1. Enter synonyms, alternate spellings and alternate forms (e.g. dance, dancing, dances) for your search terms.

2. Enter all the singular or unique terms which are likely to be included in the document or site you are seeking.

3. Avoid using very common terms (e.g. Internet, people) which may lead to a preponderance of irrelevant search results.

4. Determine how your search engine uses capitals and plurals, and enter capitalized or plural forms of your search words if appropriate.

5. Use a phrase or proper name if possible to narrow your search and therefore retrieve more relevant results (unless you want a large number of results)

6. Use multiple operators (e.g. AND, NOT) if a search engine allows you to do so.

7 If you receive too many results, refine and improve your search. (After perusing the results, you may become aware of how to use NOT - e.g. Boston AND hockey AND NOT Bruins.)