SEO companies used to rely on direct submissions and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools to find links. It’s 2020 and these old search operator tricks, tools, and techniques just aren’t useful anymore. Google even penalizes SEO companies for using outdated methods.
Today, SEO companies have to make use of the advanced Google Search Operator (GSO) tricks to enhance their link-building opportunities. Knowing how to skillfully use these search operators can help you complete tasks better, declutter your search, and analyze results more comprehensively.
What is Google Search Operators?
Google Search Operators (GSO) are unique characters, such as symbols, punctuations, and words, that filter your search queries. Using GSO gives you accurate search results. In the infographic below, we listed the most-used GSOs.
How GSOs Can Help
Using GSO effectively can boost your efficiency, as it can speed up the search process. Here are the top reasons why SEO companies use advance GSO tricks:
#1. It helps find websites that link to your website
Do you ever wonder what websites are linking back to your website? With GSO, you can find these websites faster than ever. All you have to do is use the basic search operator “link:” followed by the URL of your website. The Google search results page will display all of the webpages that are linking to your website.
But that’s just the basic GSO. For something more advanced, try using “link: yourwebsite.com – yourwebsite.com” and see how different its results are. Our advanced GSO technique gives you a wider range of research results.
#2. It helps find indexed webpages
A webpage can be considered indexed if the Google crawler (or the Googlebot) has visited the page to analyze its content, images, video files, and more. Indexing is when Google attempts to understand what your site is all about.
Want to know if your webpage has been indexed by Google? Simply use the GSO “site: yourwebsite.com” to show all of the pages of your website that Google has indexed.
#3. It tells Google what you exactly want
Google search can’t read minds. That’s why you have to use GSO to tell Google exactly what you’re looking for. To do this, simply use quotes in your search query to tell Google that you’re looking for that exact term.
For instance, if you’re looking for computer parts, simply type “computer parts” with the quotes. This lets you see relevant and precise matches.
#4. It lets you see through Google’s eyes
Google views websites through a unique lens. To know how Google sees your website, simply type “cache:yourwebsite.com” to allow you to see what Google sees when visiting your site.
Knowing this can give you valuable information, as not everything on your website might be seen and indexed by Google.
#5. It gathers information about your website
The fastest way to gather information about your website is by using “info:”. Using “info: yourwebsite.com” will present you with information about the webpage such as details about your domain, similar pages, and websites that link to your webpage.
Conclusion
There are more Google Search Operators that you can use to fine-tune your search results. These commands can be used to optimize your search results and increase efficiency.
We’ve gathered the most useful advanced search operators and punctuations in this article. By using these tricks, you can position yourself at an advantage against your competitors.
Brandon Leibowitz is the founder of SEO Optimizers, a Digital Marketing Agency in Los Angeles, California. He is also the founder of Bosmol.com, a social media news blog. He has been involved with search engine optimization and internet marketing since 2007.
