How Punctuation in Keywords Affects Google Results

atlant · 07-20-2008, 09:21 PM

Various punctuation characters have a noticeable impact on search results - mostly from a searcher perspective. As a webmaster, you may find that your users include punctuation in some keywords, and so it can be of use to know what the effect on the results they see is. And besides, knowing how to search Google is one step towards understanding how Google works. This is a spot check of the current handling of punctuation by Google.

Indexed punctuation

Key_word

Underscores are treated as a letter of the alphabet, which is why you can search for an underscore directly. Use underscores in content if your visitors include an underscore when searching (e.g. if you had a programming site).

Key&word

Ampersands or 'and symbols' have fairly unique handling. They're both indexed and also treated as the equivalent of word "and". If there are no spaces separating the symbol and the adjacent letters, the search results are an approximate equivalent of combining results for ["key and word"] and ["key & word"] (note the phrase matching). Use ampersands in copy as is natural for your target audience.

Explicit search operators

Many punctuation characters are explicit search operators, with a documented effect on results. Search operators are not indexed (or at least, they can't be searched for) and so are usually treated as word separators when found within website copy:

Key¦word

An (unbroken) pipe character is the equivalent of boolean OR: a search for [key OR word]. It can be a handy shortcut when conducting complex queries.

Key"word

A double quote triggers an exact or phrase search for the proceeding words (whether you include a closing double quote or not). So in this instance, it's the equivalent of a search for [key word] since a single word can't be a phrase. ["key word] is the same as searching for ["key word"].

Key*word

An asterisk is a wildcard search for zero or more words: [key ... word]. Putting numbers on both sides will trigger the calculator. Occasionally, Google delivers (strange!) results if you search for an asterisk directly.

Key~word

A tilde triggers Google's related word operator - in this instance, a search for both 'key' and 'word', as well as other words related to 'word' - like 'Microsoft', 'dictionary' and others.

Search operator oddities

Key-word

A hyphen (as is probably consistent with language use) returns a mix of results for the words both used separately, and joined together - somewhere between [key word] and [keyword]. It's the preferred word separator within website URLs, since other punctuation characters that are treated as a word-separator have specific functions within a URL.

Others

A few punctuation characters have a strange impact on results - returning far fewer results than for either separated or concatenated words. They are neither known search operators, or indexed characters. These are . / \ @ = :

As far as I'm, aware, all other punctuation characters are treated as simply a space or word separator.

So, do I have too much time on my hands? Probably. But why not confuse whoever looks at Google's search logs by
trying a few punctuation searches yourself?

Do you know any punctuation with an effect on results not discussed here, or more about the effect on results of the punctuation above?

Original source: How Punctuation in Keywords Affects Google Results

jalika · 07-21-2008, 04:19 PM

thankyou, nice article. For programing sites or if your visitor is using the punctuation in the keyword, its usefull otherwise....

Very good info.

seeandsee · 07-21-2008, 05:07 PM

Nice article !!!

Freedom · 07-21-2008, 05:43 PM

thanks for sharing

silentwhispers · 07-21-2008, 10:38 PM

I'm going to move this to the tutorial section

micho · 07-25-2008, 11:43 AM

nice article thanks!

Passionhole · 07-26-2008, 07:07 PM

Thank you for the information. Definately worth a read

Gasta · 07-26-2008, 10:55 PM

Really nice article ! Thanks atlant

darthsplitfoot · 07-28-2008, 06:10 AM

Very nice-this should be of interest to anyone into learning much about SEO

R-Team · 07-28-2008, 01:59 PM

very nice thanks

gedeon · 07-28-2008, 02:16 PM

The hyphen could do something - I always seeing TB blogs with hypens. (teen-sex-porn.thmblg.com etc). Interesting read, though.

07-20-2008, 09:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
atlant WWW.ASACP.ORG Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Belgrade / Serbia Posts: 4,503 Points: 125	How Punctuation in Keywords Affects Google Results Various punctuation characters have a noticeable impact on search results - mostly from a searcher perspective. As a webmaster, you may find that your users include punctuation in some keywords, and so it can be of use to know what the effect on the results they see is. And besides, knowing how to search Google is one step towards understanding how Google works. This is a spot check of the current handling of punctuation by Google. Indexed punctuation Key_word Underscores are treated as a letter of the alphabet, which is why you can search for an underscore directly. Use underscores in content if your visitors include an underscore when searching (e.g. if you had a programming site). Key&word Ampersands or 'and symbols' have fairly unique handling. They're both indexed and also treated as the equivalent of word "and". If there are no spaces separating the symbol and the adjacent letters, the search results are an approximate equivalent of combining results for ["key and word"] and ["key & word"] (note the phrase matching). Use ampersands in copy as is natural for your target audience. Explicit search operators Many punctuation characters are explicit search operators, with a documented effect on results. Search operators are not indexed (or at least, they can't be searched for) and so are usually treated as word separators when found within website copy: Key¦word An (unbroken) pipe character is the equivalent of boolean OR: a search for [key OR word]. It can be a handy shortcut when conducting complex queries. Key"word A double quote triggers an exact or phrase search for the proceeding words (whether you include a closing double quote or not). So in this instance, it's the equivalent of a search for [key word] since a single word can't be a phrase. ["key word] is the same as searching for ["key word"]. Keyword* An asterisk is a wildcard search for zero or more words: [key ... word]. Putting numbers on both sides will trigger the calculator. Occasionally, Google delivers (strange!) results if you search for an asterisk directly. Key~word A tilde triggers Google's related word operator - in this instance, a search for both 'key' and 'word', as well as other words related to 'word' - like 'Microsoft', 'dictionary' and others. Search operator oddities Key-word A hyphen (as is probably consistent with language use) returns a mix of results for the words both used separately, and joined together - somewhere between [key word] and [keyword]. It's the preferred word separator within website URLs, since other punctuation characters that are treated as a word-separator have specific functions within a URL. Others A few punctuation characters have a strange impact on results - returning far fewer results than for either separated or concatenated words. They are neither known search operators, or indexed characters. These are . / \ @ = : As far as I'm, aware, all other punctuation characters are treated as simply a space or word separator. So, do I have too much time on my hands? Probably. But why not confuse whoever looks at Google's search logs by trying a few punctuation searches yourself? Do you know any punctuation with an effect on results not discussed here, or more about the effect on results of the punctuation above? Original source: How Punctuation in Keywords Affects Google Results __________________ ADULT SEX CONTENT Celebrity link exchanges - ICQ: 308064364 \| Fight CP! \| Don't forget to label your sites!

07-21-2008, 04:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
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07-21-2008, 05:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
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07-21-2008, 05:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
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07-21-2008, 10:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
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07-25-2008, 11:43 AM	#6 (permalink)
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07-26-2008, 07:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
Passionhole Its not always sunny on sundays Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 302 Points: 1,480	Thank you for the information. Definately worth a read

07-26-2008, 10:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
Gasta Its not always sunny on sundays Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 370 Points: 45	Really nice article ! Thanks atlant

07-28-2008, 06:10 AM	#9 (permalink)
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07-28-2008, 01:59 PM	#10 (permalink)
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07-28-2008, 02:16 PM	#11 (permalink)
gedeon [ Hed Kandi lover ] Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Hungary Posts: 838 Points: 3,455	The hyphen could do something - I always seeing TB blogs with hypens. (teen-sex-porn.thmblg.com etc). Interesting read, though. __________________ ICQ: 379764547 Trade links with my sites!

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