Search Strategies - Search Tools Summary and Comparison

Search Tools Summary and Comparison

The table below summarises and compares a selection of the advanced search commands that are available in Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo. There is a full list of Bing's commands at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff795620.aspx. DuckDuckGo's syntax is at http://help.duckduckgo.com/customer/portal/articles/300304-syntax.

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	Google www.google.com	Bing www.bing.com	DuckDuckGo http://duckduckgo.com/
Default search	Uses a "soft and". Omits words if number of results is low or zero.	All of your words	All of your words
Wild card or truncation	Not user specified. Google automatically looks for variations and synonyms.	No	No
Alternative terms or variations	~ for synonym search e.g. `~energy` Use OR for example `oil OR petroleum`	Use OR for example `oil OR petroleum`	Use OR for example `oil OR petroleum`
Suggests other search strategies and related terms	Suggests additional terms as you type in your search. Also 'Related searches' option in the menu on the left hand side of the results page.	Suggests additional terms as you type in your search. 'Related Searches' to the right of your web search results.	'Search suggestions' to the right of your results
Phrases	"." for example `"climate change"`	"." for example `"climate change"`	"..." for example `"climate change"`
Proximity	Use the asterisk to stand in for one or more words in a phrase for example `solar * panels`	`near:n` For example `solar near:2 panels`	No
Exclude pages with a word	Precede words with a minus sign (-) . For example `cats -lions`	Precede words with a minus sign (-) or use NOT For example `cats -lions cats NOT lions`	Precede words with a minus sign (-) For example `cats -lions`
Boost importance of a term	Repeat the term 2 or more times in your search. Also changes the order of the results.	Repeat the term 2 or more times in your search. Also changes the order of the results.	Repeat the term 2 or more times in your search. Also changes the order of the results.
Word in URL :	`inurl:` for example `inurl:chocolate`	No	No
Word in title	`intitle:` for example `intitle:petroleum`	`intitle:` for example `intitle:petroleum`	`intitle:` or `t:` for example `intitle:petroleum`
Word in the text	`intext:` ensures that an exact match of your term appears in the text of the page for example `intext:ww1` Also seems to give greater weighting to the term.	No	`inbody:` or `b:` ensures that an exact match of your term appears in the text of the page. For example `inbody:ww1`
Specify part of domain or limit by web site	`site:` looks for your terms on a specific site or type of site. For example `UK carbon emissions site:gov.uk`	`site:` looks for your terms on a specific site or type of site. For example `UK carbon emissions site:gov.uk`	`site:` looks for your terms on a specific site or type of site. For example `UK carbon emissions site:gov.uk`
Similar pages	`related:` looks for pages or sites that are similar in content. For example `related:www.apis.ac.uk`	No	No
File type or format	`filetype:` Looks for files in the specified format. For example `banking reform 2012 filetype:pdf`	`filetype:` Looks for files in the specified format. For example `banking reform 2012 filetype:pdf`	`filetype:` Looks for files in the specified format. For example `banking reform 2012 filetype:pdf`
Search by date	Use the options in the menu on the left hand side of your results page. `daterange:` Uses Julian date format for example `daterange:2456098-2456104` Date convertor available at http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/ docs/JulianDate.php/	No	No, but can sort by date by adding `sort:date` to your search
Limit by geography	Country versions of Google	`loc:` followed by two letter country code for example `loc:de`	`region:` or `r:` followed by two letter country code for example `region:de`
Boolean	`OR`	`AND, OR, NOT` and parentheses ( ).	`AND, OR, NOT` and parentheses ( ).
Cached copy	Click on the cached link in the preview of the page in the results list next or search using cache: for example `cache:rba.co.uk/sources`	Click on the green arrow next to the title of the page in your results list	No
Unique features	Numeric range search for example `toblerone 1..5 kg` Synonym search. Precede your term with a ~ for example `~energy` `daterange:` (uses Julian date format - see above)) Additional search features in the menu on the left hand side of the results page	`feed:` looks for an RSS or Atom feed related to your search term for example `feed:gardening` `linkfromdomain:` finds all the outbound links on a domain for example `linkfromdomain:rba.co.uk`	No tracking, no personalisation or "filter bubble"