Google search operators: 5 top tips

Google search operators are powerful tools for achieving targeted and more precise search results. We show you which operators are available and how you can use them effectively to optimize your online research.

The five best operators for Google searches

Of course, there are numerous search operators that you can use on Google. The five most useful are as follows:

• If you want to search for a specific phrase, put it in quotation marks. This is useful, for example, if you are looking for literary quotations.

• With the minus or plus symbol, you can exclude or require terms. For example, a search for “Operators +Google” only returns results that also include the word “Google”, while “Operators -Google” only displays pages where “Google” does not appear.

• The asterisk symbol can be used as a stopgap. This is useful, for example, if you don’t know the exact spelling of a saying or term. Example: “Roses are *, violets are *”

• If you only want to find search results from a specific website, use the “site” operator. You use this as follows: “site:chip.de Google-Suche”. This will only display hits on Chip.de.

• The search operator “OR” is relatively self-explanatory, but its applications are many and varied. While the regular search query only lists pages with all the selected search terms, you can use “OR” to increase the results. Put “OR” between two search terms and get results for both one and the other term.

Further search strategies with Google operators

The basic operators can already optimize your search results very well. If you want to be even more specific, the following tips may be helpful:

• If you are looking for a specific file type, put “filetype:[format]” in front of the search term. For example, put PDF or DOCX for the format. This way, you will only get results in the form of the desired file types.

• If you are looking for results from a single author, use the “inauthor:” operator in advance. You can combine this operator with other operators such as “site:” or “filetype:”.

• If you are interested in deleted or deactivated websites and articles, you can occasionally access stored versions via Google. The “cache:” operator can occasionally provide you with sources that are actually already offline.