Search Operator Generator
Turn a topic into every link-prospecting footprint at once: guest post targets, resource pages, competitor mentions and unlinked mentions. Copy them, or run them straight on Google.
Enter a topic to generate prospecting queries. Add a domain to unlock the competitor-mention and unlinked-mention sets.
Built in your browser. Click the arrow on any query to run it on Google in a new tab.
Google search operators cheat sheet
These are the operators worth memorising. Everything the generator above produces is built from this set.
| Operator | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| site: | Restrict results to one domain or subdomain. | site:linkforce.io pricing |
| -site: | Exclude a domain. The core of every unlinked-mention search. | "linkforce" -site:linkforce.io |
| intitle: | The word must appear in the page title. | intitle:"write for us" saas |
| allintitle: | Every following word must appear in the title. | allintitle: best link building tools |
| inurl: | The word must appear in the URL. Great for /write-for-us pages. | inurl:guest-post fintech |
| allinurl: | Every following word must appear in the URL. | allinurl: write for us |
| intext: | The word must appear in the body copy, not just the title. | intext:"guest post guidelines" |
| "..." | Exact phrase. Without quotes Google will paraphrase your footprint away. | "accepting guest posts" |
| OR | Either term. Must be uppercase or Google reads it as a word. | "write for us" OR "contribute" |
| ( ) | Group terms so OR applies where you mean it. | saas ("write for us" OR "guest post") |
| * | Wildcard for one or more words inside a phrase. | "submit * guest post" |
| filetype: | Restrict to a file type. Useful for media kits and link lists. | filetype:pdf "link building" |
| related: | Sites Google considers similar. A fast competitor sweep. | related:ahrefs.com |
| before: / after: | Date-bound results. Filters out dead roundups. | "link roundup" after:2025-01-01 |
How to use footprints for link prospecting
- 1
Start with the guest-post set. It has the highest hit rate because the pages it finds exist specifically to invite contributors. Work through the results and note which sites are relevant rather than merely willing.
- 2
Move to resource pages when you have something genuinely linkable. These convert more slowly but the links sit in editorial context and tend to survive site redesigns.
- 3
Run the competitor set against two or three rivals, not one. Pages that mention several competitors and not you are the strongest targets in the whole list.
- 4
Finish with unlinked mentions of your own brand. Someone already wrote your name; asking them to link it is the shortest path to a link you will ever have.
- 5
Qualify before you pitch. Check Domain Rating and whether the site still publishes. A footprint finds pages, it does not tell you which are alive.
Boolean search: AND, OR and the minus sign
Google treats a space between words as AND, so you never type it. OR must be uppercase, or it is read as the word "or" and quietly ignored. Parentheses group terms so that OR applies where you intend, which matters more than it looks: saas "write for us" OR "guest post" is not the same query as saas ("write for us" OR "guest post"). The first can return results with no saas in them at all.
The minus sign excludes, and it is the single most useful operator in link building. Every unlinked-mention search is a phrase search minus your own site. Every competitor-mention search is their brand minus their domain.
Why footprints beat buying a prospect list
A bought list is a list everyone else bought too. The sites on it have seen the same pitch from forty people this quarter, and their prices reflect it. Footprints surface pages in the order Google ranks them for your topic, which biases the list toward sites that are actually alive and actually relevant.
The trade-off is time. Footprints return raw pages, not a qualified list, so budget for the filtering step. In practice a run of the guest-post set for a specific niche will produce a few hundred URLs, of which perhaps thirty are worth an email.
Frequently asked questions
What is a search operator?+
A search operator is a command you add to a search query to narrow what comes back. site: limits results to one domain, intitle: requires a word in the page title, quotes force an exact phrase. Combined, they turn a general search into a targeted one, which is why link builders live in them.
Which operators does Google still support?+
site:, intitle:, allintitle:, inurl:, allinurl:, intext:, filetype:, related:, before:, after:, quotes, OR, parentheses and the minus sign all work. link: was officially retired years ago and returns unreliable results, so treat anything it gives you as a hint rather than data.
Why do my quoted searches return results without the phrase?+
Google honours quotes less strictly than it used to, especially on long phrases. Shorten the quoted string to the distinctive part, or pair it with intext: to force the term into the body copy.
Will Google block me for running a lot of these?+
Running them by hand in a browser is fine. Automated scraping at volume will get you a CAPTCHA quickly. If you need hundreds of footprints run at once, use a proper SERP API rather than a script pointed at google.com.
What is the difference between intitle: and allintitle:?+
intitle: applies to the single word or quoted phrase directly after it. allintitle: applies to everything that follows it in the query. allintitle: is stricter and returns far fewer results, which is useful once intitle: gives you too much noise.
Do you store my searches?+
No. The queries are built in your browser from what you type. Nothing is sent to us.
You found the prospects. Now run the outreach.
Footprints give you a list. LinkForce turns the list into placed links: prospect management, outreach sequences and tracking for every link you earn.
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