How search works on our website
Our website has a search box on the front page. You can also use the search icon at the top of the page, no matter where you are on the site.
When you type something into the search box, the site shows you the most useful results. It looks for the words you typed in:
- the title of the page
- the description
- the main content
- and any keywords we have added to help
There are also popular page buttons and a main menu to help you find what you need.
For example, if you search for “blue badge”, you will see pages like:
- Apply for or renew a Blue Badge
- Request a replacement Blue Badge
- Where you can park with a Blue Badge
These pages explain who can get a badge, how to apply, how much it costs and where you can park.
Custom search on our website
- We can hide pages so they don’t show up in our search.
- We can change how the results look.
- We can highlight important topics so they show up first.
- Auto complete settings
- Results sorting – by date and relevance
Making Our Web Pages Easy to Find
We want people to find our web pages quickly and easily. To help with this, we add extra information called metadata. This helps search engines like Google understand what each page is about.
What We Do
- Add useful information to every page, so search engines know what it is about.
- Keep page titles short – no longer than 50 to 60 letters. If they are too long, important words might get cut off in search results.
- Use keywords – these are the words people type when they search. We put the most important ones at the start of the title and description.
- Write clear page descriptions – we don’t repeat words or add confusing text. This helps the page show up higher in search results.
- Keep URLs short – long web addresses can make pages harder to find. We try to keep them under 60 letters.
- Avoid special symbols – things like © or ™ can confuse search engines. If we need to use them, we explain them in the text.
- Don’t change the web address when we update a page. This helps the page stay popular with search engines.
- Remove old pages that are not useful anymore. This helps people find the newest and most helpful information.
- Use Google Trends to see what people are searching for. Then we add those words to our pages to help them show up in search results.