Google Site Search: How to Do It Effectively [+ Examples]

What Is a Site Search?

A Google tract hunt involves utilizing Google to hunt done 1 circumstantial domain. 

When you execute a tract search, you’re telling Google to instrumentality results from lone that circumstantial site—not the full internet.

To execute a tract search, adhd “site:” successful beforehand of the domain URL you privation to search:

What Is Google's Site Search Operator?

Google's tract hunt relation is the “site:” portion of the Google tract search:

The relation tells Google to restrict the hunt lone to the website specified aft it. Anything you benignant aft “site:www.domain.com” volition beryllium searched for wrong Google’s records from that site.

Reasons to Search a Site connected Google

You tin usage hunt operators to: 

• Perform competitor research: Use tract searches to navigate your competitor’s URLs easily. Filter for circumstantial keywords successful the webpage contented oregon title. Review your competitor’s blog for topics, caller merchandise releases, and different adjuvant information.
• Find related content: Site searches tin place existing contented to notation successful blog posts oregon web content. Combine tract searches with query searches to find pages connected an authoritative website referencing your blog topic. 
• Find contented connected your site: You tin tally a tract hunt connected your domain to find older related contented you tin notation oregon refresh. If your website oregon blog is extensive, a Google tract hunt is cleanable for filtering done older contented quickly. It tin besides assistance you find unsecure contented connected your site.

How to Use Google to Search a Site 

To hunt a tract with Google, spell to google.com and benignant “site:” followed by the URL you privation to search.

For example, if we wanted to hunt wrong the Monday.com site, we would benignant "site:monday.com" into Google’s hunt barroom and deed the hunt button.

This would amusement hunt results lone from the Monday.com domain. Rather than the full internet:

However, it’s worthy noting that determination is simply a subtle quality betwixt utilizing "site:domain.com" vs. "site:www.domain.com" successful Google tract searches.

When doing a tract search, cheque whether the site's homepage URL includes "www."

• If the URL contains www, usage "site:www.domain.com" to exclude subdomains
• If “www” is not present, searching the basal domain similar "site:domain.com" volition see subdomains

How to Refine Your Search Using Operators

The "site:" relation performs a basal tract search. But you tin refine your hunt utilizing further Google hunt operators.

Google hunt operators are peculiar keywords you tin adhd to the Google “site:” hunt to springiness you much power implicit what pages and contented are shown successful Google Search results.

Here are immoderate adjuvant operators to usage with tract searching.

Query Search

A query hunt lets you find pages connected a circumstantial website containing an nonstop hunt operation oregon term.

To bash this, enclose the operation you privation to hunt for successful quotation marks:

site:example.com "your query"

For example, utilizing "site:semrush.com "SEO"” would instrumentality results requiring the hunt query "SEO" to look connected the page.

Using query searches with the "site:" relation tin assistance find internal link opportunities.

Internal links assistance hunt engines recognize your site’s structure. Which tin assistance amended your SEO ranking connected a peculiar page.

For example, the query hunt for site:semrush.com "SEO" finds pages that already notation SEO. 

This would beryllium cleanable for adding an interior nexus constituent to the Semrush usher "What Is SEO? Meaning, Examples & How to Optimize Your Site."

This applicable interior nexus is bully for some users and hunt engines to assistance navigate the tract and observe caller pages.

Negative Query Search 

A antagonistic query hunt excludes definite pages oregon presumption from your tract search. 

To bash this, you enactment a minus motion "-" earlier the connection oregon operation you privation to permission retired of the results.

site:example.com -"your query"

Google volition filter retired immoderate hunt effect that contains your antagonistic query. 

For example, you could usage a antagonistic query hunt (site:semrush.com -“SEO"):

This hunt tells Google to instrumentality pages from the Semrush tract that do not incorporate the nonstop operation "SEO” connected the page.

This could beryllium utile for uncovering Semrush contented astir different topics like:

• Paid search
• Ecommerce
• Content creation
• Competitor research
• Social media marketing

So, this tin assistance you filter retired irrelevant contented connected broader sites. 

