With Real Examples Using the New York Giants

Most people use Google at about 10 percent of its capability.

For investigators, analysts, researchers, or anyone working in OSINT, that leaves a lot on the table.

Google's advanced search operators (often called "Google dorks") let you narrow, filter, and structure your searches with precision. The key is knowing which operators still work reliably — and how to combine them.

To make this practical (and slightly more fun), I'm using the New York Giants as the running example.

1. Exact Phrase Searches

Operator: " "

If you want exact wording, put it in quotes.

Try this:

"New York Giants injury report"

This removes results that loosely mention the Giants and injuries and instead returns pages with that exact phrase.

Why it matters: Exact phrase searching is critical when tracking specific statements, press language, or narrative shifts.

2. Excluding Noise

Operator: -

The Giants share a name with a baseball team. Let's filter that out. Keep in mind when two words are part of a phrase, the "" will tell Google to use the exact phrase.

Try this:

Giants -baseball -"San Francisco"

Why it matters: Noise reduction is half of OSINT. This is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to clean your dataset.

3. Searching Within a Specific Site

Operator: site:

Want only official team sources?

Try this:

site:giants.com "depth chart"

Or restrict to a news outlet:

site:nj.com "New York Giants" draft

Why it matters: This is essential when you're validating claims against primary sources.

4. Finding PDFs and Structured Documents

Operator: filetype:

Structured files often contain high-value information.

Try this:

New York Giants filetype:pdf

Or more targeted:

"New York Giants" filetype:pdf media guide

Why it matters: PDFs, spreadsheets, and slide decks often contain details that don't show up in standard webpages.

5. Searching by Page Title

Operator: intitle: and allintitle:

Want pages that are specifically about a topic?

intitle:"New York Giants" schedule

Or:

allintitle: New York Giants 2024 schedule

Why it matters: Searching titles helps identify pages primarily focused on your subject rather than mentioning it in passing.

6. Searching by URL

Operator: inurl: and allinurl:

Want roster pages specifically?

inurl:roster "New York Giants"

Why it matters: URL patterns often reveal site structure and can help you map sections of a domain.

7. Searching Within Page Text

Operator: intext: and allintext:

allintext: "Darius Slayton" contract extension

This ensures the terms appear in the body of the page.

Why it matters: Useful when you need confirmation that specific language appears in the actual content.

8. Using OR to Expand Searches

Operator: OR

"New York Giants" (trade OR extension OR contract)

Why it matters: Great for capturing multiple variations of an event or theme in one search.

9. Building Timelines with Date Filters

Operators: before: and after:

Want to see reporting before a specific date?

New York Giants QB before:2023-09-01

Or after:

New York Giants QB after:2025-09-01

Why it matters: This is extremely useful for tracking how narratives evolve over time.

10. Wildcard Searches

Operator: *

"New York Giants * charity"

The asterisk acts as a placeholder for unknown words.

Why it matters: Helpful when you suspect a phrase exists but don't know the exact wording.

Putting It Together

Where this gets powerful is in combinations.

Example:

site:nfl.com "New York Giants" filetype:pdf after:2022-01-01

That narrows results to:

• Official site
• PDF documents
• Published after a specific date

That's not casual Googling. That's structured search.

Why This Matters Beyond Football

Replace "New York Giants" with:

• A company
• An executive
• A foreign military unit
• A nonprofit
• A political organization

The methodology stays the same.

Good OSINT is not about secret tools. It's about knowing how to reduce noise, structure queries, and validate sources.

Google is still one of the most powerful investigative tools available — if you know how to use it intentionally.