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To enter a query, type in a few descriptive words and click the search button for a list of relevant company profiles. Since the search engine only returns company profiles that contain all the words in your query, refining or narrowing your search is as simple as adding more words to the search terms you have already entered. Your new query will return a smaller subset of the pages the Connectory found for your original "too-broad" query.
Choosing Keywords
For best results, its important to choose your keywords wisely. Keep these tips in mind:
Try the obvious first. If you're looking for information on precision sheet metal fabricators enter "precision sheet metal" rather than "manufactures"
Use words likely to appear on a site with the information you want. "Aerospace fabrics" gets better results than "places near Los Angeles that make cloth like stuff for jets."
Make keywords as specific as possible. "Distrubuted information assurance" gets more relevant results than "high tech solutions".
Automatic "and" Queries
By default, the Connectory returns only pages that include all of your search terms. There is no need to include "and" between terms. Keep in mind that the order in whick the terms are typed will affect the search results. To restrict a search further, just include more terms. For example, to find a company that builds software applications etc., simply type:
Automatic Exclusion of Common Words
The Connectory ignores common words and characters such as "where" and "how", as well as certain single digits and single letters, because they tend to slow down your search without improving results. The search engine will indicate if a common word has been excluded by displaying details on the results page below the search box.
If a common word is essential to getting the results you want, you can include it by putting a "+" sign in front of it. (Be sure to include a space before the "+" sign.)
Another method for doing this is conducting a phrase search, which means putting quotation marks around two or more words. Common words in a phrase search (e.g., "where are you") are included in the search.
Capitalization
Connectory searches are NOT case sensitive. All letters, regardless of how you type them, will be understood as lower case.
Word Variations (Stemming)
To provide the most accurate results, the Connectory does not use "stemming" or support "wildcard" searches. In other words, the search engine searches on exactly the words that you enter in the search box. Searching for "book" or "book*" will not yeld "books" or "bookstore". If in doubt, try both forms: "computer" and "computers", for instance.
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