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Typing exactly what you want in the search box and also using special characters like + and - can really help narrow your search.
Unless you narrow your search you'll get swamped by thousands of irrelevant results - and maybe miss the link to the site you do want!
For example, if you type in 'cinema' on Google you'll be given over seven million results!
The best tip to getting good results from search engines is to know what you want.
Know what you want
Before you type anything in the search box ask yourself, 'What am I looking for?'. The internet is a big place with billions of pages so don't be too general!
Think to yourself, 'What do I want exactly?' This is the first step to successful searching.
If you are very new to searching, you could even write it down on a piece of paper before you started.
Keep it simple
So let's say you want to go to cinema in Brixton just type exactly what you want - don't add any waffle. So, in your search box, just type:
Cinema Brixton Don't type:
Where can I find a good cinema in Brixton?
The trick is to only use nouns - words which are places, people or things and strip out verbs and common words like 'find', 'good', 'I' or 'can'.
If you find it tricky just remember keep it simple!
Two to Six
Aim for between two and six keywords in each search. If you just put in one word you'll end up with far too many searches. If you put in too many you may not find any results at all.
Try and put the most important words first. So, for example, if you are looking for information on a creche for your child near Birmingham type 'creche Birmingham'.
Many search engines expect the first word you write to be the most important.
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