Search operators (or search parameters) are characters or sets of characters used in search engine queries that help focus a search. examples of these search operators are Boolean Operators that can be used in any search engine and Google Syntax that can only be used in Google Search Engine.
Boolean Operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT) that are used as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search, resulting in more focused and productive results. As already mentioned there are three Boolean Operators namely AND, OR and NOT which have their respective functions.
Is used to narrow the search results. The search results issued Using this operator must contain both keywords used. If the search information does not contain any of the keywords used, it will not appear in the search results (see diagram).
Example: Shirt AND Pants
Search result:
Is used to broaden the search results. The search results issued using this operator must contain one or both of the keywords used (see diagram).
Example: Shirt OR Pants
Search result:
Is used to narrow the search results. Search results returned using this operator must contain the first keyword and any keywords that come after the operator are subtracted from the results (see diagram).
Example: Shirt NOT Pants
Search result:
Use parentheses “( )” to combine and separate each Boolean operator used. The search engine will handle the search inside the brackets first, then perform the search with the next operator.
Example: (Smoking OR Tobacco) AND Cancer
Search result:
Results are not issued if Smoking or Tobacco does not mention Cancer.
Google syntax is a special operator that is applied to searches on the Google search engine to return "specific" results while excluding unrelated data. The following are various kinds of Google syntax that you can use and their functions:
| Syntax | Functions | Example and Result |
|---|---|---|
| AND or + | Returns search results containing both of the keywords used | Click here to see |
| OR or | | Returns search results containing one or both keywords | Click here to see |
| NOT or - | Removes the keyword after the operator from the search results for the first keyword | Click here to see |
| Quotation mark " " | Get search results that match exactly the keyword being searched for | Click here to see |
| Parenthesis ( ) | Grouping Google syntax and terms to search for | Click here to see |
| filetype: or ext: | Search for files of a certain format. | Click here to see |
| intitle: | Find the title of the web page in which there are keywords you are looking for. | Click here to see |
| inurl: | Finding URLs that contain the keywords you are looking for. | Click here to see |
| site: | Get search results for all pages of the website and domain you are looking for. | Click here to see |
| define: | Look up the meaning or definition of a word or subject. | Click here to see |
You can combine one or more syntaxes at the same time. Try to use Google Advanced Search, or click here to learn more Google Syntax.