AND Search

Adding “AND” betwixt 2 queries volition constrictive your hunt results to pages wherever both queries appear.

It looks similar this:

site:example.com "query" AND "query two"

For example, you could use:

site:www.semrush.com "keyword research" AND "competitor analysis"

So, effect pages indispensable incorporate both the presumption "keyword research" and "competitor analysis" to surface.

Why is this useful?

Using AND searches would beryllium precise effectual if you person a radical of contented that covers a wide taxable but approaches it from antithetic angles.

For example, integer selling is simply a wide taxable with subtopics similar SEO, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, content strategy, etc.

So, utilizing the “AND” hunt relation connected Semrush’s site, we tin find pages that discuss:

• Keyword probe AND PPC
• Competitor investigation AND contented audits
• Rank tracking AND email marketing

This allows you to drill down to contented covering aggregate facets of integer marketing. We could past adhd interior links betwixt those articles to link them and assistance amended their SEO ranking.

OR Search

Adding “OR” betwixt 2 queries volition grow your hunt results to see results wherever either of your queries appears. 

It looks similar this:

site:example.com "query" OR "query two"

For example: site:semrush.com "search motor optimization" OR "SEO” would instrumentality pages that notation either term. 

"Search motor optimization" and "SEO" mean the aforesaid happening successful this case. So an “OR” hunt with those phrases would grow the results to pages containing either one. 

An “OR” hunt allows you to see synonyms and alternate phrasing. Which is utile erstwhile a website whitethorn notation to the aforesaid happening differently.

For example:

site:healthline.com "face mask" OR "facial covering"

Or retrieving pages connected variations oregon versions of something. Such arsenic searching for aggregate merchandise iterations oregon versions:

site:apple.com "iPhone 12" OR "iPhone 13"

Or targeting aggregate spellings oregon misspellings:

site:example.com "yogurt" OR "yoghurt" 

URL Search

You tin besides filter your tract hunt results to lone pages wherever your hunt word appears successful the URL by utilizing the “inurl:” operator. 

It looks similar this:

site:example.com inurl:/blog/ 

URL hunt is utile for finding:

• Specific categories oregon subsections of a site: Use taxable words that commonly look successful those URLs
• Particular record oregon leafage types: Search extensions similar .pdf, .html, .pnf, etc.
• Primary home/landing pages connected a topic: Companies often usage descriptive URLs to place a subset of pages easily

You tin besides usage the relation to size up your competition.

For example, the tract hunt “site:monday.com inurl:blog” returns implicit 3,000 results:

Over 3,000 blog articles awesome that Monday.com invests heavy successful contented selling and owned media.

So, if you're a rival to Monday, this provides a benchmark for comparing your company's blog contented scope and volume. If you person 50 posts vs. their 3,000, it's wide a content gap exists.

Title Search

Another mode to refine a tract hunt is to usage the “intitle:” operator. This returns lone pages wherever your hunt presumption look successful the rubric tag of the page.

It looks similar this:

site:example.com intitle: "query"

Reasons to usage “intitle:” search:

• Filter retired unrelated peripheral content
• Focus connected pages chiefly astir your query
• Find cardinal overview pages connected a definite topic

For example, “site:monday.com intitle: ”project management”” returns pages containing lone “project management” successful the title tag:

You could usage the rubric hunt relation to find outdated tags oregon content.

For example, “site:monday.com intitle:2020” returns the pursuing pages:

You tin besides premix and lucifer operators similar “inurl:” and “intitle:” to people precise constrictive categories of pages:

What this does:

• “inurl:blog” returns lone pages with "/blog/" successful the URL truthful that it volition beryllium blog articles
• “intitle:2020” filters those blog pages further to those with "2020" successful the rubric tag

For example, “site:monday.com inurl:blog intitle:2020” returns blog URLs that incorporate 2020 successful the rubric tag:

Chaining unneurotic “inurl:” and “intitle:” builds customized tract searches by combining criteria—in this case, isolating outdated blog content.

Another usage lawsuit for the “intitle:” hunt relation is revealing however competitors constitute their rubric tags and opportunities to re-write yours for higher click-through rates (CTRs).

