Check
spelling
Make sure your search terms are spelled correctly.
The search engine will attempt to find words that sound similar your search terms, but it
is always best to try to spell the search terms correctly.
Use multiple words
Use multiple words when performing your search. The
search results will return more refined results from several words than from a single
word. For example, typing AOL instant messenger will yield more relevant results than typing only AOL. (Keep in mind, relevant results are returned even if they don't contain all
query terms.)
Use
appropriate capitalization
Capitalize proper nouns. Lowercase words will match any case. For example, typing space
will return all documents containing the words space, Space, and SPACE.
However, typing Space will only search for pages about outer Space.
Use
quotation marks
Use quotation marks to find words which must appear adjacent to each other, for example, "Space Access Society"
Otherwise, the search results will include the word Space,
Access and the word Society,
but not necessarily in that order. The words may appear anywhere, and in any order, within
the document.
Use
plus (+) or minus (-)
Use a plus sign when your search term or phrase must appear in the search results. Use a
minus sign to indicate undesirable term(s). The plus sign tells the search engine that a
certain word or phrase is required in the search results, and a minus sign indicates that
a word or phrase must be absent in the search results.
Note: A phrase must be contained within quotation marks. Leave no spaces between the plus
or minus sign and the term.
Example: larry niven - will find any page with LARRY or NIVEN. +larry +niven - will find
only pages with LARRY and NIVEN. +larry -niven - will find pages with LARRY, but not LARRY
and NIVEN