ever created. You can type just about any darn
thing into it and get good results. Sometimes you
can even get away with sloppy spelling. Google
often catches the misspelled word and suggests
the correct spelling.
The golden rule for Internet searching is that more
keywords deliver fewer results. So pile them on to
narrow your search. With that technique, however,
you run the risk of having conflicting or unclear
keywords, creating a mixed bag of search results.
Ideally, you want to concisely convey to Google
what you need. I’ve found that two is the golden
number of keywords to use in Google searches. At
my Web sites, the tracking software tells me which
search queries get to my pages, and invariably the
two-word strings reach my best stuff.
On the other hand, many people get good results by
typing entire sentences or questions in the keyword
box. Google always eliminates certain little words
such as whatand why,which might seem to
devalue questions but doesn’t in practice.
Beware of words that have more than one mean-ing, especially if you search for one keyword at a
time. For example, a search for bridgeyields Web
sites about a card game, a supportive structure,
and dental work.
For power searching, in which the goal is not more
results but fewer, better results, use the Advanced
Search pages or the search operators, both of
which I describe later in this chapter