The document provides information on advanced Google search capabilities, including:
- Logical operators like AND, OR, and NOT that can be used to connect search terms;
- Common search specifiers like double quotes for exact matches, wildcard for partial matches, and range for numerical values;
- Site, filetype, and other metadata specifiers that allow filtering search results by attributes like URL, title, or file type.
4. Welcome!
• People overestimate their Google Search skills!
• Just ask them to retrieve something specific on Google
• You’ll soon become a Google sniper
5. Google Search default settings
•Case-insensitive
•Grammatically insensitive
•Look up for alternatives
•Implicitly adds an « AND » operator between query elements.
•Results are sorted by « relevance »
7. The « AND » operator
• The « AND » operator is a binary (two operands) operator that returns results containing its operands on the
left-hand side and right hand-side.
• The « AND » operator is implemented by writing a blank space between the operands you want to connect.
• Because Google ignores parentheses, the « AND » operator will always connect its closest neighboring
operands.
• You can use multiple « AND » operators in a row. It will work as usual.
• Remember: returning results with the two operands is the best case scenario.
8. The « OR » operator
• The « OR » operator is a binary (two operands) operator returns results containing one of its two operands or
both of them.
• You can implement the « OR » operator by writing « OR » or by writing a vertical bar (|) between two operands.
• Because Google ignores parentheses, the « OR » operator will apply to its closest neighboring operands.
• You can use multiple « OR » operators in a row along other logical operators.
9. The « - » (NOT) operator
• The « - » (NOT) operator is a unary (one operand) operator that excludes all the results containing its operand.
• You have to use the minus (-) symbol to implement the « NOT » operator. It has no syntactical equivalent.
• There should be no blank space between the « - » (NOT) operator and its operand.
• When you use a « - » (NOT) operator in a query, it will apply to the whole query.
• You can use multiple « - » (NOT) operators in a row. They’ll add up and exclude their respective operands from
the final result.
11. The « “” » (double quotes) specifier
• The « “” » (double quotes) specifier is an n-ary (n operands) specifier that returns results containing its
operands in the same order.
• The « “” » (double quotes) specifier has no syntactical equivalent. The single quotes cannot replace it.
• The « “” » (double quotes) specifier is case-insensitive, singular/plural- insensitive and may return synonyms.
• The « “” » (double quotes) and its operands are treated as a single expression by logical operators.
12. The « * » (wildcard) placeholder
• The « * » (wildcard) placeholder is a n-ary (n operands) specifier that returns results containing its operands in
the same word order with a word to replace the wildcard.
• The « * » (wildcard) has no syntactical equivalent and it cannot be replaced by a blank space.
• The « * » (wildcard) cannot be used alone. It has to be an unknown element of a structure.
• The « * » (wildcard) and its operands are considered as a single expression.
13. The « .. » (double dots) specifier
• The « .. » (double dots) specifier is a binary (two operands) specifier that returns results containing a numerical
value between its operands.
• You can implement it by writing « .. » with an operand on the left and right-hand sides. There should be no blank
space. It has no syntactical equivalent.
• It only takes numerical values as operands.
• You can use the « OR » and « AND » operators on the « .. » specifier and its operands, but you cannot use the «
- » (NOT) operator.
• You can use the dollar ($) currency on its operands.
15. The « define: » specifier
• « define: » is a unary specifier (one operand) that returns the definition – according to Google Dictionary – of
the operand it applies to.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is optional and can be replaced by a blank space.
• Remember that it only works with English words.
• You cannot use logical operators on ‘define:’ and its operand.
• You can get additional information about a word such as its etymological root and its recurrence over time on
Google.
16. The « translate: » specifier
• The « translate: » specifier is a binary (two operands) specifier that returns the translation of a word in a target
language. It takes two parameters: a word or sentence to translate and the target language.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is optional and can be replaced by a blank space.
• Like ‘define:’, you cannot apply logical operators on ‘translate:’ and its operands.
• Because the translator is based on Google Translate’s API, it has the same limitations.
17. The « weather: » specifier
• The « weather: » specifier returns the weather – according to Google’s own previsions/database – of the place
it applies to.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is not mandatory and can be replaced by a blank space.
• When two places have the same name, you must provide additional information.
• Using logical operators will break the « weather: » specifier.
