Google Search Operators Cheat Sheet (Verified 2026)
Every Google search operator marked Works, Unreliable or Retired, with the evidence, SEO recipes and a query builder.
Last verified: 2026-10-18 — against Google Search Central Overview of Google search operators, Google Search Help Refine Google searches and Google's retirement announcements (linked per row)
Google search operators and their status
| Operator | Status | What it does | Example | SEO use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
site:# | Works | Results from one domain, subdomain or URL prefix. Google: “The list of URLs returned is not always exhaustive.” Result counts are estimates; use Search Console’s Page indexing report for real numbers. | site:example.com/blog | Spot-check what Google has indexed in a section; find thin, duplicate or hacked pages. |
"…"# | Works | Exact word or phrase. Quoting a single word stops Google matching synonyms or variants. Can match text that is not visible, such as the meta description or alt text. Since 2022 the snippet shows where the quoted text occurs (Google blog). | "technical seo audit" | Find exact brand mentions, scraped copies of your text, or competitors targeting a phrase. |
-# | Works | Excludes a word, or with another operator excludes a site or pattern. No space between - and the term. | jaguar speed -car | Remove your own domain or noise from results: "brand" -site:brand.com. |
filetype:# | Works | Results of one file type, by content-type header or file extension (pdf, docx, xlsx, pptx, txt…). | seo checklist filetype:pdf | Find indexed PDFs and documents on a site that compete with HTML pages or should not be public. |
before:# | Works | Pages Google dates before a day or year. Takes YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY/MM/DD or YYYY. Google’s help calls it “last updated” and the date is Google’s estimate. Added April 2019. | core update before:2025-01-01 | See how a topic was covered before an algorithm update or launch. |
after:# | Works | Pages Google dates after a day or year. Combine with before: for a range. | seo trends after:2026-01-01 | Find fresh competitor content or recent mentions of your brand. |
imagesize:# | Works | Images of an exact size, written WIDTHxHEIGHT. Google Images only. | site:example.com imagesize:1200x630 | Audit which image sizes Google has indexed for your site, e.g. Open Graph images. |
src:# | Works | Pages that use a given image URL in a src attribute. Google Images only. | src:https://example.com/images/chart.png | Find sites hotlinking your images and ask them for a credit link. |
OR# | Works | Either term. Must be in capitals; lower-case “or” is an ordinary word. No longer in Google’s help pages. | "write for us" OR "guest post" | Cover phrase variants in one prospecting query. |
|# | Works | Same as OR. | jobs | careers site:example.com | Shorter OR in long queries. |
AND# | Works | Both terms. Redundant: Google already looks for every term. | seo AND ppc | Only for readability inside grouped queries. |
( )# | Works | Groups terms so OR applies to the right part of the query. | ("guest post" OR "write for us") seo | Build complex outreach and audit queries. |
*# | Works | Stands for any word, most useful inside quotes. | "best * for small business" | Discover how others phrase titles and keywords around a fixed pattern. |
intitle:# | Works | Word in the page title. Quote a phrase: intitle:"link building". | intitle:checklist seo | Gauge how many pages target a keyword in the title; find resource pages. |
allintitle:# | Works | Every following word must be in the title. Counts are estimates. Do not mix with other operators; everything after it is read as title words. | allintitle:local seo checklist | Rough title-competition check for a long-tail keyword. |
inurl:# | Works | Word in the URL. | inurl:write-for-us marketing | Find URL patterns: /tag/, ?replytocom, write-for-us, staging. |
allinurl:# | Works | Every following word must be in the URL. | allinurl:seo tools | Map a competitor’s URL structure for a topic. |
intext:# | Works | Word in the body text. | intext:"crawl budget" -site:example.com | Find pages that mention a term in body copy, e.g. unlinked brand mentions. |
allintext:# | Works | Every following word must be in the body text. | allintext:schema faq markup | Find pages that cover all the subtopics you list. |
ext:# | Works | Alias of filetype:. Not in Google’s docs; filetype: is the documented form. | site:example.com ext:docx | Same as filetype:. |
define:# | Works | Shows the dictionary box for a word. | define:canonical | See which definition Google surfaces before writing a glossary page. |
source:# | Works | Google News results from one publisher. Use it on the News tab. | ai overviews source:reuters | Check what a publication has covered on your topic before pitching it. |
map:# | Works | Shows a map for a place. | map:austin tx | Quick look at a local area; use a rank tracker for real local-pack checks. |
weather:# | Works | Weather box for a place. Behaves like a normal weather query; not a real filter. | weather:toronto | None; a plain “weather toronto” search does the same. |
stocks:# | Works | Stock price box for a ticker. Behaves like a normal finance query; not a real filter. | stocks:goog | None; a plain ticker search does the same. |
