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Search Engine Math
Forget power searching. Don't worry about learning to do a "Boolean"
search. All most people need to know is a little basic "search
engine math" in order to improve their results. Come learn
how to easily add, subtract and multiply your way into better searches
at your favorite search engine. The information below works for
nearly all of the major search engines.
Be Specific
Before learning math, it's a helpful reminder that the more specific
your search is, the more likely you will find what you want. Don't
be afraid to tell a search engine exactly what you are looking for.
For example, if you want information about Windows 98 bugs, search
for "Windows 98 bugs," not "Windows." Or even
better, search for exactly what the problem is: "I can't install
a USB device in Windows 98," for example. You'll be surprised
at how often this works.
Using The + Symbol to Add
Sometimes, you want to make sure that a search engine finds pages
that have all the words you enter, not just some of them. The +
symbol lets you do this.
For example, imagine you want to find pages that have references
to both President Clinton and Kenneth Starr on the same page. You
could search this way:
+clinton +starr
Only pages that contain both words would appear in your results.
Here are some other examples:
+windows +98 +bugs
That would find pages that have all three of the words on them,
helpful if you wanted to narrow down a search to Windows 98 bugs,
rather than on Windows 98 in general.
+star +trek +insurrection
That would get you pages about Star Trek that also specifically
mention "Insurrection," the title of a Star Trek film.
The + symbol is especially helpful when you do a search and then
find yourself overwhelmed with information. Imagine that you wanted
to reserve a camping space in California's Yosemite National Park.
You might start out simply searching like this:
yosemite
If so, chances are, you'll probably get too many off-target results.
Instead, try searching for all the words you know must appear on
the type of page you're looking for:
+yosemite +camping +reservations
Using The - Symbol to Subtract
Sometimes, you want a search engine to find pages that have one
word on them but not another word. The - symbol lets you do this.
For example, imagine you want information about President Clinton
but don't want to be overwhelmed by pages relating to the Monica
Lewinsky scandal. You could search this way:
clinton -lewinsky
That tells the search engine to find pages that mention "clinton"
and then to remove any of them that also mention "lewinsky."
Similarly, perhaps you are looking for information specifically
about Windows 95 but keep getting pages about Windows 98 or Windows
3.1. You could eliminate them with a search like this:
windows -98 -3.1
Perhaps you are a fan of the original Star Trek series but instead
keep finding pages about Voyager, Deep Space Nine or Star Trek:
The Next Generation. Try a search like this:
star trek -voyager -deep -space -nine -next -generation
In general, the - symbol is helpful for focusing results when you
get too many that are unrelated to your topic. Simply begin subtracting
terms you know are not of interest, and you should get better results.
Using Quotation Marks To Multiply
Now that you know how to add and subtract terms, we can move on
to multiplication. As in normal math, multiplying terms through
a "phrase search" can be a much better way to get the
answers you are looking for.
For example, remember above when we wanted pages about reserving
a campsite in Yosemite? We entered all the terms like this:
+yosemite +camping +reservations
That brings back pages that have all those words on them, but there's
no guarantee that the words may necessarily be near each other.
You could get a page that mentions Yosemite in the opening paragraph
but then later talks about getting camping reservations in the Grand
Canyon. All the words you added together would appear on this page,
but it still might not be what you are looking for.
Doing a phrase search avoids this problem. This is where you tell
a search engine to give you pages where the terms appear in exactly
the order you specify. You do this by putting quotation marks around
the phrase, like this:
"yosemite camping reservations"
Now, only pages that have all the words and in the exact order
shown above will be listed. The answers should be much more on target
than with simple addition.
Likewise, remember this addition example?
+windows +98 +bugs
As you can imagine, multiplying the terms together within a phrase
search would work better, because that exact phrase probably appears
on good pages dealing with Windows 98 bugs. So try this:
"windows 98 bugs"
Remember the search for information about the latest Star Trek
movie? We could transform that into a phrase search like this:
"star trek insurrection"
But the movie's title actually has a colon after the word "trek,"
and many pages might also follow this format. Thus, a better phrase
search might be:
"star trek: insurrection"
Combining Symbols
Once you've mastered adding, subtracting and multiplying, you can
combine symbols to easily create targeted searches.
For example, remember the person who wanted pages only about Star
Trek's original series? We searched this way:
star trek -voyager -deep -space -nine -next -generation
A better search might use subtraction and multiplication:
"star trek" -voyager -"deep space nine"
-"next generation"
Where Does This Work?
Practically all of the major search engines support Search Engine
Math, and these are listed on the Search Features Chart. Some specific
issues involving particular search engines are described below:
AltaVista is a little unusual in that it has automatic phrase detection.
Thus, you shouldn't need to use the quotation marks -- although
you still can, if you prefer. You may also need to use the + symbol
within quotation marks at Google. See the Search Assistance Features
page for more information about phrase searching at AltaVista and
Google.
Snap, Lycos, MSN Search, Netscape Search and Yahoo are unusual
in that they are primarily directories, which are built by humans.
Editors list sites by category, and they usually give each site
a short description.
This means that when you search at a directory, you are first shown
matching web sites. After that, or if there are no matching web
sites at all, you are then shown matching web pages that come from
search engine listings. The Major Search Engines page explains this
in more detail.
You can still use Search Engine Math at directories, despite them
being slightly different from search engines that crawl the web.
Tell Me More!
The above tips are probably enough for the 90 percent of search
engine users out there. Still want more? Then see the Power
Searching For Anyone page, which introduces you to concepts
beyond the basics of search engine math.
As you begin using Search Engine Math, please let me know of good
successes you may have. I'd like to know what you were looking for
and how you found it. I'm compiling a page of search examples to
help others. Use the site's feedback
form to send me mail.
Originally From Searchenginewatch.com
(http://www.searchenginewatch.com/)
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