27/05/2025
Google Search Operators Every SEO Should Know (And Actually Use)
You can read this on Google - or just bookmark this post.
You don’t need paid tools to uncover SEO insights.
You just need to ask Google better questions.
These are the exact search operators I use for SEO audits, content research, link building, and competitor analysis.
The Core 11 (Absolute Essentials):
1. site:example.com
→ See all indexed pages from a domain (perfect for audits).
2. cache:example.com
→ View the last version Google cached.
3. related:example.com
→ Find similar or competitor websites.
4. intitle:"keyword"
→ Find pages with your exact keyword in the title.
5. allintitle:keyword1 keyword2
→ Find pages that contain all keywords in the title.
6. inurl:"keyword"
→ Filter pages with keyword in the URL (e.g. blog posts, service pages).
7. intext:"keyword"
→ Search for keywords within the body content.
8. filetype:pdf
→ Find PDFs, guides, whitepapers, and downloadable assets.
9. "keyword" –site:example.com
→ Exclude results from specific domains (hello, spam filters).
10. site:example.com/blog
→ Search inside a subfolder or specific section of a site.
11. "keyword1" OR "keyword2"
→ Search for multiple variations of a term.
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Bonus Operators 💯 (Most People Overlook These):
12. " " (Quotes)
→ Force Google to show only exact-match phrases.
13. * (Wildcard)
→ Let Google fill in the blank:
→ "best * for local SEO"
14. AROUND(X)
→ Find keywords that appear close together:
→ "content" AROUND(5) "strategy"
15. before: and after:
→ Filter content by publish date:
→ SEO tips after:2023-01-01
16. define:
→ Get quick definitions straight from Google:
→ define:canonical tag
17. info:
→ See basic info about a page or domain:
→ info:yourdomain.com
18. map:
→ Pull map-based results (great for local SEO):
→ map:tree service Denver
19. source:
→ In Google News, find articles from a specific site:
→ SEO source:searchenginejournal.com
Save this. Share with your team. Use it in your next strategy session.
What’s your favorite underrated operator?
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