in# | Works | Unit and currency conversion: write the value, “in”, and the target unit. Google documents the converter, not “in” as an operator; it is natural phrasing. | 5 km in miles | None; shows a zero-click answer box, worth knowing before writing conversion content. |
..# | Unreliable | Number range: two numbers separated by two dots. Removed from Google’s help page; results are hit and miss. | seo statistics 2024..2026 | Find pages mentioning a range of years or prices. |
AROUND(n)# | Unreliable | Two terms within n words of each other. Never documented by Google for web search; tests found results close to the plain query. (Gmail does document AROUND.) | "content" AROUND(3) "marketing" | Proximity search for co-mentions of a brand and a topic. |
inanchor:# | Unreliable | Pages linked to with a word in the anchor text. | inanchor:"seo tools" | Used to be a free backlink-anchor check; the sample is now small and inaccurate. |
allinanchor:# | Unreliable | Every following word must be in anchor text pointing to the page. | allinanchor:best seo tools | As inanchor:; use a backlink tool instead. |
daterange:# | Unreliable | Date range in Julian day numbers. | daterange:2460000-2460300 | Superseded by before: and after:. |
loc:# | Unreliable | Results for a place. | loc:"san francisco" plumber | Do not rely on it for local rank checks; use a location-aware SERP tool. |
location:# | Unreliable | Google News results from a place. | location:"toronto" housing | Rough way to find local press coverage. |
movie:# | Unreliable | Movie information or showtimes. Last reported working in 2023; indistinguishable from a plain movie search. | movie:dune | None. |
$# | Unreliable | Price: put $ before a number. Once on Google’s help page, now gone; it mostly matches the literal price text. | camera $400 | Rough price-point product research. |
@# | Unreliable | Bias results toward a social network: @ before the network name. | @linkedin seo manager | Use site:linkedin.com or site:x.com instead; they are reliable. |
## | Unreliable Google+ hashtag search ended 2019 | Hashtag search. | #throwbackthursday | Pages that use a hashtag may still match, as plain text. |
cache:# | Retired September 2024 | Showed Google’s cached copy of a page. Cached links left results on 2024-02-01; Google then said “The cache: search operator no longer works.” “About this result” now links to the Wayback Machine. | cache:example.com | Use URL Inspection in Search Console to see Google’s version, and the Wayback Machine for old copies. |
related:# | Retired July 2023 | Sites similar to a domain. Google: removed from the docs “as it’s no longer supported.” | related:example.com | Find competitors with an “alternatives to X” search or an SEO tool. |
link:# | Retired January 2017 | Pages linking to a URL. Results had long been a tiny sample; Google confirmed it no longer works. | link:example.com | Use the Links report in Search Console or a backlink tool. |
info:# | Retired About 2017 (date unconfirmed by Google) | Summary of what Google knew about a URL (also id:). | info:example.com | Use URL Inspection in Search Console. |
+# | Retired October 2011 | Forced an exact word. | jobs +apple | Put the word in quotes instead: jobs "apple". |
~# | Retired June 2013 | Included synonyms. | ~cheap flights | Google matches synonyms by default; use OR for explicit variants. |
phonebook:# | Retired 2010 | Phone listings. | phonebook:smith toronto | None. |
blogurl:, inposttitle:, inpostauthor:# | Retired With Google Blog Search (date unconfirmed) | Operators of the discontinued Google Blog Search. | inposttitle:seo | Use intitle: on regular search. |
SEO recipes
Find indexed pages#
A quick look at what Google has for a site or section. Counts are estimates and the list is not complete; Search Console’s Page indexing report is the real number.
site:example.comsite:example.com/blogsite:example.com -site:www.example.comsite:example.com inurl:tagFind guest post opportunities#
Sites that accept contributions usually say so in the title or URL of a page.
seo intitle:"write for us"marketing inurl:write-for-us("guest post" OR "contribute") "seo" -site:example.comFind PDFs on a domain#
Finds old brochures, price lists and documents that are indexed (and maybe should not be).
site:example.com filetype:pdfsite:example.com (filetype:docx OR filetype:xlsx)Find brand mentions to turn into links#
Operators cannot tell whether a page links to you (link: is retired), so search for mentions outside your own sites, then check each page.
"Acme Analytics" -site:acmeanalytics.com -site:linkedin.com -site:x.comintext:"Acme Analytics" after:2026-01-01 -site:acmeanalytics.comCompetitor content audit#
See what a competitor publishes on a topic, and what is new since a date.
site:competitor.com intitle:guidesite:competitor.com/blog after:2026-01-01site:competitor.com "pricing" -inurl:blogFind copies of your content#
Paste a distinctive sentence from your page in quotes and exclude your own site.
"a distinctive sentence from your article" -site:example.comFind who uses your images#
In Google Images, src: lists pages that embed a given image URL; ask for a credit link.
src:https://example.com/images/chart.pngThis sheet runs in your browser. The builder only creates a google.com link; nothing you type is sent to us. Browse all free tools.
