This command can be used to find a keyword that has two different meanings or associations. Google and Yahoo use a minus sign (-) in place of the command NOT. The boolean operator “NOT” allows you to search for one keyword while excluding another. The same goes for blogs and other website-specific features. If a site has a search glossary, you can add /search-glossary to narrow your search even more. Site:A search for the term “links” on this website, for instance, could be performed by typing: Simply type in “ site:” followed by the website’s URL: This command can be helpful when looking for a particular piece of content on a given website. The command “ site:” limits results to a specific website. Likewise, if you were looking for colleges, knowing you wanted to go to one in New England or in California, the following search may return the best results:īest Colleges in New England OR California The search will return articles about just silverware, just utensils, or both. If you wanted to buy new forks and spoons for your home, the following search may return the best results:
These are good for including synonyms of a word, phrase, or title. The boolean operator “OR” informs the search engine to return either (or both) keywords. Human resources AND Recruiting OR / keyword1 OR keyword2 If you wanted to research human resources, but more specifically their recruiting process, the following search may return the best results: By using this command, search engines should return fewer, but more relevant results. This allows you to search for two or more terms at the same time. The boolean operator “AND” informs the search engine that all keywords must be found in each SERP. It is then able to return much more efficient results - if you know what you’re doing. In other words, when you insert a boolean operator into a query, the search engine looks for certain logical relationships between your chosen keywords, depending on which operators are used. The word “boolean” itself denotes a system of algebraic notation. Otherwise thought of as shortcuts to better results, boolean operators are essentially just a way to tweak an algorithm. Whether you’re performing research for a school paper or for a client, these commands can come in handy. Understanding how boolean operators work is important for search engine optimization (SEO) specialists and non-specialists alike. Eliminating unwanted hits, these commands save time and effort. Either way, they help return search engine results pages (SERPs) that are more “in tune” with a searcher’s true intent. These commands combine or exclude keywords to expand or narrow a search. Searching elections NOT presidential will find resources on elections (local, Senate, etc.) but exclude information about presidential elections.Ĭaution: Be careful when using NOT! The term you want may be present in an important way in results that also contain the word you wish to avoid.Boolean operators are a set of commands used with search engines, databases, and online catalogs. Searching political action committee OR pac college OR university, corn OR maize using the OR operator will find resources with either term or both, giving more results. Searching elections AND contributors will find resources with both terms, giving you more specific results. Today, most databases automatically search for all the keywords you typed (AND), because it's the most common and useful way to narrow a search.īut you may find some advanced search forms will display a choice of operators, so that you can see them work, such as in the JEWL Search advanced search. Boolean operators tell the computer whether you want to: Keyword searches work with three basic operators, involving Boolean logic.