for the words you've forgotten.
• Avoid shopping results: add -buy -price -shop when you want information, not stores.

Operators that stopped working

• cache: Google removed cached pages in 2024. Use the Wayback Machine instead.
• related: and the + sign for required words no longer work. Use quotes to force a word.

Other ways to sharpen results

• Verbatim: under Tools → All results → Verbatim, Google stops swapping in synonyms and corrections.
• Advanced Search: google.com/advanced_search lets you fill in operators as a form.
• Time filters: Tools → Any time → Past week, month or year.
• The Web filter shows a plain list of links, without AI Overviews.

Fewer distractions on the results page

Operators narrow results but don't remove AI Overviews, People Also Ask or other boxes. Search Cleaner hides the sections you choose. See searching without AI answers and turning off search personalization.