Web Moves Blog

The date range operator is one of those great yet little-known, rarely used Google search strings. As a webmaster/blogger, you shouldn’t ignore it though.

How does Google’s date range search operator look like?

Here it is:

desired search term daterange:2007 january-2008 june

Of course, you must replace the phrases and dates by the ones you want to research. For instance, if you want to search for SEO tips published between Jan/2005 and Dec/2006, type the following on Google’s search box:

seo tips daterange:2005 january-2006 december

Now choose a topic and try it for yourself.

Why should I use Google’s date range search operator?

• Research is an obvious reason to use it. By using that search string you can limit the results displayed on Google to a specific period and compare them to current data to see how a given subject has evolved.
• Get inspiration for articles. Example: if you have a political blog, try searching for us elections daterange:2004 january-2004 october. Read the news published at that time. Are they still current in any way? Or have things changed significantly? Write a post on your conclusions.
• You may also compile a chronological resource list on your niche. For more effectiveness, you should perform several searches limited to shorter date ranges, instead of going for a single broader one.

Can’t I use Google Insights for Search instead?

It depends on your needs. If you want to track search term trends, yes, you can stick to Google Insights for Search. However, note that this tool won’t show you any search result pages. If you want to see those, the date range string is the way to go.

Google Insights for Search is great for researches on keyword and marketing trends. Google’s date range search operator, on the other hand, is a powerful aid for content creation.