Digital Citizenship copy 1

Search Engine Tips

1. Every word matters. Generally, all the words you enter will be searched for.
2. Capitalization doesn't matter. A search for [ new york times ] is the same as a search for [ New York Times ].
3. Most punctuation is ignored, including @#$%^&*()=+[]\ and other special characters.
4. Keep it simple. If you're looking for a particular company, just enter its name, or as much of its name as you can recall. If you're looking for a particular concept, place, or product, start with its name. If you're looking for a pizza restaurant, just enter pizza and the name of your town or your zip code.
5. Search for words that are most likely to be used. For example, instead of saying [ my head hurts ], use the term [ headache ], because that's the term a medical page will use.
6. Use key words. The question [ in what country are bats considered an omen of good luck? ] makes sense to you, but the page with the answer may not have those exact words. Instead, use the key words [ bats good luck ].
7. Use as few words as possible. Since every word is searched for, each extra word limits the number of web sites found. For example, [ weather cancun ] is a simple way to find the weather and is likely to give better results than the longer [ weather report for cancun mexico ].
8. Choose descriptive words. The more unique the word is, the better your results will be. Words that are not very descriptive, like 'document,' 'website,' 'company,' or 'info,' are usually not needed. Also, think of the word that most people use to describe what you're looking for, such as [ celebrity ringtones ] instead of [ celebrity sounds ].
9. Use quotes for phrases. This will find those exact words in that exact order.