YouTube Advanced Search (Filters & Operators Guide)

This guide explains YouTube advanced search.

Below, you’ll find out what advanced search on YouTube is, how it works, and get a list of all of the YouTube filters and operators you can use (with examples) to get better video results based on specific criteria and keywords.

Consider this your ultimate guide to YouTube advanced search filters and operators to help you quickly find the exact type of video content you want on the platform.

What Is YouTube Advanced Search?

YouTube advanced search is a custom search feature that includes filters and operators that refine your search on YouTube. Advanced search filters and operators help you narrow your search results to find certain types of videos based on specific criteria.

YouTube Advanced Search Filters

YouTube advanced search filters are a set of filters that help you refine the search results by upload date, type, duration, and video features. Advanced filters also let you sort results based on factors like relevance, view count, and rating.

There are two ways to use advanced search filters on YouTube:

• Through the Filter Menu: After entering your search term into the search box on any YouTube page and getting the results, you can click on the Filter icon to further refine the search. (See example image below.)
• Using a Command In the Search Bar: Typing a filter command after your search term into the search bar (preceded by a comma) will narrow the results based on the filter type. (See example image below.)

Upload Date

• Last Hour (last hour)
• Today (today)
• This Week (this week)
• This Month (this month)
• This Year (this year)

Type

• Video (video)
• Channel (channel)
• Playlist (playlist)
• Movie (movie)

Duration

• Under 4 Minutes (short)
• 4 – 20 Minutes
• Over 20 Minutes (long)

Features

• Live (live)
• 4K (4k)
• HD (hd)
• Subtitles/CC (subtitles)
• Creative Commons (must use the filter menu)
• 360° (360)
• VR180 (vr180)
• 3D (3d)
• HDR (hdr)
• Location (must use the filter menu and is based on your YouTube settings preferred location)
• Purchased (must use the filter menu)

Sort By

• Relevance (must use the filter menu)
• Upload Date (must use the filter menu)
• View Count (must use the filter menu)
• Rating (must use the filter menu)

Examples of Advanced Search Filters

Here are example images showing you the two ways for how to use the advanced search filters on YouTube:

YouTube Advanced Search Operators

YouTube advanced search operators are special commands that modify searches using additional parameters to narrow the results. Advanced search operators are entered into the search box along with your search term to extend the capabilities of regular text searches.

Below is a list of advanced search operators you can use on YouTube and how they work to refine your searches.

“ ” Quotation Marks

Wrapping a search term with quotation marks tells YouTube’s search engine to only return results that contain the exact match phrase within the video title or description. All other results will be filtered out.

Example Search
“how does SEO work”

allintitle:

This advanced search operator is useful to find YouTube videos that contain a specific search phrase in the video’s title. The title must contain all of the words or it won’t be returned in the results.

Example Search
allintitle: on-page search engine optimization

intitle:

This YouTube search parameter is less strict than the previous operator to broaden the results. It looks for each word individually and will display videos that contain any of the words in the video titles.

Example Search
intitle: video optimization tips beginners advanced

description:

This operator restricts your keyword search to the description field of YouTube videos. By using it, you’ll only get results that contain the specified phrase in the video description. 

Example Search
decription: hands-on review

+ Plus Sign

Adding the plus sign to a search allows you to refine the results by only finding videos that contain the word attached to + symbol. This advanced search parameter helps you uncover videos that include the specified word while filtering out the rest.

Example Search
remix +swift

– Minus Sign

The minus sign works as a negative advanced search operator by excluding results that contain the word attached to the – symbol. This removes videos that include the specified term.

Example Search
country music -combs

OR

The OR parameter is a Boolean operator that lets you broaden your set of YouTube search results. It helps you find videos that contain one or more of the terms that are separated by the OR operator.

Example Search
techno OR trance OR dubstep

| Pipe

The pipe symbol operates the same way as the OR operator. It broadens your search to find videos that contain one or more of the terms separated by the | parameter.

Example Search
techno | trance | dubstep

AND

The AND parameter is a Boolean operator that lets you narrow your set of YouTube search results. It helps you find videos that only contain all the terms that are separated by the AND operator. Videos that do not include every term are omitted from the results.

Example Search
paleo AND recipes AND chocolate

( ) Parentheses

Wrapping your keyword phrase in parentheses is an advanced search method for YouTube that groups other operators together to control their order of execution. It works similarly to a mathematical statement. Keywords and Boolean operators within parentheses will be searched first, followed by keywords outside parentheses.

Example Search
(hotel reviews OR hotel tours) Paris

$ Dollar Sign With Numbers

Adding the dollar sign with an associated number to your YouTube searches will deliver results that include that monetary value. This is a good way to find videos that are focused on a specific dollar amount.

Example Search
stock picks $10

#…# Number Range

This YouTube advanced search filter lets you look for videos that contain a specified number range. For example, you may want to find videos that pertain to a certain year (e.g., 2021-2022), contain a particular quantity of tips or tricks (e.g., 5-10), or a price range (e.g., $100-1000). To use this operator, you must enter the first number in the range followed by three dots (…) followed by the last number.

Example Searches
jokes 2021…2022
cleaning hacks 20-50
stock picks $5-20

before:[date]

If you want to find videos that were uploaded before a specific date, then this operator will help you do this type of advanced search on YouTube. You can also use it with just the year parameter if you don’t want to specify an exact date.

Example Searches
Gary Vee before:09-10-2022
Grant Cardone before:2018

after:[date]

This search parameter is similar to the last operator but only returns video results on YouTube that have been added after a specific upload date or year.

Example Searches
Gary Vee after:2017
Grant Cardone after:2015

* Wildcard

The wildcard is an advanced search method for YouTube that will fill in the missing word in a search string. It’s represented by an asterisk * and can be placed between any words in the search phrase to help find results that are not restricted to one particular term.

Example Searches
easy * recipes for dinner
best * for new moms
marketing tips for *

# Hashtag

If you want to find YouTube videos that have been tagged with a specific hashtag, then all you have to do is add the # symbol to the search word. Note: Hashtag searches cannot contain spaces between the words in the phrase.

Example Search
#worldcup2022

, Comma

The comma allows you to combine any of the advanced search operators on YouTube. For example, you may want to find videos on a particular topic that contain an exact keyword phrase in the title while also being uploaded after a certain date. Or, you may want to add a filter to the search without having to select it from the Filter menu.

Example Searches
allintitle:best YouTube cameras, after:2021
seo tips, 50-100, 4k, this month
motivational music AND mix, long, HD

Note: For some searches using the comma operator, YouTube will filter the results so only videos that match the parameters exactly will be displayed. However, other combinations of advanced search operators may display additional results that do not fit the exact criteria. A common example of this is when you use the filter for “this week” and no new videos have been uploaded that relate to your search. In that case, YouTube, will show videos from the previous month and year to help you find relevant videos for the other search parameters.

YouTube Advanced Search Summary

I hope you enjoyed this guide on YouTube advanced search.

As you discovered, there are many different YouTube advanced search filters and operators you can use to refine your video results. By using the various parameters listed on this page, you can gain better control of your YouTube search results to find the best videos on the platform that meet your needs.