How to Search in SharePoint Online (+Search Techniques)

Not sure how to search in SharePoint?

In this guide, let’s talk about how to search in SharePoint Online and some advanced search techniques.

Let’s get started.

The Modern SharePoint Search Functionality

Let’s talk a little bit about how the search works first.

Well, the modern SharePoint experience offers a more simplified search experience designed for efficiency.

Here’s how it works:

• SharePoint continuously scans and indexes content across sites, libraries, and lists.
• Search queries tap into this index, using filters and keywords to fetch the most relevant items quickly.

The experience in modern SharePoint differs significantly from its classic counterpart.

For example, the modern experience now features a cleaner, more intuitive design with dynamic previews of results.

Other differences include:

• Search results are specific to individual users (based on permissions and relevance).
• Integration with Microsoft 365, pulling content from across OneDrive, Teams, and Outlook.
• Real-time suggestions help users refine searches as they type.

These improvements make modern SharePoint more efficient for discovering and accessing content.

Literally, users can easily find the information they need in a few strokes, even in large organizations.

Related: Search in SharePoint: How Does MS SharePoint Work (Guide)

Levels of Search in SharePoint

SharePoint offers multiple levels of search to help users find content efficiently.

Each level targets a different scope, allowing for precision or broad discovery based on your needs.

Document Library or List Search

The document library search is perfect for finding content within a single library or list.

It’s more efficient and provides results specific to the selected location if you know which specific list/library to look at.

Here’s why it’s helpful:

1. Searches only the items in the current library or list
2. Ideal for frequently used or team-specific documents or items
3. The result will be a filtered list or library

You can use the search bar at the top of the document library to start your query.

The suggestions update dynamically, displaying matches as you type:

What’s amazing about search, by the way, is that it can read the contents of Office files and index them as well.

Site-Level Search

Site-level search helps users find content across an entire SharePoint site.

It’s broader than a document library search but still focuses on a single site’s resources.

Key features include:

1. Covers all lists, libraries, pages, and subsites within the site
2. Shows only the content you have access to view
3. Filters results by file type, date, or custom metadata

The search bar located at the site level serves as the starting point.

Type your query, and SharePoint scans everything from documents to pages within the site:

You can then filter the results by files, sites, news, and images, and then by file type and last modified date.

This level is ideal for users who need to locate specific content or navigate a large volume of data within a single site.

Related: Search in SharePoint: How Does MS SharePoint Work (Guide)

Hub-Level Search

Hub-level search extends across multiple SharePoint sites connected by a hub for finding content in related projects or departments.

As you can see, the search field placeholder changes to “Search across sites”:

Why it stands out:

1. Cross-site coverage within a hub
2. Brings together data from different teams or projects in one place
3. Uses shared site metadata to organize and refine results

The search bar in a hub site triggers this functionality (yes, you need to be in a hub site).

Results include documents, lists, and pages from all associated sites and users only see what they’re authorized to access.

SharePoint Home Search

This one is the broadest search option, scanning all accessible content in your SharePoint environment and OneDrive.

It’s ideal for finding content regardless of where it’s stored (which is why its placeholder is simply like this):

What makes it effective:

1. Searches across all SharePoint sites and personal OneDrive files
2. Specific results based on permissions and usage history
3. Allows refining results by file type, date, and more

The search bar on the SharePoint home page is where this starts.

As you type, it suggests results from various locations, including shared libraries, individual files, and recent activity:

This search prioritizes relevance, helping users quickly locate the information they need.

It’s a power tool for those going through large organizations, and kind of a one-stop search experience.

Related: SharePoint Search Levels: How to Search in SharePoint Online

Advanced Search Techniques

Using advanced search techniques in SharePoint can help you locate content more effectively.

Here are some techniques that I know of:

Using Search Operators

Search operators in SharePoint help refine your queries so it’s easier to locate specific content.

They act as shortcuts to narrow or expand search results:

Key operators include:

1. AND: Finds results containing all specified terms (e.g., budget AND report).
2. OR: Retrieves results with either term (e.g., budget OR expense).
3. NOT: Excludes terms from the search (e.g., budget NOT draft).

Searching annual AND report gives results containing both terms, while annual OR report includes items with either.

You can combine these operators in a single query, nice for going through large libraries or multiple sites.

Wildcard Searches

Wildcard searches in SharePoint let you find variations of a keyword, like if you only remembered the first few letters.

To do this, simply put an asterisk at the end of the characters to get different word variations:

They’re great for uncovering results when you’re unsure of the exact term or need to include multiple forms of a word.

For example, searching con* retrieves files and items related to “contact,” “conversations,” or even “contribute.”

This saves time when working with diverse document naming conventions.

Exact Phrase Searches

This one can help locate content by finding results that match an entire phrase, not just individual keywords.

All you have to do is enclose your phrase in quotation marks:

For example, searching for “team meeting notes” makes sure that results include the entire phrase in that order.

This avoids files with just “team” or “notes” separately, which, when you think about it, is quite simple but powerful.

It’s particularly useful for searching document titles, headers, or unique terms in content (well, as long as you know it).

Excluding Keywords

Excluding keywords in SharePoint searches allows you to filter out irrelevant content to narrow the results quickly.

All you need to do is add a minus character before a keyword to exclude:

The example above takes the wildcard example earlier, and then excludes results that contain the word “Continue”.

This technique is especially useful in document-heavy environments where certain terms might clutter results.

Troubleshooting Common Search Issues

Sometimes, SharePoint search may not deliver the expected results.

Here are some examples of such issues you may encounter:

Issue	Cause	Solution
Missing Content	Content not indexed or restricted permissions	Ensure proper indexing is enabled and verify permissions for access.
Outdated Results	Indexing delay after uploading files	Allow time for indexing to complete; try searching again later.
Irrelevant Results	Broad or unclear search queries	Apply advanced search techniques like filters, operators, or narrowing keywords.
Incorrect Metadata	Missing or inconsistent tagging	Check and update metadata to ensure files are correctly categorized and easy to locate.

For example, if a file doesn’t appear in search, check whether it’s stored in a library with proper indexing enabled.

Similarly, if irrelevant results dominate, narrow the scope by specifying keywords or excluding terms.

Do you have any questions about how to search in SharePoint Online? Let me know below.

For any business-related queries or concerns, contact me through the contact form. I always reply.

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