3 Bing Search Operators You'll Love - Boost Your Searches
The Potential of Bing: Uncovering Unique Search Operators
A competitive landscape between search engines like Bing and Google is beneficial, driving innovation and ultimately improving search quality. The initial reception to Bing’s launch reflected this hope.
Despite a promising start, Bing’s development has been relatively slow. Its full capabilities remain largely unexplored by many users. Even those who have switched to Bing may be unaware of its distinctive features.
This article highlights three unique Bing search operators – functionalities not found in other major search engines. Experimenting with these tools could prove valuable for your online searches.
1. LinkFromDomain:
Do you need to identify the specific pages a website links to? Bing is currently the only search engine offering this capability. This command is both unique and exceptionally useful.
Search pattern: LinkFromDomain:anydomain.com
Suggested usage: The applications are numerous. As a search marketing professional, I personally utilize the LinkFromDomain: operator to identify potentially problematic outbound links from a given site.
Consider this: discover which sites a reputable resource like MUO links to and reviews. For instance, locate all Mac-related pages reviewed and linked to by MakeUseOf authors:
2. Feed:
This Bing search operator is designed to locate RSS or Atom feeds on a website related to your search terms.
Search pattern: feed:term
Suggested usage: This operator provides a straightforward method for discovering blogs relevant to your interests, often uncovering results that Google Blog Search misses.
Example: [feed:gadgets]
Note: The Hasfeed: operator functions similarly, identifying webpages containing RSS or Atom feeds for your specified search terms. It serves as another alternative for blog discovery.
3. Contains:
This Bing search operator allows you to find pages that link to specific file types.
Search pattern: contains:filetype
Suggested usage: The possibilities are extensive. Here are a few examples to illustrate its potential:
- Find pages linking to video files based on a keyword: [mac contains:wmv]
- Locate all MUO pages linking to video files (optionally, filtered by keyword): [site:makeuseof.com contains:wmv]
- Identify pages linked to by MUO that also contain a PDF report related to a specific keyword: [LinkFromDomain:makeuseof.com contains:pdf mac]
Further Resources on Bing Advanced Search:
Locating current, official documentation on Bing’s search operators can be challenging. Many existing resources are outdated, referencing older MSN/Live.com search engines.
Here are a few potentially helpful resources:
- Bing Search Shortcuts;
- 5 Advanced Bing Tips.
Do you currently use Bing for your searches? If so, what aspects of the search engine do you find particularly appealing?
Image Credit : betsyweber
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