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Google search operators are the commands you add to a query, such as site:, "quotes", intitle: and filetype:, to narrow results. Many lists online still include operators Google has switched off, so this cheat sheet marks each one Works, Unreliable or Retired and links the evidence: Google's own documentation where it exists, Google's changelog or staff statements for retirements (cache: stopped working in September 2024, related: in July 2023, link: in 2017), and a dated test report for operators Google has never documented.
Google now documents only a handful of operators: site:, filetype:, quotes, minus, before:, after:, and imagesize: and src: for Google Images. Everything else (intitle:, inurl:, OR, AROUND and so on) works or not at Google's discretion, and the most recent published test for most of them is from 2023, which the table says. The query builder below assembles a search from simple fields and opens it on google.com in a new tab; nothing is sent to us. Treat result counts as rough estimates, which Google itself says.
How to use
- Use the status buttons to show only operators that work, or search for one (site, title, pdf, date).
- Open the evidence link under a status to see the Google page or report it is based on.
- Fill in the query builder, or load one of the SEO recipes into it, and press Search Google.
- Copy any example or recipe with its Copy button, or share a row with its # link.
- Print or save the sheet as a PDF for reference.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Google cache: operator still work?
No. Google removed the cached-page link from results on 1 February 2024 and on 24 September 2024 noted in its Search Central changelog that “the cache: search operator no longer works in Google Search.” To see how Google renders a page, use URL Inspection in Search Console; for old versions, use the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, which Google now links from the “About this result” panel.
How do I search only one website on Google?
Put site: before the domain, with no space: site:example.com pricing. You can narrow to a subdomain (site:blog.example.com) or a folder (site:example.com/docs). Add a minus to exclude a site instead: pricing -site:example.com.
Is the site: result count the number of indexed pages?
No. Google says the list returned by site: “is not always exhaustive” and the count is an estimate that can change between searches. For the real number of indexed pages, use the Page indexing report in Google Search Console; for one URL, use URL Inspection.
How do I search Google for results between two dates?
Use before: and after: with a date written YYYY-MM-DD (or just a year): seo trends after:2025-06-01 before:2026-01-01. Google's help describes these as “last updated” dates, which are Google's estimate of when a page changed, so they are not exact. The Tools › Any time menu on the results page does the same with a calendar.
Does Google still support the OR operator?
Yes, written in capitals: "guest post" OR "write for us". The pipe | does the same. Lower-case “or” is treated as an ordinary word. Use parentheses to group: ("guest post" OR "write for us") seo. OR is no longer described in Google's help pages, so its status here rests on testing rather than documentation.
What replaced the link: operator for finding backlinks?
Google stopped supporting link: in January 2017. For your own site, the Links report in Search Console lists top linking sites and pages. For other sites, you need a third-party backlink index such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Moz; no Google operator shows backlinks now.
How the statuses were decided
• Works (Google docs): the operator is described on Google Search Central's operator pages or the “Refine Google searches” help page as of 2026-10-18. Google can still change these, but they are supported.
• Works (test report): Google does not document it, but the most recent thorough public test (Ahrefs, April 2023) found it working, and no later report or Google statement says otherwise. These are the ones most likely to change without notice.
• Unreliable: tests found results inconsistent or indistinguishable from a plain search, or Google removed it from its help pages without a replacement.
• Retired: Google said so (cache:, related:), Google staff confirmed it to the press (link:, +, ~), or it belonged to a discontinued product. Where Google never gave a date, the row says the date is unconfirmed.
We did not run automated tests against Google, which its terms do not allow. If you see an operator behave differently from what the table says, tell us with the feedback button on this page.
Combining operators without breaking the query
No space after the colon: site:example.com works, site: example.com searches for the word “example.com”. Quote multi-word values: intitle:"link building" requires the phrase in the title, while intitle:link building only puts “link” in the title.
The all-in operators (allintitle:, allinurl:, allintext:) apply to every word that follows them, so put them last or use the single-word forms when mixing with other operators.
Operators work in Google's main web search. Several do not work in Google Maps or Shopping, and imagesize: and src: work only in Google Images. Very long or rapid operator queries can trigger Google's “unusual traffic” check.
Related free tools
- SERP Snippet Preview — Preview how your page title and meta description will look in Google — with live character-count checks.
- Meta Tag Generator — Fill in a page's title, description and social card details; get a complete, correctly escaped <head> block with live length counters.
- Keyword Density Checker — Count one-, two- and three-word phrases, see their density, and check where your target keyword appears.
- Gmail Shortcuts & Search Operators — All 85 Gmail keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac, every search operator, and a builder that writes the search for you.
- Social Media Character Limits — Every character limit for X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and 13 more platforms, with sources, plus a box that checks your text against all of them.