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Introduction

The Keyword Search field was recently upgraded to a full-fledged search of the Edinboro University website. While the keywords will still exist and provide access to your favorite pages on our website, searches will occur in both our keyword database and the web pages without any additional steps.

If you use keywords now, you may continue to use them. If you would like to search the University website for any word or phrase, simply enter it into the Search box, which has been renamed "Search" from the previous "Keyword Search". Your term will automatically be checked against both our keyword database and the content of the University web pages, with the results displayed for you by Keyword Results and Google Results. If you need additional information or instructions, click on the "About Keywords/Search" link that is now available below the Search box. You may need to refresh your browser window once to have this new feature loaded.

If you have any questions that this page does not answer, please contact the Technology Help Center at (814) 732-2111. We hope you enjoy this new website feature!



What are Keyword Results?

Keywords are words or phrases that lead you to a specific location within the Edinboro University website, or to a related, external website. We don't plan to have keywords for every single page in the Web Publication, but rather keywords that lead you to main pages, which should then allow you to easily find more specific information. This keeps the number of results smaller, and you can get where you want to go faster.

What are Google Results?

We use a service from Google called Google Custom Search Business Edition to generate a customized google search of just the Edinboro University Webpages. So, when you don't find exactly what your looking for in the Keyword Results, the Google Results will help to fill in the gap by displaying a full-site search.

Why use keywords instead of a 'normal' search?

As anyone who has used a major search engine knows, the number of results on a full-text search can be staggering. Sometimes the page you want is near the beginning of the list, and sometimes it can be found only after reading through many pages of somewhat relevant results.

Also, since the University does not run an internal search engine, the accuracy and ranking of a full-text search is not under our control.

We felt that if you search for Financial Aid on our website, you'd like to find yourself at the Financial Aid homepage, rather than seeing a listing of pages that make reference in one way or another to 'Financial Aid'. And if you search on Help, you would like to see a list of resources which can provide you with HELP -- be it the Technology & Communications Help Center or the Counseling & Psychological Services Department.

What is the list that drops down when I enter a keyword?

When you begin to enter a keyword in the search box, a list of matching keywords will be fetched from the system and displayed in a drop-down list under the search box. We felt that doing this would help get you to where you want to go quicker. If you see the keyword you are looking for in the list you can either click the item, or arrow down to it and press enter. If what you are looking for is not in the list, don't worry, there will also be full-text site search results along with the keyword matches. Simply type in your search term and press enter and you will see the matching keywords as well as any relevant full-text search results.

Who decides what keywords get added?

A group of individuals collaborate on web content and policies. You can submit a request for a keyword by submitting a Help Desk Call.

How can I see a list of existing keywords?

That's easy! In any keyword search field, simply enter List Keywords.

What if I want to do a 'normal' search of the University pages?

Just enter your search term into the keyword search. Any keyword matches will be shown, as well as any relevant full-text site search results.

What if the word or phrase I try doesn't give me what I want?

With the new Google Results, we hope that you will be able to find anything you are looking for. However, if you cannot find what you are looking for, you can always contact the Technology Help Center. They can assist you in finding what you are looking for.

What about groups of keywords?

As the number of keywords increased, we realized that having subgroups of keywords might be useful. For example, if you enter Forms: (be sure to include the colon- ':'), you'll see a list of online forms that have keywords assigned to them. You can also be more specific by including a keyword or phrase after Forms:, such as Student. If you do a 'regular' keyword search using the word Student, you'll receive a list of twenty or more partially matching keywords. However, if you use the search phrase Forms: Student, you'll receive a much shorter list containing online forms where 'student' is a part of the keyword or alias (such as the Student Vehicle Registration Form).

In addition to the 'main' keyword list, we have several groups of keywords -- Tools:, Forms:, and Users:.

Can individuals have keywords?

Similar to the Forms: subgroup mentioned above, there is also a Users: subgroup. You can submit a request to have your username added as a keyword under this subgroup.

We hope the Keyword Search system provides you a quick and easy way to navigate our website.