By default the search engine tries to locate pages which have exact matches for all of the words entered in your search query. If that fails, it then tries to locate pages which contain any words in your search query. If that happens a short message is displayed at the top of the search results indicating this has been done.

To get more specific search results on all of these sites, try using the following tips. In addition, there are several ways to modify the default search behavior.

1. Phrase search: The search engine supports three types of phrase search.
   1. * To match an exact phrase, use quotes around the phrase
      Example: "free search engine"
   2. * To match a near (within a couple of words) phrase, use square brackets [around the words]
      Example: [free search engine]
   3. * To match a far (within several words) phrase, use braces { around the words }
      Example: {free search engine}
2. + and - qualifiers
   1. If you prepend a word with + that word is required to be on the page.
   2. If you prepend a word with - that word is required to not be on the page.
   3. Example: +always -never
3. * wildcard
   If a query word ends with a * all words on a page which start the same way as that query word will match.
   Example: gift*
4. ? wildcard
   If a query word contains a ? any character will match that position.
   Example: b?g
5. Boolean search <
   You can use the following boolean operators in your search: AND, OR, NOT. These operators MUST be in capital letters. <
   Example: (contact AND us) OR (about AND us)

Search Tips

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. (Keep in mind, relevant results are returned even if they don't contain all query terms.)

Use similar words
The more similar words you use in a search, the more relevant results you will get back.

Use appropriate capitalization
Capitalize proper nouns. Lowercase words will match any case. For example, typing "search" will return all documents containing the words "search, Search," and "SEARCH". However, typing "Search" will only search for pages where the word appears in this exact form.

Use quotation marks
Use quotation marks to find words which must appear adjacent to each other, for example, "our pledge to you". Otherwise, the search results will include all documents that contain the word "our", "pledge", "to", and the word "you", 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:

Use field searches
Field searches allow you to create specific for words that appear in a specific part of a document. A field search can be performed on body text (body:), title text (title:), alt text (alt:), meta description (desc:), meta key words (keys:) or URL (url:). The field name should be in lowercase and immediately followed by a colon. There should be no spaces between the colon and the search term.

Note: The field searches can only be followed by a word or phrase. Phrases must be contained within quotation marks.

Example: