On suchen.expert, there are two different search situations: the global search from the home page and a search on a search or results page. You use the search field for both, but they differ in the area they search. The page from which you start the search is therefore crucial.
What does ‘global search’ mean?
The global search is started from the home page. It can include relevant content from different types and categories on the platform. Use this search if you want a broad overview or do not yet know which type contains suitable content.
With a term such as ‘key’, for example, content from different areas may therefore be considered. The results that actually appear depend on the adverts currently available and the information they contain.
What does searching on a search or results page mean?
As soon as you are on a search or results page within a type, only the type that is currently open is searched. In the ‘Found’ type, the search includes only content from ‘Found’. In the ‘Marketplace’ type, it includes only content from ‘Marketplace’.
The term you enter can be the same as in the global search, but the search scope is smaller. The number and composition of the results can therefore differ considerably.
Categories and filters do not change the type
A category and other available filters narrow the results within the current type. They do not extend the search to other types. If you remove a category or filter, the set of results becomes broader again only within the open type.
This point is important: removing all categories and filters does not turn a results search into a global search. If you want to include different types again, return to the home page and start a new global search there.
How to change the search scope
Choose the next step according to your objective:
- To search across different types, go to the home page and start the global search there.
- To search within a specific type, first open the type you want and then search there.
- To search a different type, leave the previous search area, open the new type and enter the search term there again.
- To get more results in the same type, remove a category or an additional filter one at a time.
- To get more precise results in the same type, choose a suitable category or add a distinctive detail to the search term.
Opening a different type is a deliberate change of search scope. Simply changing categories or filters within the previous results does not replace this step.
Example: searching for ‘BMW’
If you start a search for ‘BMW’ from the home page, relevant content from different types and categories may be included. This starting point is useful if you first want to see which areas contain content relating to this term.
If, by contrast, you first open ‘Marketplace’ and search for ‘BMW’ there, the search remains restricted to the Marketplace. A category selected there can narrow the results further. If you remove that category again, you will see a broader selection from the Marketplace, but still no results from other types.
If you then want to check the same term in the ‘Found’ type, you must open ‘Found’ and start the search there again.
Example: lost or found item
If you have lost an item, you can first search globally for its name from the home page. For a targeted search for a matching found-item report, then open ‘Found’ and enter the term there again. If you have found an item and are looking for the corresponding lost-item report, open ‘Lost’ instead.
The targeted searches in ‘Found’ and ‘Lost’ are not automatically combined. Each results page includes only its current type. If another type needs to be checked, it must be opened and searched separately.
Why does the same term show different results?
If the same search term produces different results in two places, first check the starting point and the type that is open. The difference is often that one search was run globally from the home page and the other within a single type. Categories or other filters can also narrow the results within that type further.
Carry out the check in this order:
- Was the search started from the home page or from a search or results page?
- Which type is currently open?
- Is a category selected?
- Are any other filters applied?
- Is the search term perhaps too narrow or worded differently from suitable adverts?
This check helps you understand the current search scope. However, it does not guarantee that a suitable advert is available.
Which search should I use?
Use the global search as a broad starting point if you do not know which type is appropriate or if several areas need to be considered. Search within a type if your objective is already clear and you want to see results only from that area. Then choose categories and other filters to narrow the open type step by step.
The basics of searching on Suchen Expert provides general guidance. You can find advice on selecting the area in Improve search results: Selecting the right type and category.
