Google search operators are the shortcuts power users type into the search box to filter results: site: to stay on one website, quotation marks for exact phrases, a minus sign to exclude words. For SEOs they are free, instant research tools for spotting indexing problems, finding link opportunities and sizing up competitors.
The trouble is that most operator lists online are out of date. Google has quietly retired several operators over the years, including cache: in 2024, and only a handful are officially documented today. Others still work but come with no guarantees.
This cheat sheet separates the operators Google officially supports from the unofficial ones and the retired ones, then shows practical SEO recipes you can copy. Every status here was checked against Google's documentation and published announcements as of October 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Google's Search Help documents quotes,
-,site:,before:,after:andfiletype:; Search Central also documentsimagesize:andsrc:for Google Images. - Operators such as
intitle:,inurl:,ORandAROUND(X)still work in practice but are undocumented and can be inconsistent. cache:,related:,link:,info:,+and~no longer work.site:is a research aid, not an index counter; use Search Console for accurate indexing data.- Do not put a space between an operator and its search term.
How Search Operators Work
An operator is a word or symbol that changes how Google interprets your query. Google's Search Central overview puts it simply:
“Google Search supports several search operators that you can use to refine or target your searches.”
— Google Search Central, Overview of Google search operators
A few rules apply to all of them:
- No spaces after the colon. Google's Search Help says: "Do not put spaces between the operator and your search term."
site:example.comworks;site: example.comdoes not. - Combine freely.
site:example.com intitle:pricing -inurl:blogis perfectly valid. - Results are samples. Search Central notes operators are bound by indexing and retrieval limits, so counts and lists are approximate.
- Case does not matter for terms, but
ORmust be uppercase to act as an operator.
Officially Supported Operators
These are documented by Google in Search Help or Search Central, so they are the most reliable choices.
| Operator | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
"..." | Exact word or phrase match | "technical seo audit" |
- | Excludes a word or operator | jaguar speed -car |
site: | Results from a domain, subdomain or URL prefix | site:example.com/blog |
before: | Documents updated before a date | core update before:2025-01-01 |
after: | Documents updated after a date | ai overviews study after:2026-01-01 |
filetype: | A specific file type, by extension or content type | seo checklist filetype:pdf |
imagesize: | Images of specific dimensions (Google Images only) | imagesize:1200x630 |
src: | Pages referencing a specific image URL (Google Images only) | src:https://example.com/logo.png |
The before: and after: operators accept full dates (year, month and day) or just a year, and can be combined for a date range.
A note on site:
Google's dedicated site: operator page explains that it was designed primarily for search users and doesn't necessarily return all the URLs under a prefix. Without a query term, results are not ranked in a meaningful order. Use it to spot-check, then confirm with the URL Inspection tool and the Page indexing report.
Unofficial Operators That Still Work
These are not in Google's current documentation but generally function in 2026. Treat their results as directional.
| Operator | What it does | Example | Typical reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
OR / | | Either term | seo OR sem agency | Good |
( ) | Groups terms and operators | (audit OR checklist) "local seo" | Good |
* | Wildcard for any word | "best * for small business" | Good |
intitle: | Word in the page title | intitle:"write for us" marketing | Good |
allintitle: | All words in the title | allintitle:hosting seo guide | Fair |
inurl: | Word in the URL | inurl:resources plumbing | Good |
allinurl: | All words in the URL | allinurl:blog seo | Fair |
intext: | Word in the page text | intext:"powered by wordpress" | Fair |
AROUND(X) | Two terms within X words | google AROUND(3) update | Fair |
define: | Dictionary definition | define:canonical | Good |
ext: | Alias of filetype: | ext:xlsx keyword template | Good |
Retired Operators (Do Not Rely on These)
cache:Google removed the cache link from results in early 2024, and Search Engine Land reported in September 2024 that the operator had stopped working entirely. Google has since added links to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine in its "About this page" information.related:Google removed it from its help documentation in July 2023, and Search Liaison Danny Sullivan confirmed it was going away.link:Long since retired; use Search Console's Links report or a backlink tool instead.info:No longer supported.+Discontinued; use quotation marks to force a term.~(synonyms) Discontinued; Google handles synonyms automatically.inanchor:anddaterange:Unreliable or non-functional; usebefore:andafter:for dates.
