Google search operators narrow a search. site: keeps it to one website, quotes match an exact phrase, a minus sign leaves a word out, filetype: finds one kind of file, and before: and after: set dates. Type a domain and a phrase above and you get site:example.com "your phrase", ready to open in Google. Four ready-made SEO searches fill in with your own site.
What each operator does
- site:example.com shows pages from that domain, URL or URL prefix.
- "free shipping on all orders" in quotes shows pages with that exact phrase.
- jaguar -car shows results without the word car.
- site:example.com filetype:pdf shows the PDF files on that site.
- Put before: or after: in front of a year or date to get results from before or after it.
Don't leave a space after the colon. site:example.com works. site: example.com doesn't.
From Google Search Help and Google Search Central, read in October 2026.
What a site: search can't tell you
A site: search isn't a full list of your indexed pages. Operators are bound by Google's indexing and retrieval limits. To check one page, use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console.
The builder covers site:, quotes, minus, filetype:, before: and after:. For any other operator, open the search in Google and type it in by hand.
This google search operators is free with no signup. SearchBlueprint, who make it, sell SEO planning for websites: which searches each page should answer.