You can now easily limit your Google search results to specific dates, according to Google's public Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan. This can be done with the help of two new commands (which are being tested currently), before: and after:
Until now, this kind of search was only possible through the date search tool. But now, these two commands will take over and make things easier, as they will be included in the search query itself. As the name suggests, “before:” will display results before a given date and “after:” will show the ones after the specified date. You can either use before:, after: or both commands in a single query to find in-between results.
You will need to provide a year at least. To be more specific, you can also provide year-month-day (in the same order).
Google posted some screenshots along with its announcement to make people understand how these commands will work.
Sullivan also clarified that in case only the year is provided, they will be translated accordingly into full dates. For example, before: 2018 will display results before January 1st, 2018 and after: 2018 will display results after 31st December, 2018. Sullivan also noted that day, month and year (while writing a date) can be separated by either slashes or dashes.
One obstacle that still remains is that most of the time, publication date of the results remain hidden, but that is bound to change soon. The publication date will always be visible for results displayed in the News Tab.
It should also be noted that as it’s quite difficult for Google to keep track of the exact date when a document was published, it will display results according to its own estimation, instead of the actual publication date. Regardless, this tool is much more easy and efficient to use than the date tool and will surely sit well with the users, once rolled out.
Read next: Lazy Loading in Google Chrome to Improve Browsing Experience
Until now, this kind of search was only possible through the date search tool. But now, these two commands will take over and make things easier, as they will be included in the search query itself. As the name suggests, “before:” will display results before a given date and “after:” will show the ones after the specified date. You can either use before:, after: or both commands in a single query to find in-between results.
For many searches, surfacing fresh information often ensures the best relevancy. However, sometimes people want to find older yet also relevant information. Our tools have long made this possible. Now we’re testing new before: and after: commands to make this even easier....— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) April 9, 2019
You will need to provide a year at least. To be more specific, you can also provide year-month-day (in the same order).
Google posted some screenshots along with its announcement to make people understand how these commands will work.
The before: & after: commands return documents before & after a date. You must provide year-month-day dates or only a year. You can combine both. For example:— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) April 9, 2019
[avengers endgame before:2019]
[avengers endgame after:2019-04-01]
[avengers endgame after:2019-03-01 before:2019-03-05] pic.twitter.com/bo1rSeulbH
Sullivan also clarified that in case only the year is provided, they will be translated accordingly into full dates. For example, before: 2018 will display results before January 1st, 2018 and after: 2018 will display results after 31st December, 2018. Sullivan also noted that day, month and year (while writing a date) can be separated by either slashes or dashes.
One obstacle that still remains is that most of the time, publication date of the results remain hidden, but that is bound to change soon. The publication date will always be visible for results displayed in the News Tab.
It should also be noted that as it’s quite difficult for Google to keep track of the exact date when a document was published, it will display results according to its own estimation, instead of the actual publication date. Regardless, this tool is much more easy and efficient to use than the date tool and will surely sit well with the users, once rolled out.
Read next: Lazy Loading in Google Chrome to Improve Browsing Experience
