Why do I get results unrelated to my search?
There are several reasons your query may be returning results that are
unrelated to your search.
1. Your search query may be too broad. Try using multiple words in your
query, like "Beatles song lyrics White Album." You can also narrow your
search using the detailed search page, by clicking "More Search Features"
on the HotBot frontdoor.
2. Your search phrase may include stopwords. Stopwords are common
words, such as "and," "the," and "HTML," that HotBot does not index. They
act like wild cards, even if they are included in an "Exact Phrase"
search, and pull up results that appear to have little or nothing to do
with your search. The best way to see if your search phrase includes a
stopword is to submit searches with each individual word. If your search
yields no results, then you know you have stumbled across a stopword and
must rephrase your query.
3. Although HotBot recognizes and penalizes most sites that have
attempted to "spoof" the engine, there are always a few that slip through
the cracks. The best way to eliminate these results is to click on the
"More Search Features" button and use the "Word Filter" to eliminate a few
common terms that appear in these unwanted pages.
You can also instruct HotBot to exclude domains that you do not want
showing up in your results. Simply use the "Location/Domain" field and
insert a "-" symbol before each of the domains that you want to eliminate
from your search.
Common Questions
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