You can search inside specific forums using Google

Now respects directories in the site: operator

[BReflection]

Recently Google's site search started respecting directories within the site: operator. For example, site:webmasterworld.com [google.com] will search the entire website, but site:webmasterworld.com/forum92/ [google.com] will only search inside the Apache Web Server forum.

Others might find that useful and, if there was interest it would now be possible to change the site's search to include a "search inside this forum" option. This was not previously possible with Google. (you could do site:webmasterworld.com inurl:forum92 but it does not return as many results).

[mattglet]

I could be mistaken, but I've been using directories in my site: searches for a while. Is this really new, or am I imagining things?

[Brett_Tabke]

it is also easy to just add the forumXX number to the search query keyword.

[Robert Charlton]

it is also easy to just add the forumXX number to the search query keyword.

Is there a handy list of these somewhere?

[bill]

Is there a handy list of these somewhere?

Browser Side World

• HTML/Browsers - forum21
  
• CSS - forum83
  
• Javascript - forum91
  
• Flash/Shockwave - forum104
  
• XML Programming - forum26
  
• Graphics/Multimedia - forum36
  
• RSS Related - forum98

The WebmasterWorld

• Tracking/Logging - forum39
  
• Content/Copywriting - forum44
  
• Webmaster General - forum10
  
• Perl & CGI Scripting - forum13
  
• WYSIWYG/Editors - forum46
  
• PHP Scripting - forum88
  
• Ecommerce - forum22
  
• Apache Web Server - forum92
  
• New to Web - forum48
  
• Domain Names - forum25
  
• Professional Webmaster Business - forum31
  
• PDA/Mobile Devices - forum45
  
• Macintosh Webmaster - forum49
  
• Microsoft .Net/ASP - forum47
  
• Website Technology - forum23
  
• Forum Building - forum103
  
• Webmaster Hardware - forum105
  
• Linux/*nix OS - forum40
  
• Microsoft Windows OS - forum107

The YahooWorld

• Yahoo Search - forum35
  
• Yahoo Advertising Network - forum110
  
• Overture Pay Per Click - forum33

The MarketingWorld

• Link Development - forum12
  
• Cloaking - forum24
  
• Keyword Discussion - forum8
  
• SEM Research Topics - forum34
  
• Search Engine Promotion - forum5

The AdvertisingWorld

• Paid Inclusion Engines - forum1
  
• Advertising/Affiliate - forum20
  
• PPC Engines - forum85

The GoogleWorld

• Google News - forum30
  
• Google News Archive - forum3
  
• Google Toolbar/Desktop Search/API - forum80
  
• Google Business - forum86
  
• Google Adwords - forum81
  
• Google Adsense - forum89
  
• Froogle - forum96
  
• Gmail/Advertising - forum100

The SearchEngineWorld

• robots.txt - forum93
  
• AskJeeves - Teoma - forum2
  
• Alternative Engines - forum16
  
• Directories - forum17
  
• European SE's - forum18
  
• UK/Ireland SE's - forum7
  
• Asia/Pacific SE's - forum32
  
• MSN Search - forum97
  
• SE Spider Identification - forum11
  
• Local Search - forum108
  
• Latin/S. American SE's - forum111

LocalFora

• Community - forum19
  
• Foo - forum9
  
• Commercial Exchange - forum29

[Macguru]

Thanks bill!

Your a gem!

[Robert Charlton]

And it's in a perfect form for copying and pasting into the search box I've coded into the top of my WebmasterWorld page.

Thank you, Bill. :)

[bill]

Feel free to share your search-box code here Robert. I'm sure others would be interested in this option as well.

[Robert Charlton]

Feel free to share your search-box code here Robert. I'm sure others would be interested in this option as well.

bill - It turns out it's basically your search-box code from this thread...

Google search form on WW
[webmasterworld.com...]

Can't begin to tell you how many hours it's save me. Thank you for that one too.

I think my only addition was to add target="_blank" after the "...google.com/search" url so I can keep my place in WW while I'm searching.

I also put the code on my browser's local start page, but with the www radio input value checked rather than webmasterworld.com.

I'm thinking now about where to deploy your chart so it's handy when I need it. I'm guessing if I played around with it enough, the forum values probably could be incorporated into a pulldown... am not sure it would fit in the WW Control Panel's custom code insert, but it might work on my local start page.

Feel free to come up with something, though, before I get around to figuring it out. ;)

[limbo]

am not sure it would fit in the WW Control Panel's custom code insert, but it might work on my local start page.

I used an Iframe for this, would that work?

[Yidaki]

> it is also easy to just add the forumXX number to the search query keyword.

If we would have/use the current url var in the custom code field, we could make an option "search this forum" ...

[Receptional Andy]

Although javascript isn't my thing, something like

<SCRIPT type="text/JavaScript">var myloc = window.location.href;var marray = myloc.split("/");var forum=marray[3];</script>

To get the current directory/forum, although you'd obviously get strange results in you weren't in a forum directory ;)

You could then write this in javascript as a form field. Something like

<form method=GET action="http://google.com/search"><input type=hidden name=domains value="webmasterworld.com"><input TYPE=text name=q size=25 value><input type=submit name=btnG value=Google><input type=radio name=sitesearch value="" checked> webmasterworld.com <SCRIPT type="text/JavaScript">var myloc = window.location.href;var marray = myloc.split("/");document.write('<input type=radio name=sitesearch value=http://www.webmasterworld.com/'+marray[3]+'> current forum')</script></form>

The code above is pretty messy :P If I get a chance to write something better today I'll post it here.

[Receptional Andy]

Here's a slightly better version of the searchbox above (which allows searching of the current forum, if you're in one). Don't know if it's of use to anyone but anyhoo ;)

<center><form method=get action="http://google.com/search"><input type=hidden name=domains value="webmasterworld.com"><input name=q><input type=submit value=google><input type=radio name=sitesearch value='webmasterworld.com' checked>webmasterworld.com <script type="text/javascript">s="webmasterworld.com/";m=window.location.href;ma=m.split("/");c=ma[3];if(c.indexOf("forum")!=-1){c=s+c;document.write('<input type=radio name=sitesearch value='+c+'>this forum');}else{c=s};</script></form></center>

Fitting it all into the character limit is a bit of a challenge too, especially with my dubious javascript skills :P