Ask.com Advanced Search Tips
The advanced search form
gives you the power to specify exactly the results you want.
Use as many filters as you wish. Any filters that you do not use
will not affect your results.
Example:
If you do not specify a language, the search will bring back results
from documents in all supported languages. If you choose French, all
results will be from sites in French.
Advanced Search Option Overview:
Terms to search:
Allows you to narrow your search with term(s) you specify or exact
terms you specify. You can specify term(s) to include or exclude from
your search.
Search by language:
Allows you to search for your term(s) ONLY within Web sites that appear
in a particular language, such as German or Spanish. You can select one
language at a time.
Term Within URL:
Allows you to search for term(s) ONLY within the Web page address
(URL).
Search by country:
Allows you to search for your term(s) ONLY within Web sites from a
particular country. For example, if you ONLY want to search within Web
sites in Netherlands or Web sites in Italy you would select this filter.
Search Domain:
Allows you to search for your term(s) ONLY within a particular domain. For example, if you ONLY want to search within www.microsoft.com
you would select this filter.
Search pages modified in a time period:
Allows you to search for your term(s) ONLY within Web sites that have
been updated within a certain amount of time. (e.g. last week)
Search pages modified in a time period:
Allows you to search for your term(s) ONLY within Web sites that
have been updated within a certain amount of time. (e.g. last week).
Advanced Web Searches from outside Advanced Web Search Form:
Any advanced web search operators can be used in any web search boxes
and trigger an advanced web search. Below is a list of search operators
you can use.
"Terms": The terms surrounded by quotation marks. This will search for exact phrase entered. For example, "Marin county seat".
+: Plus sign in front of the term(s) specified. This will include
specified term(s) in addition to the original term(s) entered. For
example, Robert Downey +jr. Be sure to use quotation marks when you
want to include a phrase. For example, Alexander +"the Great".
-: Minus sign in front of the term(s) specified. This will exclude
specified term(s) from the original term(s) entered. For example, cola
-Pepsi. Be sure to use quotation marks when you want to exclude a
phrase. For example, Ask.com -"Ask Jeeves".
OR: OR (uppercase) between two terms. This will include either of
specified multiple terms in addition to the original term(s) entered.
For example, vegan London OR Brighton. Be sure to use space before and
after OR search operator.
Intitle: intitle: followed by the specified term(s). This will search
for documents whose page title has the specified term(s). For example,
intitle:"Oxford University". Be sure not to put a space between
the search operator and the term.
Inurl: inurl: followed by the specified term(s). This will search for
documents whose URL has the specified term(s). For example,
inurl:Beatles. Be sure not to put a space between the search operator
and the term. When you use a phrase, such as "United Nations", it will
return results that use hyphen, underscore, or full stop between the
specified words, such as http://www.san-francisco.us/.
Site: The term(s) followed by site: and domain. This will search for
documents found only within the specified domain. For example, AIDS
site:www.un.org. Be sure not to put a space between the search operator
and the term. Currently, we do not support URLs with directories, such as www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
Last: The term(s) followed by last: and time variable. This will search
for documents that are found within the specified period. For example,
ipod market share last:6months. Be sure not to put a space between the
search operator and the time variable.
Supported time period:
- Within one week = last:week
- Within two weeks = last:2weeks
- Within one month = last:month
- Within six months = last:6months
- Within one year = last:year
- Within two years = last:2years
Afterdate: The term(s) followed by afterdate: and date in yyyymmdd
format. This will search for documents that are found after the
specified date. For example, Kyoto protocol afterdate:19971211. Be sure
not to put a space between the search operator and the specified date.
Beforedate The term(s) followed by beforedate: and date in yyyymmdd
format. This will search for documents that are found before the
specified date. For example, Global warming beforedate:19971211. Be
sure not to put a space between the search operator and the specified
date.
Betweendate: The term(s) followed by betweendate:, starting date, a
comma, and ending date. Dates must be in yyyymmdd format. This will
search for documents that are found between the specified starting date
and ending date. For example, Nobel prize
betweendate:19921210,19981210. Be sure not to put a space between the
search operator and the specified starting date. No space is necessary
before and after the comma, neither.
Inlink: inlink: followed by the specified term(s). This will search for
documents that contain the specified term(s) in anchor text. For
example, inlink:W3C. Be sure not to put a space between the search operator
and the term.