Boolean Search String Builder
Build a LinkedIn, Sales Navigator or Google X-ray Boolean search string with AND, OR, NOT, quotes and parentheses, assembled live as you type. Free, with no signup.
Start from an example
Where will you search?
Job titles (any of these: OR)
Skills / keywords
Companies, current or past (OR)
Locations (OR)
Exclude these (NOT)
Your Boolean search string
Add job titles, skills or other facets above and your Boolean string builds here live.
Paste this into LinkedIn, Recruiter or Sales Navigator keyword search. They apply AND / OR / NOT and honour quotes and parentheses.
Build a Boolean search string for LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, Google and X-ray sourcing: phrases auto-quoted, facets combined with AND / OR / NOT. Free and built entirely in your browser.
How it works
Enter your facets
Add job titles, skills, companies and locations, commas separate each term.
Set AND / OR and NOT
Toggle whether skills must all match, and list any terms to exclude.
Pick your target
Choose LinkedIn, Google or Google X-ray for public profiles.
Copy and search
Copy the assembled string and paste it into your search bar.
What is a Boolean search string?
A Boolean search string turns a plain list of terms into a precise query using a handful of operators. AND requires every term (it narrows results), OR matches any term (it widens them, great for title synonyms), and NOT removes a term you don't want. Quotes keep a phrase together ("head of sales") and parentheses group an OR set inside a larger AND query.
The cheat-sheet is short: capitalise AND, OR and NOT so they're read as operators; quote every multi-word phrase; and wrap each OR group in parentheses, like ("VP Sales" OR "Sales Director") AND SaaS NOT recruiter. This free Boolean search builder applies all of that automatically as you fill in each facet, so you get a clean, valid string without hand-editing brackets.
Boolean search on LinkedIn & Sales Navigator
LinkedIn, LinkedIn Recruiter and Sales Navigator all read Boolean operators in the keyword field. Type AND, OR and NOT in capitals, quote multi-word phrases, and use parentheses to group alternatives, (CTO OR "VP Engineering") AND fintech is a valid LinkedIn query. This is how sourcers and SDRs build repeatable searches for candidates and prospects.
A couple of quirks are worth knowing. LinkedIn does not support wildcard characters, so spell out each variation you want to catch. It also caps the keyword string length and applies NOT before the rest of the query, so keep exclusions tight. Building the string here first keeps your operators balanced before you paste it in.
Google X-Ray search for LinkedIn profiles
An X-ray search points Google at a single website with the site: operator. site:linkedin.com/in returns public LinkedIn member profiles, which is useful when you have exhausted LinkedIn's own search limits or simply prefer to work from Google's results.
Combine the site: operator with the same Boolean logic (site:linkedin.com/in ("growth marketer" OR "demand gen") AND B2B) and Google returns matching public profiles. Select the Google X-ray target above and the builder adds the site:linkedin.com/in prefix for you automatically.
How Boolean operators combine: AND before OR, and why parentheses matter
Each operator is simple on its own, the mistakes come from combining them, because search engines evaluate AND before OR. Written flat, "VP Sales" OR "Head of Sales" AND SaaS is silently read as "VP Sales" OR ("Head of Sales" AND SaaS): every VP Sales profile matches even without the SaaS keyword, so a requirement you thought applied to the whole query only ever hit half your titles. This is the single most common reason a Boolean string returns people who are obviously off-brief.
Parentheses override that default order, which is why grouping your OR sets is the fix. Wrapping the alternatives (("VP Sales" OR "Head of Sales") AND SaaS) forces the SaaS requirement onto both titles. The rule of thumb is short: whenever you mix an OR group with an AND, bracket the OR group. This builder does exactly that, wrapping every multi-term facet in parentheses as you type, so the precedence trap never bites even when you stack several titles, skills and exclusions together.
Where Boolean works on LinkedIn (and where it doesn't)
Boolean strings only work in LinkedIn's free-text keyword box, the main search bar on LinkedIn, or the Keywords field in Sales Navigator and Recruiter. The dropdown filters next to it, like Geography, Industry and Company headcount, are chosen from LinkedIn's own list rather than typed, so paste your operators into the keyword field and lean on the dropdowns only for values you want LinkedIn to standardise.
Keyword Boolean also matches against the whole profile, not just the current headline. Search "account executive" and you will surface people who held that title three roles ago or who only mention it in their summary, which is exactly why exclusions earn their keep, and why Sales Navigator's dedicated Current job title filter is stricter when you need someone in a role right now. On a free account you tend to hit the monthly commercial-use search limit fairly quickly, which is the usual reason sourcers move the same string over to a Google X-ray.
Worked example: building a Google X-ray search step by step
Say you want growth marketers in London and would rather run the search through Google than LinkedIn. Put "growth marketer" and "demand generation" in Job titles, B2B in Skills, London in Locations, and recruiter and agency in the exclude field, then set the target to Google X-ray. Each facet becomes its own group: the two titles join with OR inside brackets, the single skill and single location stay as plain terms, and the exclusions turn into Google-style minus terms.
