How To Write A Google Sheets Formula To Extract Text Between Other Text In A Single Cell
In Google Sheets, you can use formulas to extract text between two specific strings in a cell. This can be useful if you have a large amount of data that contains certain patterns or keywords, and you want to quickly and easily extract the relevant information.
In this blog post, we will show you how to use the SPLIT
and FIND
functions in Google Sheets to extract text between two strings in a cell.
Extracting Text Between Two Strings:
To extract the text between two strings in a cell in Google Sheets, you can use the following formula:
=SPLIT(A1, B1, C1)
In this formula, A1
is the cell containing the text that you want to extract, B1
is the string that you want to use as the starting point for the extraction, and C1
is the string that you want to use as the ending point for the extraction.
For example, if A1
contains the text “hello world” and B1
contains the string “hello” and C1
contains the string “world”, the formula will return the string ” world” as the result.
If you want to extract the text before the starting point, you can use the LEFT
function in combination with the FIND
function, like this:
=LEFT(A1, FIND(B1, A1) - 1)
In this formula, LEFT
is used to extract the text before the starting point, which is calculated using the FIND
function.
For example, if A1
contains the text “hello world” and B1
contains the string “hello”, the formula will return the string “hello” as the result.
If you want to extract the text between the starting and ending points, you can use the MID
function in combination with the FIND
and LEN
functions, like this:
=MID(A1, FIND(B1, A1) + LEN(B1), FIND(C1, A1) - FIND(B1, A1) - LEN(B1))
In this formula, MID
is used to extract the text between the starting and ending points, which are calculated using the FIND
and LEN
functions.
For example, if A1
contains the text “hello world” and B1
contains the string “hello” and C1
contains the string “world”, the formula will return the string ” ” (a single space) as the result.
You can also pass a string instead of a cell like this:
=MID(A1, FIND("some text string", A1) + LEN("some text string"), FIND("the ending string", A1) - FIND("some text string", A1) - LEN("some text string"))
A good use case for the formula to extract text between two strings in a cell in Google Sheets is when you have a large amount of data that contains certain patterns or keywords, and you want to quickly and easily extract the relevant information.
For example, if you have a dataset of customer feedback comments, and you want to extract the comments that mention a specific product or feature, you can use the formula to extract the text between the keywords “product” and “feature” in each cell.
This can save you a lot of time and effort compared to manually searching through the data to find the relevant comments. It can also help you identify trends and patterns in the customer feedback, which can be useful for improving your product or service.
Another use case for this formula is when you have a dataset of product or service descriptions, and you want to extract the specific details or features of each product or service. You can use the formula to extract the text between the keywords “details” and “features” in each cell, and then use that information to create a product or service catalog or database.
Overall, the formula to extract text between two strings in a cell in Google Sheets can be useful for a variety of applications where you need to quickly and easily extract specific information from a large dataset.
In conclusion, the SPLIT
and FIND
functions in Google Sheets can be used to extract text between two specific strings in a cell. By using these functions, you can quickly and easily extract relevant information from a large dataset, and use it in your analysis and reporting.
How can you get the text after a specific character and stop when you get to a space?
To get the characters after a string in a cell until the first space in Google Sheets, you can use the MID
function in combination with the FIND
and SEARCH
functions. Here is an example formula:
=MID(A1, FIND(B1, A1) + LEN(B1), SEARCH(" ", A1, FIND(B1, A1) + LEN(B1)))
In this formula, A1 is the cell containing the text that you want to extract, B1 is the string that you want to use as the starting point for the extraction, and FIND and LEN are used to calculate the position of the starting point in the text. The SEARCH
function is then used to find the first space after the starting point, and MID
is used to extract the characters between the starting point and the space.
For example, if A1
contains the text “hello world” and B1
contains the string “hello”, the formula will return the string ” world” as the result.
You can also use the TRIM
function to remove any leading or trailing spaces from the extracted text, like this:
=TRIM(MID(A1, FIND(B1, A1) + LEN(B1), SEARCH(" ", A1, FIND(B1, A1) + LEN(B1))))
In this formula, TRIM
is used to remove any leading or trailing spaces from the extracted text, which is calculated using the MID
, FIND
, LEN
, and SEARCH
functions.
For example, if A1
contains the text “hello world” and B1
contains the string “hello”, the formula will return the string “world” as the result (without the leading space).
How could a formula like this be used in programatic SEO?
The formula to extract text between two strings in a cell in Google Sheets could be used for programmatic SEO in several ways.
For example, if you have a large dataset of web page titles and meta descriptions, and you want to extract the keywords or phrases that are used most frequently, you can use the formula to extract the text between the keywords “keywords” and “phrases” in each cell. This can help you identify the most important keywords or phrases for your SEO strategy, and optimize your web pages accordingly.
Another use case for this formula in programmatic SEO is when you have a dataset of competitor web pages, and you want to extract the keywords or phrases that are used by your competitors in their titles and meta descriptions. You can use the formula to extract the text between the keywords “keywords” and “phrases” in each cell, and then compare the results to your own keywords and phrases to see if there are any gaps or opportunities in your SEO strategy.
Additionally, you can use the formula to extract the text between the keywords “keywords” and “phrases” in a dataset of search queries, to identify the most popular or relevant keywords and phrases that people are using to search for your products or services. This can help you optimize your website and content for those keywords and phrases, and improve your search engine rankings.
Overall, the formula to extract text between two strings in a cell in Google Sheets can be a useful tool for programmatic SEO, as it allows you to quickly and easily extract keywords and phrases from a large dataset, and use that information to optimize your website and content for search engines.
Programmatic SEO example
An example of programmatic SEO is using a machine learning algorithm to analyze a large dataset of web page titles and meta descriptions, and identify the keywords and phrases that are used most frequently.
The algorithm could then use this information to automatically optimize the titles and meta descriptions of your own web pages, based on the most popular or relevant keywords and phrases. This can help improve your search engine rankings, and make it more likely that your web pages will appear at the top of the search results for those keywords and phrases.
Another example of programmatic SEO is using a machine learning algorithm to analyze the search queries that people are using to find your website, and identify the keywords and phrases that are most popular or relevant to your business. The algorithm could then use this information to automatically optimize the content of your website, and make it more likely that your web pages will rank highly for those keywords and phrases.
Overall, programmatic SEO involves using machine learning algorithms and large datasets to automatically optimize your website and content for search engines, in order to improve your search engine rankings and increase the visibility of your website.
About the author
Mike McKearin is the CEO at WE•DO | SEO Expert | Adventurer | Optimist
Mike has a long history in the world of SEO, studying it and testing various methods for over two decades now. When he's not working on his business or being a dad, Mike loves to go on adventures with his family - they live in the beautiful state of North Carolina and love exploring all that it has to offer. He's an optimist who believes that anything is possible if you set your mind to it, and he wants to help others achieve their dreams through WE•DO
Free WordPress SEO Analysis
Want more traffic to your WordPress website? Get a free WordPress SEO Analysis and see how you can improve your traffic to get more sales online.
*This is a human SEO audit. Once we review your site we will reach out to schedule a time to review with you.