| Time Required | 10 – 20 minutes |
| Skill Level | Expert |
| Estimated Cost | $0 |
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that has been around for a while.
It is not as popular as Google, but it does have some advanced search operators that can be used to find what you are looking for.
DuckDuckGo advanced search operators are a set of commands that can be used to refine your search.
In this guide, we will learn about some of the most advanced DuckDuckGo search operators that can be used to find what you are looking for.
It is important to note that DuckDuckGo is removing most of the operators.
This article contains only the working operators as of January 2022.
Does DuckDuckGo have advanced search?
DuckDuckGo has advanced search filters which help us to get the required result.
Why do you need an advanced search on DuckDuckGo?
Advanced search on DuckDuckGo helps us to get a more filtered and appropriate set of results.
By doing this, we can save a lot of time by not going through millions of results that may not match the exact query.
DuckDuckGo’s advanced search provides a more personalized set of results.
DuckDuckGo Search Operators
There are many working operators that we use in DuckDuckGo to do an advanced search.
“ ”
This will return only results that have the search term mentioned between the quotes.
Example: “knowledge is power”
This search command will display pages containing the exact words “knowledge is power” in it.
–
This will exclude a specific term or phrase from the search results.
Example: elon -musk
This search command will display pages containing elon without mention of musk in it.
!
This command is known as bangs in DuckDuckGo.
They are advanced shortcut operators which are used when we have to directly use the search bar on other sites from the DuckDuckGo search bar.
Following are a few of the bangs on DuckDuckGo.
- !a – amazon
- !w – wikipedia
- !youtube- youtube
- !reddit – reddit
- !li – Linkedin
- !tw – twitter
- !yelp – yelp
- !e – ebay
- !maps – Google Maps
- !fb – facebook
- !g – google
- !so – stack overflow.
Example: !w Tesla
This search command will display the search results page of Tesla on Wikipedia.
site:
We can limit the search to a specific website using the operator URL:
Example: site: heyhowtodoit.com
This search command will display pages from heyhowtodoit.com alone.
filetype:
Limits the search results to those of a certain file type such as PDF, DOCX, PPT, etc.
Example: pdf:tesla
This search command will display search results in PDF format of the term Tesla.
news
This will show news related to a specific topic.
Example: news tennis
This search command will display news related to tennis.
exclude site ( -site)
This will exclude a site from the search results.
Example: videos-youtube.com
This search command will display videos except from youtube.com
intitle:
Find pages with certain words in the title.
Example: intitle:2022
This search command will display search results with 2022 in the title.
inurl:
Find pages with certain words in the URL.
Example: inurl:2022
This search command will display search results with 2022 in the URL.
!safeon
This command will enable safe search on DuckDuckGo.
You can use this operator to remove adult content from results on DuckDuckGo.
Example: !safeon kim kardashian
This search command will not show adult content of Kim Kardashian
!safeoff
This command will disable safe search on DuckDuckGo.
You can use this operator to allow adult content on DuckDuckGo.
Example: !safeoff kim kardashian
This search command might also show adult content of Kim Kardashian.
map:
This command is google maps search operator.
Force Google to show map results for a locational search.
Example: map:silicon valley
How to find bangs of a website on DuckDuckGo?
Follow the below steps to find bangs of a website on DuckDuckGo.
Visit the DuckDuckGo website through any browser.
Type “!” on the address or search bar.
Click on “Learn More” shown at the bottom of that search result.
Scroll down to find a search bar.
Type the website on which you want the bang.
Now if they have a bang for that website it will be shown in the result.
Wrapping Up
Hope you get an idea about how to use the advanced search on DuckDuckGo.
Kindly let us know if you have any queries.
Jasper Reed is the founder of heyhowtodoit.com with 8+ years of experience in Search Engine Optimization.He has researched, tested, and written hundreds of articles ranging from social media platforms to messaging apps.
With a passion for technology and a natural aptitude for understanding consumer behavior, Jasper has built a successful career in blogging.He has been quoted and referenced by major publications and media companies.
An avid traveler and tech enthusiast, Jasper loves to explore new places and experience different cultures. With his thick-rimmed glasses and geeky demeanor, Jasper is a true tech nerd at heart.
Follow Jasper on Twitter and Reddit.
You can read more about the team here.
