Search Engine Optimization: For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Chapter BC. Bonus Chapter Search Techniques You Should Know

If you want to optimize your site in the search engines, it's important to understand how people search. I use Google for most of the examples in this bonus chapter because users perform 80 percent of all searches through Google or a Google partner. But other search engines work in a similar way. Most people do simple multiword searches by typing the words into the search box without any other kind of syntax. For instance, they might type rodent racing or rodent racing scores or rodent racing scores alabama.

This is a simple AND search. It tells Google to "find all the pages with the word rodent, and the word racing, and the word scores, and the word alabama." Nevertheless, you can search a number of other ways by using two basic techniques:

• Use Google's Advanced Search page. (Other search engines generally have advanced search pages, too.)

• Type the words into the search box by using a particular syntax.

Many people prefer to use the Advanced Search page, shown in Figure BC-1, because they don't have to mess with the syntax. I prefer to type commands directly from the Google toolbar, which is a little quicker. And to use some special commands, you have to use the typed command; you can't search from the Advanced Search page. (I show you how to download the Google toolbar in Chapter 1.)

Both of these advanced search techniques can be very useful. In Chapter 2, for instance, you use one of these techniques to find out which of ...