18. The « locations: » specifier
• « locations: » is a specifier that returns the Google Map coordinates of its operand.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is not mandatory and can be replaced by a blank space.
• If two places have the same name, you also have to specify the country.
• Using logical operators will break the « locations: » specifier.
19. The « time: » specifier
• The « time: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns the current time (and time zone) of its
operand.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is not mandatory and can be replaced by a blank space.
• Using logical operators will break the « time: » specifier.
• If two places have the same name, you have to provide additional information.
20. The calculator functionalities
• Google’s internal calculator is a Google-hosted calculator that can perform arithmetical calculations and basic function
graphing.
• The calculator will get called if you use mathematical syntax. It won’t work if you mix it with non-mathematical syntax.
• It follows the PEMDAS order of operations: (1) parentheses, (2) exponents, (3) multiplications/divisions, (4)
additions/subtractions.
• The calculator will ignore blank spaces between mathematical operators and mathematical operands.
• You can graph multiple functions at once if you separate them by a comma.
21. The units converter
• The Google converter takes a numerical value of a certain unit of measurement and converts it into its equivalent
numerical value for another unit of measurement.
• The converter only works if the source unit of measurement and the target unit of measurements are convertible. For
example, you can convert ‘inches’ to ‘miles per hour’.
• The converter understand full unit names (e.g. ‘feet’), abbreviations (e.g. ‘ft’), and symbols (e.g. ‘$’).
• You can either use a blank space or ‘to’ between the source and target values.
• The converter is rather complete, and you can convert many different kinds of units, such as volumes, speeds,
frequencies, etc.
23. Site Specifiers
Get results from a website
Get files of a specific type
Find related websites
Find links pointing to a website
Retrieve the cached version of a webpage
Get additional information about a website
24. The « site: » specifier
• The « site: » is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns results with an URL containing its operand.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• The operand can be a country code.
• Using the « OR » operator between two URLs will make « site: » apply to the right one and ignore the left one.
• Using the « OR » and « - » (NOT) operators between two « site: » expressions will work as usual, whereas the «
AND » operator will break them.
25. The « filetype: » specifier
• The « filetype: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns results containing a file of the specified
type.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space between the specifier and its operand.
• Using multiple « filetype: » specifiers in a query will only consider the first one.
• You can find the list of the accepted filetypes in the Google Advanced Search interface located at
google.com/advanced_search.
• The « filetype: » specifier is really potent when used along other specifiers such as the « site: » specifier.
26. The « related: » specifier
• The « related: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns the root domain of similar (according
to Google) websites.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• Using logical operators between the « related: » expression and other expressions will basically ignore the
right-hand side expressions.
• When using logical operators between two « related: » expressions, the right-hand side expression will get
ignored.
• Remember: ‘relatedness’ is defined by Google according to internal criteria that may not be intuitive.
27. The « link: » specifier
• The « link: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns a few selected (by Google) results pointing
to an URL.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• Using logical operators between the « link: » expression and other expressions will break it.
• When you want to trace backlinks, it’s more efficient to use the double quotes specifier on the URL and the « - »
(NOT) operator on this URL.
28. The « cache: » specifier
• The « cache: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns the cached version of a webpage at a
specific date and time.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space between the specifier and its operand.
• It’s normally not possible to retrieve previous versions of a webpage’s cache other than the one proposed by
Google.
• Any webpage indexed by Google will have a cached version on Google’s end.
• When you use multiple « cache: » specifiers, it will only work for the first one.
29. The « info: » specifier
• The « info: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns its operand’s URL and Google suggested
specifiers applied to this URL.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• Beware: the « info: » specifier will consider everything on its right as its operand.
• Because you already know how to use all the suggested specifiers, you may directly use them on the URL instead
of going through this step.
31. The « inurl: » specifier
• The « inurl: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns results containing the operand in their
URL.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• The « inurl: » will only apply to its operand and will ignore other expressions on its right.
• Using the « OR » operator on its operands will make « inurl: » work as if it was called on each operand, or both.
• You can use logical operators between two « inurl: » and they’ll work as usual.
32. The « allinurl: » specifier
• The « allinurl: » specifier is a n-ary (n operands) specifier that returns results with an URL containing the n
operands.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• Each word expression on its right-hand side will be considered its operand if it doesn’t have its own specifier.
