The site:domain.tld syntax should not have a space between the colon (:) and the (sub)domain.
Incorrect:
site: domain.tld
Correct:
site:domain.tld
The - modifier to exclude a word does not have a trailing space.
Incorrect:
- site:domain.tld
- query
Correct:
-site:domain.tld
-query
I’m less certain about excluding a verbatim phrase, but I believe you can do as follows.
-“exclude this query string”
While this space rule still applies, so don’t insert a space, although this needs more testing by me to know for sure that this exclusion works properly.
Incorrect:
site: domain.tld
Correct:
site:domain.tld
The - modifier to exclude a word does not have a trailing space.
Incorrect:
- site:domain.tld - query
Correct:
-site:domain.tld -query
I’m less certain about excluding a verbatim phrase, but I believe you can do as follows.
-“exclude this query string”
While this space rule still applies, so don’t insert a space, although this needs more testing by me to know for sure that this exclusion works properly.
- “this is not correct syntax imo”
https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-advanced-search-operators/