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Using Search Engines More Effectively - Finding Hidden Gems by Chris Krawczyk

Many of us will remember when the internet first started. Search engines back then were largely hit and miss. Sometimes you found what you were looking for, sometimes you didn't. More often than not the most innocent searches somehow yielded results riddled with pornography. Fortunately, and thanks largely to Google, those days are now gone. Today, for the most part, you can pretty quickly find what you're looking for without all the junk.

The problem today is not one of accuracy, it is one of scope. There are countless millions of websites out there and search engines can only present you with the results that they deem to be the most relevant to your search. The problem is that "relevancy" is largely correlated with "popularity" and hence it is often dominated by large commercial sites. This can leave millions of smaller sites buried within the results.

This article is not about how to find the LDS database or Cyndi's List (both very valuable resources). It is about helping you to find the hidden gems buried in the millions of websites out there. It is about helping you to narrow your searches and find specific things. How do you do that? By changing how you enter the searches themselves. Despite all their algorithms and logic, search engines are only as good as the search terms entered.

Our journey will follow someone searching for the genealogy of the Wilson family. Let's get started. Start by using FamilyHistorySearch (or Google which powers FamilyHistorySearch) and try searching for genealogy. You see results 1 to 10 out of 2.59 Million pages. That means Google sees 2.59 million pages out there containing the word genealogy. Wow. Keep in mind that the internet is constantly changing, so don't be upset if you see different numbers.

Now, the results 1 to 10 of 2.59 million are great if you're searching for generic large scale genealogy sites. But it doesn't do much for our Wilson researchers other than giving them the normal large sites to search (and often pay).

Let's try another example. Search for help me find out about the wilson family. The search yields 2.08 Million pages and results that are not very topical at all. You are actually worse off than the search for genealogy. This is an example of a very poor search.

Now try searching for wilson family genealogy. Now the results are much more topical and there are only 155,000 pages. What's the difference between the last two searches? Conciseness. Search engines use words and math to predict what you're looking for. Avoid long phrases with extra words. Use three or four words - all of which are nouns ideally - that list characteristics of what you are looking for. Wherever you can use proper nouns. Also, with Google, remember that searches are case insensitive - so capitalization doesn't matter.

This brings us to the next example. Search for genealogy wilson family this time. The results actually fall to 134,000 pages. But why are the results different? The answer is that search engines put more weight on the first words of the search string.

Now search for "wilson family genealogy" (use the quotes) and watch what happens - the results fall to 239 pages. Amazing, much more manageable, and relevant. Using the quotes tells the search engine only to show you pages containing the specific phrase. This is how I like to do my searches. You will still notice some sites trying to sell you things. However I'd bet that in those 239 pages there is an awful lot of good information.

Another thing to remember is that, while there is a fundamental difference between genealogy and family history, to most people the two are synonymous. This is important to remember when you do your searches. You might also want to search for the phrase "wilson family history" - now you have another 306 sites to explore.

Next month we'll discuss some advanced techniques for refining your searches even further. That being said, for the most part, quotes are all you need. Just remember to try different phrases and you'll do fine. Think of unique phrases that you would use if building a website on the subject you are researching - and search for those. It generally works like a charm.

Until next month, good luck, and good searching.

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