How to Use SEARCH Function in Excel: Simple Guide

The SEARCH function in Excel finds the position of one text string inside another, returning the number where the text starts. It is case-insensitive and can be used to locate words or characters within a cell. Use =SEARCH(find_text, within_text, [start_num]) to apply it.

Syntax

The SEARCH function has three parts:

• find_text: The text you want to find.
• within_text: The text or cell where you want to search.
• start_num (optional): The position to start searching from (default is 1).

The function returns the position number where find_text first appears in within_text. If not found, it returns an error.

excel

=SEARCH(find_text, within_text, [start_num])

Example

This example shows how to find the position of the word "apple" in a sentence.

excel

=SEARCH("apple", "I like apple pie")

Output

8

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes include:

• Using SEARCH with case sensitivity (it is case-insensitive, so use FIND if case matters).
• Not handling errors when the text is not found, which causes #VALUE! error.
• Forgetting the optional start_num when you want to search after a certain position.

To avoid errors, wrap SEARCH in IFERROR like this:

excel

=IFERROR(SEARCH("apple", A1), "Not found")

Quick Reference

Parameter	Description
find_text	Text you want to find
within_text	Text or cell to search in
start_num	Optional start position for search (default 1)

Key Takeaways

SEARCH finds the position of text inside another text, ignoring case.

Use the optional start_num to begin searching from a specific position.

Wrap SEARCH in IFERROR to handle cases when text is not found.

SEARCH is case-insensitive; use FIND for case-sensitive search.

SEARCH returns the position number where the text starts.