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Let's say I want to share the results from my query. There seems to be a lot of meta data in the query string.

Which variables can be removed from the URL to still give a functioning Google search?

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  • 2
    Don't forget that sharing a Google search URL won't necessarily return the same results for other users. Google has been adding varying levels of targeting of Search results for some time now. See this link for one example: googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/…
    – user15216
    Nov 29, 2011 at 18:15
  • +1 This is true, very important and often-overlooked. See a TED lecture on the topic — youtube.com/watch?v=bOE1HFEL8XA
    – msanford
    Jan 10, 2012 at 1:44
  • You're lucky you have a URL at all, on Safari all you san copy paste from the web address bar is the search query
    – MicroMachine
    Mar 19, 2019 at 17:14

5 Answers 5

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I tried removing all the variables except the q string. It seems to work fine. One thing to note is that Google uses the # symbol, instead of ? which you normally see with query strings.

So, as an example, the URL would be: http://google.com/#q=my+query

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    Both # and ? will work; ? is actually more standard and does not depend on JavaScript. Although the path will be slightly different: http://google.com/search?q=my+query
    – user1686
    Nov 28, 2011 at 23:05
  • Note that, with the more asynchronous queries Google is now using, it is even harder to even obtain a URL to then pair down.
    – Mark Hurd
    Feb 8, 2013 at 5:15
  • This doesn't work for Google image
    – qwertzguy
    Feb 10, 2015 at 23:55
  • Doesn't sem to work anymore
    – Neithan Max
    Jan 17, 2022 at 19:36
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There are a bunch of other CGI parameters in the search results page URL that determine which corpus you’re seeing the results for (Images, Videos, etc.), the page of results, etc. among other things. q is the most important, but not the only one that should be included when sharing.

Some time ago, I wrote a Chrome extension to copy a shorter URL for Google search queries.

Disclaimer: I work at Google on Web Search.

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For a bit more flair, try http://lmgtfy.com/. As in, http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+do+I+share+a+Google+query

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    There's a difference between flair, sarcasm, condescension and plain rudeness. IMNSHO, a LMGTFY link falls somewhere between the last two - this is my impression from such a link: "I understand that you're so dumb that you can't search; here, let me show you how to look things up on the intertubes [pat on the head]."
    – Piskvor left the building
    Jan 11, 2012 at 22:24
  • In the wrong context, or with the wrong audience, I agree.
    – Steve Bennett
    Jan 12, 2012 at 3:40
  • 2
    I love how this is literally a solution to the problem, but it has the lowest rating (below a non-solution), because people would prefer to prioritize being butthurt.
    – Suboptimus
    May 6, 2013 at 2:20
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https://docs.google.com/document/dll/YNHCqL771sO1kbfDouCTZBIJn4H2OEOkoOuc4vbrBf8/edit?usp=sharing Is an example of a Google Drive document sharing

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  • The question is about Google (the web search engine) not about Google Drive.
    – Rubén ♦
    Mar 26, 2021 at 20:57
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Try https://www.searchall.net. Select the Share Query search box. Search and share your keywords or queries to top social networks, email, messengers, bookmark services. You can search more than 100 multiple search engines and sites easily.

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