EF Search Tips - Getting better results -from the Admin

[Rick]

Our recent survey revealed a lot of frustration with our sites search engine.


New Google Search Box

Yesterday I found out about the "Google Custom Search" this is a bit different than the Google search box which was previously on the top of the page. I have found it to work VERY well so far and have been using it instead of the built in search.

The Google Search page has these two links on the bottom:

Search within results | Search Tips

There is a lot of good info on the Search Tips page, and Search Within results is VERY useful. Check it out

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Built in Search Engine


Click on "Search", then click "Advanced Search". Select "Search Titles Only" under the Keyword entry box.

By choosing "Search Titles Only" you will greatly narrow your search down to topics which are specific to your query. When you search through every post you end up with a lot of threads that have little to do with the subject you are interested in.


I hope this helps

 

[Rick]

Finding Users Near You

This was another request from the survey and it's something that has always been here.

To search for members near you,

Click on the "Members" link on the main toolbar near the top of the page.

Look for the "Search Members" link.

Click on "Advanced Search"

There ya go!!

 

[Premier]

I knew about the first but not the second, thats great!

 

[Tbars4]

cool....i too used the first one but yea, the second one will come in handy....thanks rick

 

[IZwack]

I'm not 100% sure exactly how the Google Custom Search works but just as an FYI, I think there might be some "lag" time in what the engine returns. For example, if I start a thread titled "watchamacallit" today, it will probably take a few days or some amount of time before that thread can be crawled and archived by Google. This is typically not an issue since most people are looking for information thats at least a few days/weeks old but just wanted to throw this out there as an FYI.

 

[Rick]

Good info Iz. Very true.

 

[DeRocha]

Finding Users Near You

This was another request from the survey and it's something that has always been here.

To search for members near you,

Click on the "Members" link on the main toolbar near the top of the page.

Look for the "Search Members" link.

Click on "Advanced Search"

There ya go!!

Yes I knew that and used it to build a db for Nex members.. The problem is that I have to eyeball 100s of members to weed out the ones with junk in the address fields.. I also have to search by state name and abbreviation so searching for 6 states worth of info can be a handful of hands on keyboard work.

 

[Rick]

An additional and important search tip starts when you title your threads. Make your thread titles as descriptive as possible. Not too long, just use the key words that describe the topic and if applicable, add the year as well.

This makes it much easier to find relevant info.