For example, Monday.com whitethorn beryllium funny to cognize however its rival ClickUp writes its rubric tags for contented focusing connected task management.

The hunt relation would look similar this:

site:clickup.com intitle: "project management"

Revealing the pursuing hunt results:

This searches for pages connected ClickUp's tract wherever "project management" appears successful the rubric tag.

Monday.com could analyse these results to spot what wording ClickUp uses astir task absorption successful titles. And measure differences that whitethorn contiguous optimization opportunities successful their rubric tags.

File Type Search

Adding “filetype:” successful beforehand of your query volition search Google for a circumstantial record type.

For instance, a Google tract hunt for a PDF record would look similar this:

site:www.yourdomain.com filetype:PDF

Common record types include:

• PDF: filetype:pdf
• Word: filetype:doc oregon filetype:docx
• Excel: filetype:xls oregon filetype:xlsx
• PowerPoint: filetype:ppt oregon filetype:pptx
• JPG: filetype:jpg
• GIF: filetype:gif
• PNG: filetype:png

This is utile for narrowing results to circumstantial types of files.

For example, accidental you privation to cognize if you person immoderate outdated PDF files from your tract that idiosyncratic tin find successful hunt results.

This would retrieve each PDFs indexed from your domain. You could past scan done these results, checking for outdated PDFs that request to beryllium refreshed oregon removed. 

If we usage this hunt relation connected Monday’s domain, we tin spot they person a aboriginal of selling benignant study successful hunt results:

After clicking connected that circumstantial hunt result, we tin spot the study is from 2021:

By moving this record benignant search, you tin audit outdated PDFs. This helps you absorption connected PDF contented alternatively of manually combing done each leafage connected your domain.

Unsecure Content

You tin usage a hunt relation to place unsecure, non-HTTPS pages connected a website. 

It looks similar this:

site:domain.com -inurl:https

The "-inurl:https" filter volition amusement pages connected the domain that bash not usage "HTTPS" successful the URL. This reveals immoderate unsecure HTTP pages that could interaction tract security.

Further reading: HTTP vs. HTTPS: Differences, Benefits, and Migration Tips

For example, utilizing this hunt relation connected the Monday.com domain revealed the pursuing results:

The pages are showing arsenic unafraid erstwhile you click done to them from the hunt results:

However, interior links whitethorn constituent to the website's unsecure URL mentation (HTTP). And that whitethorn beryllium the crushed they are showing up successful hunt results.

Why?

This is apt due to the fact that the tract has 301 redirects from the aged HTTP URLs to the unafraid HTTPS versions. 

But it’s often champion to usage a instrumentality similar Semrush’s Site Audit to corroborate this. This instrumentality volition crawl the flagged pages to place mixed contented oregon unsecure interior linking.

A Google tract hunt is simply a large archetypal measurement to analyzing your website’s content. You tin filter done your website’s URLs for a circumstantial keyword oregon usage tract searches to filter done subdomains, similar a blog.

The Site Audit instrumentality helps you reappraisal your site’s contented successful much detail. You tin cheque for duplicate rubric tags and meta descriptions, 301 redirects, unsecure content, and more. 

To get started with the Site Audit tool, make a task oregon click connected an existing one.

When the audit finishes, click connected the “Issues” tab and participate “security” into the hunt barroom to find issues relating to unsecure content:

You whitethorn spot a database of errors that look akin to this. Click “# links connected HTTPS pages pb to HTTP page.”

This volition amusement you a study of what pages incorporate links to unsecure interior links.

Hover implicit “Why and however to hole it” to larn much astir the circumstantial contented and however to hole it.

Running regular tract audits with Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality tin automatically observe issues with contented connected your website.

Find Content Issues connected Autopilot

Manually utilizing tract hunt to cheque for contented issues tin beryllium tedious. You tin automate ongoing contented checks utilizing Semrush’s Site Audit tool.

When starting a Site Audit scan, simply click “Schedule” successful the settings.

Then, prime however often you privation your tract crawled to cheque for caller contented issues. 

Automating this process saves clip implicit manual checks and ensures a seamless acquisition for your visitors.