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Aardvark Help


Introduction
The Aardvark search engine helps you find Web pages in Africa and on the World Wide Web. We have documented different ways in which to search for a site on Aardvark. You tell Aardvark what you're looking for by typing in keywords or phrases in the search box. Aardvark responds by giving you a list of all the Web pages in our index, relating to those topics. The most relevant content will appear at the top of your results.

The Aardvark search box contains the following elements:-


The three Search Options:

The three round buttons above the search box are used to indicate where you would like to search. The default setting is African meaning that Aardvark will search all of Africa to find your results. Listed below are your different choices of searching:

  • African search: When you click on the Africa button you have selected to search for web sites on the African continent and our African directory.

  • Directory search: When you click on the Directory button you have selected to search our African directory for web sites.

  • Global search: When you click on the Global button you have selected to search web sites on the World Wide Web.

    Beginning a Search:

    1. Type the keyword(s) of the topic that what you are looking for in the search window.

    2. Use the buttons above the search window to indicate whether you want to search in Africa, the directory, or the World Wide Web. The default is Africa.

    3. Click on the Aardvark Search button to begin your search.



    Here's an example:

    1. Type the word Cars in the search box.

    2. Click on the Aardvark Search button or press the Enter key.

    3. The Results page will display numerous pages on the Web containing the keyword Cars.

    Searching for a Phrase:

    When Searching for Keywords like bicycle pump or a phrase, e.g. Book on the latest sports cars, you must NOT surround the keyword or phrase with inverted commas (ie. "Book on the latest sports cars" will not work as a search option).



    Here's an example of the correct method:

    1. Type the phrase Book on the latest sports cars in the search box.

    2. Click on the Aardvark Search button or press the Enter key.

    3. The Results page will display numerous pages on the Web containing information related to books about the latest sports cars.


    Does capitalization matter?

    Aardvark searches are not case sensitive. All letters, regardless of how you type them, will be understood as lower case. For example, searches for michael jackson, Michael Jackson, and MicHaEL jAcKsOn will all return the same results.



    Here's an example:

    1. Type MicHaEL jAcKsOn in the search box.

    2. Click on the Aardvark Search button or press the Enter key.

    3. The Results page will display numerous pages on the Web containing information related to Michael Jackson.


    Stop Words:

    Aardvark ignores common words and characters, known as stop words. Aardvark automatically disregards such terms as "where" and "how," as well as certain single digits and single letters, because these terms rarely help narrow a search, and can slow down searching significantly. Use the "+" sign to include stop words in your search. Be sure to include a space before the "+" sign. You can also include the "+" sign in phrase searches.



    Here's an example to search for Star Wars, Episode 1:

    1. Type Episode +1 in the search box.

    2. Click on the Aardvark Search button or press the Enter key.

    3. The Results page will display numerous pages on the Web containing information related to Episode 1

    Meta Tags

    A meta tag in your home page supplies the search engine with relevant information about your site, which makes it easier for searchers to find you.

    Meta Descriptions

    You can use the Meta Description tag to summarise the contents of each page. Many local and Web-wide search engines will display this as part of their results, so it provides you an opportunity to present the page in its best light. This is easier than it looks - you'll find that many of your pages can use very similar descriptions with just the specific topic words changed.

    Meta Keywords

    Keywords are also an important part of your pages. They allow search engines to identify the most important elements of the page and to rank the results so that the most relevant pages are at the top. You can also include common misspellings or other words that may not appear anywhere on the page. A good set of keywords encapsulates the specific topics the page covers. Use the example below to help set up your meta tags.

    If you are not sure how to create a meta tag for your site, click on the button below for our meta tag generator:





    Below is an example of how a meta tag could look when embedded in your website.

    <HTML>
    <HEAD>
    <TITLE>Add the title for your site in here>/TITLE>
    <META NAME="description" CONTENT="Add a description of your site in here">
    <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="keyword1, keyword2, keyword3">
    </HEAD>
    ...
    </HTML>
    Note: Replace the bold writing with your site's information.

    If you are using frames on your site, make sure to add the meta tags to the container page. If you require further information on meta tags, contact Aardvark's Webmaster at webmaster@aardvark.co.za


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