How do I get useful search results?

Some quick hints about how to get better results from searches. Most of the major search engines support these features:

Be Specific

The more specific your search is, the more likely you will find what you want. Try to enter two or three search terms and pick words that are unique to your search.

For example, if you want information about Windows NT bugs, search for "Windows NT bugs," not "Windows." Or even better, search for exactly what the problem is: "Can't install fonts in Windows NT". You'll be surprised at how often this works.

Using the plus symbol to add search terms

You might 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 Windows NT and bugs on the same page. You could search for:

+windows +NT +bugs

This search finds pages that have all three of the words on them, helpful if you wanted to narrow down a search to Windows NT bugs, rather than on Windows in general.

The + symbol is especially helpful when you do a search and then find yourself overwhelmed with information.

Using the minus symbol to remove search terms

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, you want to look for information specifically about Windows NT but keep getting pages about Windows 98 or Windows 95. You could eliminate them with a search like this:

windows -98 -3.1

That tells the search engine to find pages that mention "windows" and then to remove any of them that also mention "98" or "3.1"

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 search for a phrase

A "phrase search" can be a much better way to get the answers you are looking for.

For example, if you want to search for how to make hotel reservations in Yosemite and you enter all the terms like this:

+yosemite +hotel +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 hotel 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 hotel 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:

"windows NT bugs"

Putting the terms together in a phrase search should work better, because that exact phrase probably appears on useful pages dealing with Windows NT bugs.