No results, or too few results

An empty or thin page of results almost always comes from one of a few settings on the page. Work down this list: each step takes seconds, and the filters are all in the row under the search box.

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5

#1. Check the words

Look for a typing mistake. Try fewer and simpler words, or a different word for the same thing. Very specific wording, such as a full sentence, can match less than two or three key words.

#2. Widen the date window

The first menu in the row is the date window. It starts on Auto, which picks a period for you and shows it in brackets, for example Auto (30 days).

• Time words in your search decide the window. A search ending in yesterday shows Auto (48 hours), and last week shows Auto (14 days).
• When the usual 30 days has too little on your subject, Auto looks further back and shows Auto (180 days).
• You can choose a fixed period instead: 1, 4, 8, 12 or 24 hours, 3, 7, 14, 30, 90, 180 or 365 days, 2 years, or All.

If you searched for something recent and found little, choose a longer period. If you searched for an old subject, choose All.

The menu beside it chooses whether the window applies to when a story was Published or when it was Indexed. The default is Published.

#3. Change how words are matched

The third menu says what to match and how. The default is Title & Body (Meaning).

• Meaning options (the default) find articles whose meaning is close to your search, even if the words differ. They nearly always return something.
• Text options need your words to appear, in the title, or in the title and body, depending on the option. A rare word can return an empty News column.
• Text & Meaning options combine both.

If a text option gives nothing, switch to Title & Body (Meaning) or a Text & Meaning option.

#4. Remove the other filters

• Length. Any length shows everything. A choice such as 500+ words or a custom range hides shorter articles.
• Sentiment. Sentiment: All shows every story. If you unchecked some of the numbers 1 to 10, stories with those scores are left out. Open the menu and choose All.

#5. Check for a topic

If you started from a topic, a line above the search box begins Searching: and names the topic. Your search is limited to it. Choose All at the top of the topic menu on the left to search everything. The search box is cleared when you do, so type your words again.

#6. Check the tab

Results depend on the tab. News looks in news articles, Web shows web results, Images and Videos show pictures and clips. If one tab is thin, try All or another tab. If you typed Google-style operators such as site:, remove them to see if they are the cause. See Search operators.

#7. If the Web part is empty

Google's web results load separately and can be missing for their own reasons. See Google web results are blank or will not load.

#Common questions

Why does a nonsense search still show news results?

In the default Title & Body (Meaning) mode, 4Search returns the stories closest in meaning even when no words match. If you want results that contain your words, choose a Text option.

What does "Auto (180 days)" mean?

Auto looked at the last 30 days, found too little on your subject and widened the period to 180 days. The label tells you the period it used.

Why is the News column empty but the page has buttons?

Nothing matched under the settings you chose. Switch the match menu to Title & Body (Meaning), widen the date window or remove a filter.

I still find nothing. What now?

Tell us the search, the tab and the filters you used, through the Contact page. See How to reach us.