Tilde Search Operator – 10 Second Keyword Research Tip



i am an seo, but I don’t keyword research every single post using a tool like Google Keyword Research Tool. I usually keep that for a bit more indepth analysis and exploratory work.

Most of the time when I blog I am aiming for one particluar phrase, but sometimes I will use a tilde in my search to find what Google thinks are related terms, or synonyms. Google likes a page that contains original text with related terms, so it’s useful to have a peek and see what Google thinks are related terms.

It’s easy to use the Tilde Search Operator - Add “~” before your word (it’s called a tilde).

For instance, here’s the search for “~Hobo” – Without the quotes of course

You immediately see the term Tramp, History of the Book @ Oxford, & Recluse.

It really is 2 second keyword research for Google SEO, ideal for blog posts anyway.

If you are interested in the magic of keyword research – find out about the best keyword density to aim for.

If you enjoyed this post, please share :)


8 Responses

  1. Henry Keegan says:

    http://www.gorank.com/seotools/ontology/index.php, is a good little tool if you want to find all the related keywords quickly.

  2. trade show booths says:

    Hi Shaun, At first I searched for “~my keywords”. Then I realized you meant WITHOUT the quotes. However, I’m confused if this only works for a single word or for a multiple word phase, and how would you do it for a phrase? ~ Steve, the ~trade ~show ~booths ~guy :)

  3. Shaun says:

    Howdy Steve I use it in different ways. Usually, though, just to get quick single word suggestions to include in my article.

  4. Erich Larsen says:

    What a fantastic tip… I didn’t know about this at all! ~noob :)

  5. Richard Ball says:

    I’ve used this and it’s a good method. Helps to determine competitor’s content and whether there key phase are dense on the page Many Thanks

  6. vanman says:

    so if a blog entry/title/page is covered in keywords ~example only ~like~im~trying~to~cover~every~single~google ~position~call~me ~no ~one ~else would that work? Martin

  7. Business Logos says:

    Thanks for the tip, it might help with brain storming.



Learn how you can get more sales from your website

Subscribe for free and let us share with you:

  • how to submit your site to Google, Yahoo & Bing
  • how to optimise your site to get more traffic from Google
  • how to target the most valuable keywords for your business
  • how to make your site rank better in free Google listings
  • how to rank high & avoid Google penalties in 2013

Trust Hobo with your SEO plan

Find out more