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Search Engine Math
By Danny Sullivan, Editor (October 26, 2001)

All most people need to know is a little basic "search engine math" in order to improve their results.

  1. Be Specific
    Tell the search engine exactly what you are looking for.

  2. Using The + Symbol to Add
    For pages that have all the words you enter. E.g. +windows +98 +bugs

  3. Using The - Symbol to Subtract
    Find pages that have one word on them but not another word. E.g. windows -98 -3.1

  4. Using Quotation Marks To Multiply
    Multiplying terms can be thought as "phrase search". E.g. "windows 98 bugs"

  5. Combining Symbols
    E.g. "star trek" -voyager -"deep space nine" -"next generation"


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