How to Restrict Your Google Search to Specific Domains GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Internet, Networking, & Security > Around the Web 76 76 people found this article helpful

How to Restrict Your Google Search to Specific Domains

Use this easy Google trick to improve search results

By Marziah Karch Marziah Karch Writer Michigan State University Emporia State University Marziah Karch is a former writer for Lifewire who also excels at Serious Game Design and develops online help systems, manuals, and interactive training modules. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on June 21, 2022 Reviewed by Jon Fisher Reviewed by Jon Fisher Wichita Technical Institute Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Around the Web Browsers Cloud Services Error Messages Family Tech Home Networking 5G Antivirus Around the Web

What to Know

Many sites don't end in .com, and other top-level domains are often used for specific purposes.Restrict searches to a top-level domain with site:[domain] before your search, like the site:edu textbook search.Search a specific site with site:[the site address] before your search, like the site:lifewire.com routers search. An unrestricted Google search checks across all available domains for your search terms, which can yield results that aren't specific enough for your needs. One way to make your search more relevant is to restrict it to a specific domain.

TLD-Specific Searches

Many website addresses end in .com, which is the most familiar of the top-level domains (TDLs). However, it isn't alone. Other top-level domains that use other suffixes exist. Some of the most common of these include: .net (an alternative to .com).org (typically for but not restricted to nonprofit organizations).gov (for government sites).edu (for educational institutions).mil (for military use).uk, .us, .au and others (country-specific domains) To search a specific top-level domain, simply precede it with site: followed immediately by the TLD suffix without a space between them. Then, add a space and type the term for your search. For example, say you're looking for information about textbooks, but you don't want to buy a textbook. An internet-wide search would show you mostly websites that sell textbooks. To get noncommercial search results about educational textbooks instead, confine your search to the .edu top-level domain, by typing this into the search field: site:edu textbook

You can use this method to restrict searches to any TLD.

Domain-Specific Searches

Taking this trick a step further, you can also search within any second or third-level domain. For example, if you'd like to see what Lifewire.com has on the topic of routers, you type the following into the search bar: site:lifewire.com routers
The search results focus on articles about routers on Lifewire, not on other sites. Domain-specific searches can use other Google methods to tailor your searches, such as boolean searches and wildcard searches.) One of the most basic is to add quotation marks around a group of words to indicate you are searching for a phrase. For example: site:lifewire.com "artificial intelligence"
In this case, the quotation marks tell Google to use its contents as a search phrase, rather than as separate words. You won't get results that have artificial but not intelligence. You'll receive search results from Lifewire.com on the phrase artificial intelligence. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Limit a Google Search to a Specific Domain What Is a Top-Level Domain? (TLD Definition) Google Search Commands: The Complete List How to Find a Website How to Use Google to Find Files Online 10 Best Web Search Tricks Everyone Should Know How to Search in Google Sheets What .COM Means in a URL How to Use Google to Search Within a Single Website How to Search Your Own Tweets in Your Twitter Feed DNS Servers: What Are They and Why Are They Used? How to Use Quotation Marks to Find Exact Phrases Online Search Engines: What They Are & How They Work How to Search an Image on Google How to Search a Specific Subreddit What Are Advanced Search Options? Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies