by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: August 09, 2010

Knowing precisely what one is looking for when researching is what keyword search is all about. Knowing the precise wording that will allow the search engines to pick up on the title and the meta description will further the possibility that one's article, title, or site, will be among the top three or four of selected offerings.

This sounds much easier than it is, however. Words are illusive and others that mean almost the same but have added connotations, are also subject to sway search engines away from the desired effect. In deciding upon which keywords are best, there are many considerations. These can be made into questions: Have I given sufficient thought to the best words or phrases that will give the best result? A good place to look for further information is a simple little site that advertises itself as

Common Sense media. This site has the future of students who are making cyberspace their curriculum choice. Up to now apparently keyword searching has been a hit or a miss affair, but no more. Their lesson plans are designed to be used by classrooms.

Therefore the first factor to consider when researching keywords are where to search to find the best information. And of course the best offer and the first factor to consider, is a no-nonsense approach to keywords. Knowing precisely how to use them will no longer be problematic when a few decisive factors are aligned properly. In their Research and Information Fluency section designed for online efficency they teach effective keyword searching, and of course, this starts with knowing precisely the best words to use.

The first consideration given when searching is understand how best to approach each type of search. Words make all the difference and these can be enhanced or diminished if one, as an example, are using the Boolean method research. Only three little words, and,or, or,  adds or takes away from the search effort. This is an older way of searching, and it is not the way of Google, but is used by the older search engines, Yahoo included.

When phrases are to be searched, enclose the phrase in quotation marks. This excludes anything else being added. Columbia University has an excellent article on how to effectively keyword search, and they offer examples of each type of search. On their chart they show the various means of getting the best information available by leaving nothing to chance. Question marks are often added to a word to give more meaning, or by use of field codes. These are often unknown by casual online searchers.

Field codes are ways of finding out the best keywords that relate to your article or text. letters  are added to keywords searches to get the best effect. To learn how to use these in selecting the best keyword for your searches look over the Columbia site. In addition, for large works where the specific words are confusing, consider using a guided keyword search.

A little comprehensive effort when looking for precise keywords will be well worth the effort when your article or web site gains top billing with the search engines. But beware of getting too comfortable with only one way of searching, others are coming into use and could be even more adept at fetching the needed information on keyword searching.

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