• Using the « OR » operator between two operands will make « allinurl: » work as if it was called on each, or both
of them.
• When using logical operators between two « allinurl: », the « AND » operator will break them, whereas the « OR
» and « - » (NOT) operators will make the right-hand side expression ignored.
33. The « intitle: » specifier
• The « intitle: » specifier is an unary (one operand) specifier that returns results containing the operand in the
document’s title or URL.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• The « intitle: » specifier applies to its operand and ignores other expressions on its right.
• Using the « OR » operator on its operands will make « intitle: » as if it was called on each operand or both of
them.
• Using logical operators between multiple « intitle: » will work as usual.
34. The « allintitle: » specifier
• The « allintitle: » specifier is a n-ary (n operands) specifier that returns results containing all the operands in
the document’s title or URL.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• The « allintitle: » specifier will consider any word expression on its right- hand side as its operand.
• Using the « OR » operator on its operands will make « allintitle: » work as if it was called on each operand, or
both.
• Using the « AND » operator between two « allintitle: » will break them, whereas the « OR » and « - » (NOT)
operators will make the right-hand side expression ignored.
35. The « inanchor: » specifier
• The « inanchor: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns results containing the operand in the
anchor text (not necessarily the title) and the URL.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• The « inanchor: » specifier applies to its right-hand side operand and ignores other words.
• When you use the « OR » operator on its operand, the ‘inanchor:’ specifier will work as if it was called for each of
them or both.
• You can use multiple ‘inanchor:’ specifiers in the same query without breaking its functionalities.
36. The « allinanchor: » specifier
• The « allinanchor: » specifier is a n-ary (n operands) that returns results containing the operands in the anchor
text or URL.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• The « allinanchor: » specifier will apply to all the words on its right- hand side that don’t have their own
specifier.
• Like for ‘inanchor:’, when you use the « OR » operator on its operands, the ‘allinanchor:’ will do as if it was called
for each operand, or both.
• You can use the « OR » and « NOT » operator between ‘allinanchor:’ expressions, but the « AND » operator will
break it.
37. The « intext: » specifier
• The « intext: » specifier is a unary (one operand) specifier that returns results containing the operand in their
URL or document’s text.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• The « intext: » specifier only applies to its right-hand side operand.
• Using the « OR » operator between its operand and another word will make work as if it was called for each, or
both of them.
• You can use multiple « intext: » specifiers in a row.
38. The « allintext: » specifier
• The « allintext: » specifier is a n-ary (n operands) specifier that returns results containing all its operands in the
URL or the document’s text.
• The ‘:’ (colon) is mandatory and there should be no blank space.
• The « allintext: » specifier will consider any word expression on its right- hand side as one of its operands.
• When you use the « OR » operator between its operands, the « allintext: » specifier will work as if it was called
on each, or both of them.
• When using logical operators between two « allintext: », the « AND » operator will break them, whereas the « OR
» and « - » (NOT) expression will get ignored.
42. The custom settings
• You can activate the SafeSearch
• You can activate the instant results
• You can set up the number of results from 10 to 100
• You can activate the speech-to-text for voice search
• You can set the results to open in new window tabs
45. Summary
• Default settings:
• Case-insensitive
• Grammatically insensitive
• Look up for alternatives
• Implicitly adds an « AND » operator between query elements.
• Results are sorted by « relevance »
• Logical operators:
• The « AND » operator implemented by a blank space
• The « OR » operator implemented by ‘OR’ or a vertical bar (|)
• The « NOT » operator implement by the minus symbol (-)
46. Summary
• Three useful punctuators:
• The double quotes « ”” » specifier
• The range « .. » specifier
• The wildcard « * » as a placeholder
• Handful shortcuts:
• The « define: » shortcut
• The « translate: » shortcut
• The « weather: », « locations: » and « time: » shortcuts
• The calculator functionalities
• The converter functionalities
47. Summary
• Site specifiers:
• The « site: » specifier
• The « filetype: » specifier
• The « related: » specifier
• The « cache: » specifier
• The « info: » specifier
• Metadata specifiers:
• The « inurl: » and « allinurl: » specifiers
• The « intext: » and « allintext: » specifiers
• The « intitle: » and « allintitle: » specifiers
• The « inanchor: » and « allinanchor: » specifiers