You may need to locate references to a person, office, program, event, document, or other content that appears on a Tulane website. This guide explains how to search public Tulane websites using both Google and Tulane search tools, understand the limits of each method, and request assistance when content needs to be reindexed, redirected, or removed from search results.
Search Public Tulane Content with Google
Google can be an effective way to find publicly accessible content on a specific Tulane website, including webpages, PDFs, and other files that have been indexed by Google.
Use Google's site: operator to limit results to a specific domain or subdomain.
Search a Specific Tulane Website
In Google, enter a query such as:
site:bywater.tulane.edu research
This search tells Google to:
- Search only content indexed under
bywater.tulane.edu. - Return results related to the keyword "research."
- Include indexed webpages, PDFs, and other publicly accessible files when available.
You can replace the domain and search term with content relevant to your audit.
Search Across Tulane Websites
If you want to search across all tulane.edu websites rather than a specific subdomain, use a broader search such as:
site:tulane.edu research
This search limits results to content indexed under the tulane.edu domain and can be useful when you are unsure which website contains the information you need.
Useful Search Variations
Use these techniques to narrow or refine your results:
- Find an exact phrase:
site:medicine.tulane.edu "community health" - Exclude a word from results:
site:tulane.edu commencement -2024 - Find PDFs on a specific site:
site:law.tulane.edu filetype:pdf handbook - Find references to a person or office:
site:tulane.edu "Riptide the Pelican"
Google search results reflect publicly indexed content only. Results may be incomplete, delayed, personalized, or affected by pages that have been removed, blocked from indexing, recently changed, or not yet discovered by Google. A site: search is useful for finding public content, but it should not be considered a complete inventory of everything that exists on a website.
For additional search tips, see Google's guide to refining web searches.
Search Across Tulane Websites
If you want to search across multiple Tulane websites, use the search function available from the top navigation of tulane.edu.
- From any tulane.edu Drupal site, select the search icon in the top navigation.
- Enter keywords related to the person, topic, program, event, or content you are trying to locate.
- Review the search results for relevant pages and documents.
This search can be a useful starting point when you are unsure which Tulane website contains the information you need. Search coverage and indexing may vary, so you may also want to perform a Google site: search when conducting a content audit or investigating outdated information.
When to Request Web Team Support
Contact the Web Team if you need assistance with indexing, search visibility, redirects, or Google Search Console.
Google Search Console Access and Support
Google Search Console provides information about how Google discovers and indexes your website. It can also be used to request indexing of updated content and help troubleshoot indexing-related issues.
If you need assistance with Google Search Console access:
- Submit a request using the UCM request form.
- Select Project Type = Website.
- Select Type of Web Project = Web analytics request.
- Include the URL or URLs for the website(s) involved.
Consider requesting assistance if important content is not appearing in Google search results or if Google continues to display outdated information after content has been updated. Submitting content through Google Search Console can help Google discover updated pages, but Google ultimately determines when and whether content is crawled and indexed.
URL Submissions, Reindexing, and Redirects
The Web Team can assist with:
- Reviewing URLs that may need reindexing.
- Submitting URLs for indexing review when appropriate.
- Evaluating redirect configurations after content has been moved or consolidated.
- Helping ensure that search engines can find the correct version of a page.
- Investigating situations where outdated search results continue to appear after content changes.
- Reviewing situations where removed or redirected pages still appear in search results.
When submitting a request, include the affected URL or URLs, a description of the issue, and any steps already taken to resolve it.