How to Use SEARCH Function in Excel + tip

Hello everyone! Today i will show you how to use SEARCH function in Excel step by step.

What is SEARCH Function in Excel?

The SEARCH function help you find the starting character position number of one text string inside another text string. Unlike FIND, SEARCH is not case-sensitive and it supports wildcard characters like * and ?!

📚 Related Tutorial: Need case-sensitive exact matching? Check out How to Use EXACT Function in Excel!

🛠️ Formula Syntax

=SEARCH(find_text, within_text, [start_num])

• find_text: The text word or letter you want to look for (example: "Excel" or "@").
• within_text: The cell or full text string where you want to search (example: A1).
• [start_num] (Optional): Character position where Excel starts searching from (default is 1).

📊 Simple Examples

Example 1: Basic Position Search

=SEARCH("Excel", "Microsoft Excel")

👉 Result: 11 (Because word "Excel" starts at character 11!).

Example 2: Search Text inside a Cell

If cell A1 contains "Microsoft Excel 2026":

=SEARCH("Excel", A1)

👉 Result: 11

Example 3: Check Whether Text Exists (ISNUMBER + SEARCH)

Combine SEARCH with ISNUMBER to check if text exists:

=ISNUMBER(SEARCH("Excel", A1))

• If "Excel" is in cell A1 ➔ returns TRUE
• If missing ➔ returns FALSE

Example 4: Use SEARCH with IF Formula

Show custom text if word is found:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("Excel", A1)), "Found", "Not Found")

Example 5: Search Starting from Specific Character (start_num)

=SEARCH("a", "Banana", 3)

Excel starts searching from 3rd character ("n"), so it skips the first "a" and returns: 4.

Example 6: Use Wildcard Characters (* and ?)

SEARCH supports wildcards:

• * = matching any number of characters
• ? = matching exactly 1 character

=SEARCH("Ex*", "Microsoft Excel")

Example 7: Prevent #VALUE! Error if Text Not Found

If text is missing, SEARCH returns #VALUE! error. Use IFERROR to display clean text:

=IFERROR(SEARCH("Excel", A1), "Not Found")

⚡ SEARCH vs FIND Comparison

💡 Quick Tips & Easy Memory Rule:

1. Memory Rule: SEARCH = Find position number where text starts.
2. Case Insensitive Advantage: SEARCH is usually better than FIND when searching user inputs, emails, or product names because it ignores uppercase/lowercase differences!

📚 Related Resources & Tutorials

• How to Use TEXTBEFORE Function in Excel
• How to Use TEXTAFTER Function in Excel
• How to Use FILTER Function in Excel
• Top 15 Basic Excel Formulas for Beginners ↗