What are the most common mistakes when using Boolean searches?

1 Wrong operators

One of the most basic errors is using the wrong operators or symbols to combine your keywords. For example, you might use a plus sign (+) instead of AND, or a comma (,) instead of OR. This can lead to confusing or inaccurate results, as search engines might interpret them differently or ignore them altogether. To avoid this, always use the standard Boolean operators: AND, OR, and NOT (or their equivalents: +, -, and !). You can also use parentheses () to group your terms and control the order of operations.

2 Too many terms

Another common mistake is using too many terms or keywords in your Boolean search. This can make your query too narrow or specific, and exclude potentially relevant results. For example, if you are looking for articles about SEO and social media, you might use a query like this:

SEO AND social media AND marketing AND strategy AND tips

This query will only return results that contain all five terms, which might be very few or none at all. To avoid this, you should use fewer terms and broaden your search with OR or modifiers. For example, you could use a query like this:

SEO AND (social media OR SMM) AND (marketing OR strategy OR tips)

This query will return results that contain SEO and either social media or SMM, and either marketing or strategy or tips. This way, you can capture more variations and synonyms of your keywords.

3 Missing modifiers

Modifiers are symbols or words that you can use to modify or refine your keywords. Some of the most common modifiers are quotation marks (" "), asterisks (*), and tilde (~). Quotation marks allow you to search for exact phrases or expressions, such as "search engine optimization". Asterisks allow you to search for wildcard or partial matches, such as optimiz*. Tilde allows you to search for related or similar terms, such as ~SEO. However, many people forget to use modifiers or use them incorrectly, which can affect the quality and relevance of their results. To avoid this, you should always check the syntax and rules of the modifiers for your specific search engine, and use them appropriately and consistently.

4 Wrong order

The order of your keywords and operators can also affect the outcome of your Boolean search. For example, if you use NOT before AND, you might get unexpected results. For example, if you use a query like this:

NOT SEO AND social media

You might expect to get results that exclude SEO and include social media. However, what you actually get is results that exclude both SEO and social media, because NOT applies to the whole expression after it. To avoid this, you should always use NOT after AND, or use parentheses to clarify your intention. For example, you could use a query like this:

(SEO NOT social media) OR (social media NOT SEO)

This query will return results that include either SEO or social media, but not both.

5 Wrong context

The last common mistake is using Boolean searches in the wrong context or for the wrong purpose. Boolean searches are not a magic bullet that can solve any research problem or answer any question. They are a tool that can help you narrow down or expand your search, but they also have some limitations and drawbacks. For example, Boolean searches cannot account for the quality, relevance, or authority of the sources. They also cannot handle complex or ambiguous queries, such as natural language questions or subjective opinions. To avoid this, you should always combine Boolean searches with other methods and criteria, such as filters, keywords, ratings, reviews, dates, domains, and so on. You should also always evaluate and verify the results that you get from Boolean searches, and not rely on them blindly or exclusively.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?