The finished string is site:linkedin.com/in ("growth marketer" OR "demand generation") AND B2B AND London -recruiter -agency. Two things changed automatically because the target is Google rather than LinkedIn: the site:linkedin.com/in operator restricts results to public LinkedIn profiles, and the exclusions use a leading minus (-recruiter) instead of the NOT keyword, which is what Google reads. Paste it into Google and every result is a public profile matching your facets, from there, Emailchaser's Email Finder turns those names and companies into verified email addresses.
Common Boolean search mistakes (and why a search returns nothing)
The most common reason a Boolean search returns nothing or the wrong people is a lowercase operator: and, or and not are read as ordinary keywords, so only AND, OR and NOT in capitals act as logic. Close behind are unbalanced parentheses (every ( needs a matching )) and missing quotes, where sales director without quotes matches any profile that contains both words separately. Assembling the string here keeps brackets and quotes balanced for you.
Two more catch people out. Wildcards do not work on LinkedIn, so engineer* will not expand to engineering; spell out each variation as an OR group instead. And exclusion syntax differs by engine. LinkedIn wants NOT recruiter while Google and X-ray want -recruiter, so a NOT typed into Google just searches for the word "not". Finally, resist chaining too many ANDs: each one narrows the pool, and four or five required keywords often shrink a valid search to zero, so start broad and add one exclusion or keyword at a time.
Related free tools
Common questions about Boolean search
What is a Boolean search string?
A Boolean search string is a query that combines your search terms with the operators AND, OR and NOT, plus quotes and parentheses, so a search engine returns exactly the people or pages you want. Recruiters and sales teams use them to source candidates and prospects on LinkedIn, Sales Navigator and Google.
How do I write a Boolean search for LinkedIn?
Group each facet and join them together. List job titles with OR, wrap multi-word titles in quotes, add required skills with AND, and exclude noise with NOT, for example ("VP Sales" OR "Head of Sales") AND SaaS NOT recruiter. This builder assembles that string for you as you type; paste it into LinkedIn or Recruiter keyword search.
What are the AND, OR and NOT operators?
AND requires every term to be present and narrows your results. OR matches any of the terms and widens them, which is ideal for title or synonym variations. NOT excludes a term so unwanted profiles drop out. Operators must be typed in capital letters to be recognised.
Does LinkedIn support parentheses and quotes?
Yes. Quotes keep a multi-word phrase together so "head of sales" is treated as one term, and parentheses group an OR set inside a larger AND query, like (CTO OR "VP Engineering") AND fintech. LinkedIn does not support wildcards, so spell out the variations you need.
What is an X-ray search?
An X-ray search uses Google's site: operator to search a single site, site:linkedin.com/in returns public LinkedIn profiles. It is handy when you have hit LinkedIn's own search limits or want to search profiles from Google. Switch the target to Google X-ray and the builder prepends the site: operator for you.
How do I find emails for the profiles I find?
Boolean search gets you the right people, but not a way to reach them. Once you have your list of profiles, use Emailchaser's free Email Finder to get their verified email addresses from a name and company domain, then start your outreach.
Are Boolean search operators case sensitive?
The operators are: AND, OR and NOT only work when typed in capital letters. Written in lowercase they are treated as ordinary keywords, so "director and VP" would search for the literal word and instead of combining the terms. Your actual search terms are not case sensitive. VP Sales and vp sales return the same profiles.
Why is my LinkedIn Boolean search not working?
Nine times out of ten it is a lowercase operator, an unmatched parenthesis, or a missing quote around a multi-word phrase. Check that AND, OR and NOT are capitalised, that every opening bracket has a closing one, and that phrases like "head of sales" are wrapped in quotes. Remember too that LinkedIn ignores wildcards and only reads Boolean in the keyword field, not in the dropdown filters.
Does Boolean search work on the free version of LinkedIn?
Yes. Boolean operators work in the main search bar on a free LinkedIn account, not only in Sales Navigator or Recruiter. The catch is the commercial-use limit, which caps how many searches you can run each month before LinkedIn asks you to upgrade, running the same string as a Google X-ray is a common way around it.
How do I exclude a word from a Boolean search?
On LinkedIn, put NOT in front of the term (NOT recruiter) to drop every profile that mentions it. On Google and Google X-ray searches, use a leading minus with no space instead, like -recruiter. This builder switches between the two automatically based on the target you choose, so you only list the words to exclude.
Can I use wildcards or an asterisk in LinkedIn Boolean search?
No. LinkedIn does not support the asterisk wildcard, so engineer* will not match engineer, engineering and engineered. List each ending you care about as an OR group instead, like (engineer OR engineering OR engineered).
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