| In this digital age that we are all fortunate enough | | | | however, of adding too much in the way of |
| to live in, the search for your family history has | | | | unnecessary wording as this could have the |
| never been easier! There are numerous available | | | | undesired effect of excluding several useful sites. |
| websites that can aid you in your research; | | | | Consider this example. If searching for Roman |
| Google genealogy searches can bring you a | | | | Catholic Churches, you could search for "What |
| wealth of information in a short amount of time | | | | Roman Catholic Churches are located in Albany, |
| with little effort needed. However, to get the | | | | New York" or you could define your search as |
| most out of your Google search, there are a few | | | | "Roman Catholic Church Albany, New York". The |
| key points that you should keep in mind. | | | | first search will retrieve websites that contain the |
| - Keep it simple! When entering your search | | | | word "located"; however, the church you are |
| terms in to your search engine, keep your | | | | seeking might not have that word as a defining |
| wording simple and specific; try to avoid adding | | | | keyword to locate the website. By searching for |
| unnecessary wording. For example, if you are | | | | only the keywords likely to appear within the data |
| searching for the church where your ancestors | | | | that you seek, you will achieve more relevant |
| attended services, in the hopes of locating | | | | search results. |
| marriage and funeral records, try to avoid | | | | - More than just a name! Searching a surname via |
| searching for "churches in New York". The | | | | Google is likely to retrieve an overwhelming |
| number of results that Google retrieves for you | | | | number of results. Unfortunately, if the surname is |
| will leave you needing to sift through an enormous | | | | a common one, it is very likely that the bulk of |
| amount of useless information. | | | | the retrieved data will not pertain to the person |
| - Get specific! If you are searching for a church, | | | | you are searching for. Try to add additional |
| you should try searching by the denomination you | | | | defining search terms that will help you focus the |
| are searching for. If you know the city or county | | | | results on the person you are seeking. If you are |
| that the church is located in you should specify | | | | searching for a marriage record of an ancestor |
| those details. By entering search terms that are a | | | | with the last name of "Smith", consider adding |
| specific as possible, you will narrow down the list | | | | information like the name of the town they may |
| of results to items that are far more relevant. | | | | have been married in; alternatively, you could |
| - Think of keywords! Do a bit of careful thinking | | | | include the maiden name of the bride. |
| about the types of keywords that are likely to | | | | Google provides tutorials that can not only provide |
| appear within the data that you are searching for; | | | | you with a solid introduction to Google but can |
| the more key words and phrases that you include | | | | also help show you how to make full use of all |
| in your search the more you will be able to | | | | that the search engine has to offer. |
| narrow down the search results. Be mindful, | | | | |