Search Engine Savvy - Tips For Your Genealogy Search
December 1st, 2008

You will find soon enough that search engines on the internet can be a powerful tool in your search for family history. Because most of them have such an enormous index of information, searches for surnames and family names can result in useful information. You see, search engines get their indexes from "spiders" that explore websites and index words that are in the pages. They are doing this constantly and thus will be able to help you find the information about your family you are looking for, hopefully.

There are drawbacks to using a search engine for your search. The same thing that makes them great can also make them a source of a lot of frustration for you as you trace your family's genealogy. There are so many results that are possible when using a search engine that there is no way you can figure out which sites are good ones for what you need and which are not. So unless you enjoy having to search on hundreds of thousands of links yourself, you can find search engines to be as frustrating as anything. Here are a few tips, though, to making your search engine search a positive experience as you put together a family tree.

The first step in using a search engine to its fullest potential with your genealogical search is to know your search engine math. The math refers to the use of two operators: add (+) and subtract (-). Proper use of these symbols in a search engine can make your search much easier. Most search engines support them and they are much easier for most people to learn or keep track of than the traditional "Boolean" operators, like AND, NOT, and OR. When you use the + symbol you are telling the search engine to find sites or pages that include each word connected by the symbol. If you use the - symbol, you will be telling the engine to look for sites with the first word, but not for sites with any words following the symbol.

Another valuable search engine technique is the use of wild card searches. Wild card searches are those that allow you to enter a certain character (can be a % or * in many cases) in order to expand your search to plurals and spelling variations of the word. Many names are spelled a number of ways, and in fact many families were very loose with how they spelled their names if you go back a few generations. If you are able to effectively use wild card searches then you will be able to include these variations and find everything you need. You will also save yourself time by not having to search each and every spelling of every surname for which you are searching.

Once you have wild card and search engine math down pat, then you can start to narrow your searches other ways. First, consider including given names with surnames in order to get more specific hits. Looking up Fred Murray is bound to get you more pertinent sites than just searching Murray. Also, try looking at searching for names in your family that are not as common. This will help you to narrow your search even further. In addition to using given names with surnames, try including place names. If you look for your family name, a given name, and then where that person was born you are much more likely to have a return on your search that will help you than you are if you do not specify. You may find a number of returns that are not of the person you are looking for, whereas if you use a place you are much more likely to find out what that person did in that area and thus have more information.

Using search engines can be a great way to get your genealogy search going. The massive amount of information available through websites, though, can make using them somewhat daunting. To make them more useable and focused, try centering your searches with some of the tips above. Learn your search engine math and understand how to narrow a search when you use it. Before you know it, you will be a search engine wiz

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