April 15, 2008
Improve Search Engine Results - 5 Specific Tips
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Improve Search Engine Results: 5 Specific Tips
- by Jim Edwards
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The search engines supposedly make our online lives easier by helping us find what we need, right? Well, if that’s true, why do as many as half of all queries made in the major search engines come back with results users rate as “unhelpful” at best?
In the end, search engines are simply software.
Whatever you put in determines what comes out. The better you get at telling the search engines what to give you, the more often you won’t get disappointed. When it comes to the great “info-vending machines” in the sky like Google and Yahoo!, how you enter your search terms counts as much or more than the terms themselves.
Avoid Single Keywords
Searching for a single keyword rates about as productive as trying to pick out a single grain of sand on a mile-long stretch of beach. Need a copy of Lincoln’s most famous speech? Searching for Abraham on Google will give you over 44 million pages to comb through (grab your coffee) on everyone from the prophet, to the president, to a pool guy in Toledo.
Searching for Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg Address speech on Google and you’ll find exactly what you need. When you want to find something, the more specific you get, the better your chances of finding it with least hassle.
Use “Quotes”
When your search results absolutely must contain a certain phrase, put quotes (“”) around it to tell the search engines to only return pages containing that exact phrase. A search for Firefox extensions will return all the pages that contain everything from the software you want to information about hair extensions.
In Google, simply by searching “Firefox extensions” in quotes, you eliminate half of results you might otherwise have to sort. Simply putting your search phrases in quotes will cut down massively on wasted time.
Use -, AND, OR
If you want the search engines to return results without a specific term, use the “-” sign to exclude the word or phrase. For example, a search for Revolutionary War generals -George would finally allow the other military leaders from 1776 to get some press.
If you want to give a logical choice for a search, then inputting “OR” between two words will find both iterations. For example, a search for Firefox extensions OR add-ons will net you both extensions and add-ons for the popular web browser. Finally, use “AND” to make sure the search engine returns results that contain all of the terms you enter.
For example, Firefox extensions free yields much less targeted results than Firefox extensions AND free. If you want even more targeted results, try combining techniques. A search for “Firefox extensions” AND free yields even more targeted results.
Proper Grammar Please
Capitalizing proper names and nouns will yield different results on almost any search. For example, searches for George Washington vs george washington will give you different results to sort.
Alternate Spellings
Like it or not, different people and cultures spell differently. On a recent trip to England I realized that a good portion of the English-speaking world buys “tyres” for their cars instead of “tires.” Online searches containing these two terms yield very different sites, but take you to the exact same types of products and services.
Overall, search engines like Google represent some of the most powerful research tools available online – and they’re all free! When searching for something, don’t get locked into just one search term, but try to approach it from various angles to find what you need. The better you get at telling search engines what you want, the better results you’ll receive in return.
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Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
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26 Comments »
April 15, 2008
Wes and Kathy :
Thanks Jim,
While I already knew about most of these, I hadn’t done much about the alternate spellings at all. This was a great reminder… especially since I deal a lot with European clients.
Love this Business BLOG… Keep them coming,
Wes
Free Business Training
John Marshall :
Jim,
Great tips! Especially the one with the “-” sign & using “and/or”. I knew about the quotes but had not considered the other tricks to narrow down the search.
Thanks
Fred :
Good worthwhile tips everyone should know. Now I do. Thanks,
Fred
JRogers :
Jimmy,
Much is taken for granite in this age of computer gurus and geeks, Simplicity seems to be something of the past but your article(s) brought reality back home with me.
Telling me to simply put quotes (“”) around whatever, being more “descriptive” in my request on the Engines, “Anding” the breath of my search, Capitalizing, and Anglizing my Word approach is so cool when I’m search terming.
Yes, I have taken this for granite. Thanks for taking me by the feet and pulling me back into the real world. This will personally help me perform better and offer more to my readers.
Thanks, J Rogers http://1stopdoctor.com
John Hillage :
Good point on grammar I did not think about that.
Thanks for another great article.
John Hillage
Chris s. :
Good tips I was already aware of couple(but had forgotten them) but the rest was worth it.
Harry Singh :
Very useful advice. Thanks.
Geoff The Kids Beds Expert :
Hey Jim,
I had totally forgotten about the and/or scenario. I just tried this in the last few minutes and I was amazed at how more accurate the search results were. Thanks once again.
Geoff
Jack :
Well, you may have taken it for granted, but I really doubt you took it for granite.
Sally :
Nice Post Jim, I actually learned a few good helpful tips, Sally
Sharon :
Hi Jim
Just in the process of modifying some of my keywords, so your advice was very useful.
Thanks
Best Web Hosrting Company :
My home page is set to google advance search. You don’t need all those boolean operators in that case. Still, good info
April 16, 2008
Su :
My first thought when I read this blog was: But everybody knows this! Then I realized… many of us in this line reach a point when we think everybody knows what we know, that we don’t bother to explain what to us is obvious.
A good reminder that we sometimes need to get back to basics.
Harjit Irani of http://www.auctionsinaction.com :
Wow Jim. That is a lot of good information to use. Thanks so much.
Abi :
Thanks for the tips Jim.
Your tips will be handy, especially late at night (when I’m likely to be already tired and fraustrated) AND searching Google for information I need to complete an article:-)
Yes, in England, thankfully, we spell tyres with a y:-).
Abi
Cat Lovers Toys :
The capital letters/proper noun scenario really helped out a lot. I tried both ways, and theres no question that this filters better results…
mike johnson :
Jim Edwards gives alot of very useful information on doing your searches on the internet, such as using the words “and”, “or” and using the proper grammar to pin point your results using online search engines. Very good important info especially for people that aren’t that familiar with using the internet. (Mike Johnson with www.mikescashnow.com)
Rick :
Great suggestions, I read alot about SEO methods and I have to say, I’ve not seen these before. I’m always looking for that additional edge, so if you can come up with any more, please send them our way. Thanks for the help!
Julie :
Just as you use the (-) sign you can also use the (+)sign rather than (AND). I’m rather fond of this for finding forums - such as - acne+forum or “green energy”+forum. Great advice here, thanks. I too didn’t know about the capitals trick.
Jason Berkes :
Great information Jim, as always.
Thanks
Jason Berkes
April 17, 2008
Prince HADY SAMADY :
Hello Mr. Edwards ,
Thank YOU so much for all YOUR Kindly E-mails to me.
They are all Helpful and I use YOUR Comments.
Best Regards ,
Prince HADY SAMADY
April 18, 2008
Bette Carmer :
As usual Jim, your article is direct and to the point.
From an ex-student who could only turn on a computer not use one, you taught me everything I needed to know to begin my internet marketing education.
Your direct and clear instructions are always appreciated.
Thanks,
Bette
Ryan Pitz :
Jim,
Great tips. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of good keywords by not thinking about all of the items mentioned here. I’m going back to my SEO and SEM strategy now to make changes.
BTW - did you know you can measure exactly how many phone calls come from each individual keyword combination?
I’m going to implement what you’ve listed here tag each new keyword set with a call measurement number and see how many calls I get.
Thanks Jim.
Ryan Pitz
Ayo :
Sound advice. Incredibly useful.
April 19, 2008
Joi :
Great advice! I had absolutely NO idea capitalizing made a difference. Makes me wonder how much information I’d been missing out on.
April 27, 2008
Franklin :
Good tips for search