You use keywords and key phrases every time you search for information on the Internet. Both keywords and key phrases are types of search terms. Search terms are used to search databases or search engines for information. Search engines are actually just databases that contain information about all of the websites they have previously examined (or indexed) but we don't usually think of them that way.
A keyword is a single word that is used to search a database or search engine for information on a topic. A key phrase is a combination of words that are used to make a search. Key phrases add more information to the search and narrow the results.
Searching for mountain will give you many more results than searching for European mountain ranges. However, if you are specifically looking for information related to the European mountain ranges, then the second example will give you more useful results.
When you enter a search term into a database or search engine, it searches its collection of books, documents, or websites for the words you entered or words related to the words you entered. Then it creates a list of results for you to browse. As mentioned previously, key phrases give narrower, more useful results.
You can create a combination of keywords and key phrases using a Boolean search. Boolean searches can help you find the the very best results for your needs. Learn more about Boolean searches on the next page of this guide.
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