Search Commands: Tips For Searching Like A Google Expert

Search Commands

Surely you have heard about search commands more than once, but do you already know what they are and what they are used for? In this article, we will explain in detail what this tool is and what it is usually used for. The main thing is to know that it is related, mainly, with the figure of SEO, where Google officially defines search commands as “symbols or words in your search to make it more precise.” That is, Google analyzes our words and the order to optimize our searches and show us those results that are closer to what we want to see.

The search commands are made up of codes, shortcuts to obtain optimal and specific results. This allows you to obtain the related or most relevant results and not a lot of unnecessary information, so SEO must know what these words or codes are to make the correct positioning. 

How To Use Search Commands? 

The first thing you should know is that you must use specific words, although sometimes this does not show us the expected results. Therefore, if we want Google to show us only those results, we must search using quotation marks. For example, if we search for Korean foods, we must search for “Korean foods.” If we want to specifically search for that term without appearing results that are not very relevant, in this case, Korean food restaurants will appear by searching without quotes, and recipes for this type of food will appear with quotes. 

On the other hand, the exclusion of words is important. Less is more and the fewer words you use for your search, the more effective it will be. Google will always include results that you do not want; therefore, more precise and less complex are the keys to an effective search. 

Do you want a command to exclude the word? Well, it is the following: “-” a short dash will exclude from your search those results that you do not want to obtain. On the other hand, you will have to exclude multiple words, and for this use, multiple hyphens together with the words. For example Korean foods -restaurants

However, another very important key in exclusion is to eliminate exact match phrases from our search. In other words, complete sentences such as Korean foods – “Korean food restaurants”, in this way, we will force Google to exclude all restaurants that have this description. In the same way, we can exclude different phrases using the underscore and the quotation marks. 

OR Command What Is It, And What Is It For?

The OR command is another search command. This one in particular neither excludes nor specifies, but does your search between two terms that you choose. For example Korean food OR recipes, your search will be less specific with this command than with the exclusion or specification, but it will also limit the google search to those two terms, although in a much broader way. 

You must customize this command. That is, you can use all the commands mentioned above to improve your search, with terms such as: “Korean food” OR “Korean recipes”. Thus, we will tell google to show us one result or another in a specific way. 

Other Search Commands That Are Also Important

The wildcard command or including words are also of great importance. Therefore, if you are looking to increase the number of results in your search, you should use these commands.

Wildcard: This is used with an asterisk “*”, this allows you to obtain variations in the phrases. A very simple example of this would be chicken * beef ramen recipe. In this way, Google will search for recipes for both ramens separately, and we will obtain double results. 

Include words: We can exclude words, but also include them so that they are mandatory in our results with all their variations. This command can be used with a plus “+”. Example: chicken ramen + recipe.

On the other hand, you can include entire sentences, in the same way, that it can be excluded using the plus symbol and the quotation mark. 

Words Or Phrases Related To Each Other

This is one of those commands that we don’t usually use, either out of ignorance or because we don’t know how to do it. It’s as easy as using the word “AROUND [Number]”. In this way, we limit the number of words that can separate our chosen terms—for example, cologne man AROUND (15) Jasmine. 

This command is very useful when you want to connect two topics that are complex or have many different contexts. In the same way, you can narrow down complete phrases, although these types of searches are more complex, since finding those almost exact phrases will narrow your search too much. So use it carefully and remember, always in quotes. 

How To Google Synonyms With A Command

To find synonyms for your search, it is as simple as entering “~”. In this way, we limit your search to those words and their synonyms. We limit but also include terms. We will not always receive the expected synonyms. Therefore, we can combine this command with others that exclude terms that do not interest us. 

There Are A Dozen Ways To Google

You should know that these are some of the search commands that Google has created to improve your search. Do not forget that Google has a lot of power, and its database could be considered almost infinite. Therefore, it is necessary to know all its tools for a good SEO job. Now, knowing these commands – and many more – you will be able to know your competitors in a more specific way, which words to use and which not to so that you are that number one position in your clients’ searches.

I assure you that there are other very useful commands, such as the one that allows you to find links “site:”, or the one that finds the definition of any word with “define:”, or excludes subdomains with command combinations such as “site:” plus” -inurl:”. All these are some of the most complexes, but when you learn to use, they are essential. 

And while the commands may seem simple, they are not. And, although they seem unimportant for SEO, it is something fundamental. Therefore, I invite you to experiment, and get to know each and every one of them and apply it in your searches. 

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