Almost everyone has had frustrations with online forums when looking for one thread they remembered reading but couldn't find for a second time. I wanted to mention several fast ways to search this site for information that you may not know about because you don't use these methods on a regular basis.



Tip #1: Use Google to search only this site

For me, I very rarely use our built-in search. It will just never be as smart or quick as Google's algorithm as they dump millions of dollars on a monthly basis into improving their search results. So what I do is leverage their engine but still limit it to searching this site. You can do that by going into their advanced search settings but the quicker way is to just type "site:6x6world.com" without the quotes in Google and then type the keywords you are searching for after that. So, for example, if I am looking for my mid-engine Max IV thread I would go to google and type this "site:6x6world.com mid engine max iv" without the quotes. Here are the results: https://www.google.com/search?q=site...+engine+max+iv

This works with any site that you specify and is a great tool for finding what you are looking for. Here is a link to Google for you to try for yourself. Just type the keywords after the .com : Search 6x6 World


Tip #1.5 Use advanced search criteria.

I linked to Google's advanced search settings above but I wanted to point out some of the more common tools used.

Search for exact phrases: If you are searching for an exact phrase such as Buffalo Truck then put quotes around the keywords. Searching for "Buffalo Truck" with the quotes will only return results from threads containing both words in series. You will not get threads that contain the word buffalo or truck separately.

Rule out keywords: If you want to keep a certain keyword out of the search results use the minus sign in front of the keyword. So, for example, if you are searching for a transmission but don't want to see results about T20s then search for "transmission -T20" without the quotes.

Search by date: If you know the thread that you are looking for was posted within the last year then limit your search results to the last year in Google's advanced settings.



Tip #2 Search Thread Titles Only

If I am using the built-in search here on the site I will often only search the thread titles by using the Advanced Search and choosing "Search Titles Only" beside the Keywords input box instead of searching all posts. This will really limit the results so I keep the keywords as short and specific as possible. For instance, instead of searching all posts for new argo titan I will only search thread titles for titan.



Tip #3 Search by Member

If I know that a certain member made a post that I am searching for, I typically just use the site's built-in search and use the Advanced Search again but specify a user name. That limits the results to that member's posts.



Tip #4 Search by Forum

If I know that a thread was most likely located in one of a couple of forums then I choose to search posts only in those forums. For example, if I am looking for information about a T20 in my Max II then I am most likely going to find it in the Max forum or the transmission forum so I will go to the single content section of the Advanced Search and specify the Max and Transmission forums by holding down command (mac) or control (PC) and clicking on the forums I want to search.




I hope these help some of you that may not be very familiar with searching the forums or any other site. There are tons of ways to search for the information you are looking for so feel free to explore the advanced search options here and on Google to see what works best for you.