SEO Recipes You Can Copy
Technical and indexing checks
| Task | Query |
|---|---|
| Spot-check indexed pages | site:example.com |
| Find indexed parameter URLs | site:example.com inurl:? or site:example.com inurl:sort= |
| Find indexed staging or dev subdomains | site:example.com -inurl:www |
| Find indexed PDFs | site:example.com filetype:pdf |
| Find thin tag or archive pages | site:example.com inurl:tag |
| Check for scraped copies of your text | "an exact sentence from your page" -site:example.com |
| Find possible cannibalisation | site:example.com intitle:"keyword" |
Parameter URLs found this way should be handled as described in our URL parameters guide, and thin archives in our article on thin content. Overlapping pages are covered in our keyword cannibalization guide.
Link-building and outreach
intitle:"write for us" "your topic"to find guest post opportunities (see our guest blogging guide).inurl:resources "your topic" -site:yourdomain.comfor resource pages."your brand" -site:yourdomain.comto find mentions you could turn into links; our guide to unlinked brand mentions explains the outreach.intitle:"podcast" "your industry" "guest"for interview opportunities.
Pair these with a solid pitch from our link building outreach guide.
Content and competitor research
site:competitor.com intitle:guideto list a rival's guides for a content gap analysis.site:competitor.com after:2026-01-01to see what they published recently.site:reddit.com "your topic" "recommend"to find real questions and language customers use.
How to Build an Operator Query: Step by Step
- Start with your goal, for example "find guest post pages about home renovation".
- Pick the core operator that does most of the filtering (
intitle:,site:orinurl:). - Add exact-match phrases in quotes for precision.
- Exclude noise with
-, such as your own domain or big marketplaces. - Add a date filter with
after:if freshness matters. - Scan the results, refine, and save working queries in a shared document.
The same Boolean thinking applies elsewhere; our guide to X (Twitter) advanced search shows a similar approach.
Common Mistakes
- Using site: as an index count. The number is an estimate; Search Console is the source of truth.
- Adding spaces after the colon. The operator is then treated as a normal word.
- Lowercase or. Only uppercase
ORworks as an operator. - Trusting old cheat sheets. Lists that still include
cache:,related:orlink:are outdated. - Over-stacking. Long chains of unofficial operators can return odd or empty results; simplify and test.
Related Guides
- SEO A/B Testing: How to Run Split Tests That Mean Something
- Entity SEO: How Google Understands Things, Not Strings
- Semantic SEO: How to Write for Meaning and Context
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Google search operators?
Special words and symbols, such as site:, quotation marks or a minus sign, that you add to a query to filter or refine Google results.
Does the cache: operator still work?
No. Google removed cache links from results in early 2024 and the cache: operator stopped working later that year. Use the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine instead.
Which search operators does Google officially support?
Google Search Help documents quotes, the minus sign, site:, before:, after: and filetype:. Search Central also documents imagesize: and src: for Google Images.
Is site: accurate for counting indexed pages?
No. Google says site: does not necessarily return all URLs under a prefix. Use the Page indexing report in Search Console for accurate numbers.
Do intitle: and inurl: still work?
Yes, in practice, although they are not in Google's current documentation. Treat results as indicative rather than complete.
How do I search within a date range on Google?
Combine before: and after:, for example: avengers endgame after:2019-03-01 before:2019-03-05.
Conclusion
Search operators are still one of the fastest free research tools in SEO, as long as you use the right ones. Lean on the documented operators for reliability, use unofficial ones for directional research, and drop retired ones like cache: and related: from your playbook. Then confirm anything important in Search Console.
Want a team that turns this kind of research into rankings and links? Explore our SEO services or get a free quote.
References
- Google Search Help: Refine Google searches
- Google Search Central: Overview of Google search operators
- Google Search Central: The site: search operator
- Search Engine Land: Google Search completely kills the cache feature
- Search Engine Land: Google confirms related: search operator is going away
- Semrush: Google Search Operators: 35+ Search Operators & Usage Tips
