Search tips

Have you kept it simple?

Every word in a search enquiry is used by the search engine, so the simpler the better. If you're looking for a particular TV programme you should use the TV search on What's on TV. Just enter its name into the search and nothing else.

Can you use more specific words?

The more descriptive you can be in your search, the more likely you are to be successful and find what you are looking for.  Avoid generic terms in your search.  For example, you will be more successful searching for "activate audio description" rather than just "audio description".

Is your spelling correct?

Have you checked the spelling of your search term?  If it's spelt incorrectly then the search engine will struggle to find what you are looking for.

Are there are alternative terms?

Are there different ways of saying the same thing in your search term?  Is there a widely used acronym to describe your search term, for example TV instead of television?

FAQ Search Tips

The key thing:

The FAQ search looks for FAQs that contain the words used in your search query. The more times these keywords appear in a particular FAQ, the higher up in the results listing it will be. Try to select the keyword or words that you feel best describe your question. For example if you wanted to know how to receive correspondence in an alternative format, keywords to use could include "alternative format" and "correspondence".

I don’t get any results:

Perhaps you’re being too specific about what you're searching for, or using too many keywords. If you use fewer keywords that can often return more results. More general keywords can often help too (for example, use remote control instead of Sky+ controller).

I still don’t get any results:

It may be that nobody has asked us a question about what you're searching for before. If you contact us we’ll do our best to answer your question (and if it’s useful to other people we’ll put our answer on the site).