Google Search Operators: What Still Works and 14 SEO Recipes

A search operator narrows a query by telling Google where to look or what to exclude. Google lists the supported ones in its help page Refine web searches, and Search Central keeps a separate overview of search operators for site owners. One rule applies to all of them: no space after the colon (site:nytimes.com, not site: nytimes.com).

Which Google search operators still work?

Undocumented operators can change without notice. Test them on a known case before you rely on them, and keep in mind that Google may rewrite or broaden your query anyway.

How do you combine operators?

Operators stack. Google reads the query as a whole, so you can mix a site restriction, an exact phrase and exclusions in one line:

• site:example.com intitle:"pricing" -inurl:blog: pricing pages outside the blog.
• "keyword research" (guide OR tutorial) after:2025-01-01: recent guides on a topic.
• site:*.example.com -site:www.example.com: indexed subdomains other than www.

Keep the logic simple. Very long chains of operators sometimes return nothing or trigger a captcha, and Google limits a query to 32 words.

Is there a way to use operators without the syntax?

Yes. Google's Advanced Search page (reached from Settings or Tools under the search box, depending on the device) offers form fields for an exact phrase, words to exclude, a site or domain, a file type, a language, a region and a last update date. It writes the operators for you, which helps when you train a team. The Tools menu on the results page also filters by period (past hour, day, week, month, year or a custom range) without typing before: or after:.

Do the same operators work on Bing?

Most of them. Bing supports quotes, the minus sign, OR, site:, filetype:, intitle: and inurl:, and adds a few of its own, such as contains: to find pages that link to a given file type and ip: to list sites hosted on one IP address. Running the same recipe on both engines is a quick way to compare their indexes, which matters because Copilot builds its answers from Bing.

14 search operator recipes for SEO

Indexing and technical checks

1. Rough count of indexed pages: site:example.com. Compare with your sitemap. A big gap in either direction points to indexing problems or to pages you did not know were public.
2. Indexed pages that should not be: site:example.com inurl:tag, inurl:search, inurl:?, inurl:staging, filetype:pdf. These surface thin archive pages, internal search results and forgotten files.
3. Is a specific page indexed? site:example.com/exact-url. No result means a likely indexing issue: confirm with the URL Inspection tool in Search Console.
4. HTTP or non-www versions still indexed: site:example.com -inurl:https or site:example.com -site:www.example.com.

Content and duplicate checks

5. Copies of your text: paste a distinctive sentence between quotes, then add -site:example.com. Results show scrapers or partners reusing your duplicate content.
6. Internal duplicates and cannibalization: site:example.com intitle:"main keyword". Several pages with the same keyword in the title compete with each other.
7. Internal linking opportunities: site:example.com "topic" -inurl:target-page. Every page mentioning the topic is a candidate for a link to your main page on it.
8. Outdated content: site:example.com "2023" or site:example.com intitle:2024 to find pages that announce an old year.

Competitors and research

9. What a competitor publishes: site:competitor.com/blog after:2026-01-01.
10. Content gaps: site:competitor.com intitle:"how to" to list their guides, then check which ones you lack.
11. Studies and data to cite: "topic" (study OR survey OR report) filetype:pdf.

Links and mentions

12. Unlinked brand mentions: "Your Brand" -site:yourbrand.com -site:linkedin.com -site:facebook.com. Ask the authors who mention you without a link to add one.
13. Guest post opportunities: "your topic" (intitle:"write for us" OR intitle:"guest post guidelines" OR inurl:contribute). Judge each site on its audience, not only on the existence of the page.
14. Resource pages: "your topic" intitle:resources OR inurl:links. Pages that list useful tools are natural targets for link building if your content deserves a place there.

What are the limits of search operators?

• Counts are estimates. The "About X results" figure, and the number of pages returned by site:, are rough approximations that change from one search to the next. Search Console's page indexing report is the reliable source for your own site.
• Results are personalized. Location, language and history change the SERP. Use a private window and set the region if you compare.
• Automation is not allowed. Running hundreds of operator queries with a script breaks Google's terms and quickly triggers captchas. Use an API or an SEO tool for scale.
• AI answers ignore most operators. AI Overviews and AI Mode rarely appear on operator queries, and ChatGPT or Perplexity do not reliably support them.

Do search operators help for GEO?

Indirectly, yes. The AI assistants build their answers from pages they can retrieve, often the same pages that rank in Google or Bing. Operators help you see that layer: which third-party pages (comparisons, lists, forums) cover your category, whether your brand is mentioned there, and which of your pages are indexed at all. A page that site: cannot find has little chance of being cited by ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity. To check one URL properly, the free indexability checker tests the robots, noindex and canonical rules in one go.

Search operators are the fastest free way to inspect what Google has indexed, from your own site to your competitors' and your link prospects. Use them for quick diagnosis, then rely on Search Console for figures. And if you want the content side handled, Sorank finds your keywords, writes and publishes optimized articles on autopilot and tracks your presence in the AI.