Search Engine Search Tips

Search Tips: How to Get Better Search Results from the Search Engines

Do you have problems finding exactly what you are looking for on the Internet? Search engines were created to make finding things out there easier. Without them, we’d be totally lost in cyberspace. The following search tips will show you how to get better search results. These tips will help you find exactly what you are looking for quicker and easier.

Tip #1: Be specific

Don’t be shy—tell the search engines exactly what you’re looking for. There is a whole lot of information on the Internet, the more specific you are in your request, the more likely search engines will find exactly what you are looking for.

For instance, if you are looking for a specific collector’s item, say a Wonder Woman 1945 series comic book. Instead of searching for Marvel Comics or Wonder Woman comic books, search for Wonder Woman comics 1945. This will get you closer to what you are looking for. If you are looking for a specific issue, try searching for Wonder Woman comic February 1945 or Wonder Woman comic issue 14 1945. The search engines will serve up pages that are relevant to that particular issue.

Tip #2: Ask a Question

You should ask a specific question when looking for help via a search engine. Suppose you are having trouble getting a new digital camera to work with your computer. Instead of doing a search for the camera manufacturer (SONY) website, try asking the search engine a question. Search for how do I connect my sony cybershot to my PC? or how to connect my sony cybershot to my PC? Chances are you’ll get the answer to your question if you are specific enough.

Tip #3: Use the + Symbol

The + symbol enables you to pin down your search request even further. Use the + symbol when you want to make sure that the search engine finds web pages that contain all of your search words (not just some of them.)

For instance, if you are researching your family tree, you can do a search for a particular ancestor. Search for +Coe +Sarah +Jane. Only pages that contain all three words (or names in this case) would appear in your search results. This would make finding the right ancestor much easier.

The + symbol can be especially helpful when your original search results in too much information. We’ve all been there. Let’s say you want to find that perfect place to fish for bass in Lake Michigan. You’re initial search for “ Lake Michigan” resulted in a ton of results. But, the first few web pages you looked at had nothing to do with fishing. Instead of wading through all the websites that reference Lake Michigan, try searching for + Lake Michigan +fishing +bass. Now, that’s more like it!

Tip #4: Use the – Symbol

The – (minus) symbol allows you to refine your search by excluding words. Use the – symbol when you want the search engine to find pages that exclude particular words.

For example, imagine you are doing a research paper on Jackie O, but don’t want to wade through the millions of pages referencing JFK. Search for Jackie Onassis –John F. Kennedy

Like the + symbol, the – symbol is especially helpful when your original search results in too much information. The – symbol helps streamline your search by excluding what you don’t want or need.

Tips #5: Use the ~ Symbol

The ~ (tilde) symbol enables you to expand your search for a particular keyword and its synonyms.

For example, let’s say you’re looking for "facts about food". A search for ~food ~facts would render web pages relevant to food facts as well as information about its synonyms "nutrition and cooking".

Tip #6: Use “Quotation Marks”

Quotation marks allow you to search for an exact phrase. This can be a great way to find exactly what you are looking for; it tells the search engines that you are looking for web pages where the terms appear in the exact order you requested.

Remember our example of using the + symbol when searching for a specific ancestor in our family tree? Our search for +Coe+Sarah+Jane brought back web pages that had all of those words (or names) on them, but those words might not necessarily be near each other on the webpage. Sarah may appear at the beginning of the page, whereas Jane is used near the end of the page. This may not be exactly what we’re looking for.

Using quotation marks can alleviate this problem. By using quotation marks, we can tell the search engine to give us the pages where the words appear in exactly the order we specify. So, searching for "Sarah Jane Powers" would give us all web pages with those three names in that particular order. This type of search is also useful when looking for particular phrases, such as "search engine marketing" , "real estate tips" or " All's well in love and war".

Tip #7: Use OR

OR (in all caps) enables you to search for web pages containing the word A or word B.

For example, to search for a new DVD player made by SONY or RCA search for dvd player sony OR rca

Tip #8: Combine Symbols

Combine search symbols to get very specific search results.

For example, using our previous search criteria for information about Jackie O, but excluding John F. Kennedy, a search for “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis” +Jacqueline Lee Bouvier +Jackie O –John F. Kennedy would give us the results we’re really looking for.

Tip #9: Use Numrange

A numrange search can be used to specify results containing numbers within a specified range. You can conduct a numrange search by specifying two numbers, separated by two periods, with no spaces. You also need to specify a unit of measure or some other indication of what the number range represents.

For example, imagine that you are searching for a product, like an iPod mini player, in a particular price range. Search for ipod mini $200..250

Tip #10: Use Advanced Search Options

Most major search engines support many advanced search options which can be extremely helpful in targeting the information you are looking for. To learn more about how to use these advanced options see your search engines Advanced Search menu or button.

Some of the more useful advanced search options are:

Specific website search—enables you to control what websites or domain names (i.e. www.cnn.com) are included or excluded from a search
Language search—useful when you want to search for Spanish only (or whatever language you prefer) websites
Domain type search—useful when you want to search for information on government sites, (.gov) only, United Kingdom sites (.uk) only, or other specific domain types (i.e., .gov, .org, .biz, .com, .uk, etc.)
File format search—enables you to search for information specific file formats only (i.e., Power Point presentations, Excel spreadsheets, PDF documents, and more)
Date search—allows you to search for web pages updated within a particular time frame (i.e., past 3 months, past 6 months, past year)
Occurrences search—gives you the ability to specify your search results based on whether your search terms occur in the title, the text, or the URL of web page or the links to the web page
Find similar search—useful when you’ve found a page that has been particular helpful or interesting and would like to find others that are similar
Product specific search—gives you the ability to search for specific products for sale
Local business search—enables you to search for businesses and services in your local area

Tip #11: Use Short Cuts

Yahoo!® and Google™ short cuts can save you time looking for information.

Navigate search results without using your mouse

Google™ keyboard shortcuts help you easily manage your search results

Looking for a zip code?

Search for zip code Richmond, VA on Yahoo!

Missed the game? Get quick baseball, basketball, football and hockey scores.

Search for redskins scores on Yahoo!

Check the current status of any flight on any major airline.

Search for american 1420 on Yahoo!

Get the definition of any English word in a snap.

Search for define pulchritudinous on Yahoo!

Get the current exchange rate between any two currencies.

Search for convert dollars to yen on Yahoo!

Tip #12: Use Your Favorite Search Engine’s Toolbar

Both Yahoo! and Google™ have very helpful toolbars available for download. These toolbars work with your Internet browser and enable you to search from anywhere online, turn pop-up ads on and off, and easily access additional special features.

Resources

Yahoo! Advanced Web Search
Google Advanced Search
Yahoo! Search Short Cuts
Google Keyboard Short Cuts
Yahoo! Toolbar
Google Toolbar

See also
Learn more about Strategic Ranking and our search engine marketing solutions!

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