Search FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
- How are the results ordered?
- The results are ordered by a combination of relevance and time. Relevance is determined by looking at how often the search term you have typed in appears within the page. When two results have the same relevance, the date they were published is then used as a tie-break with the most recently published piece of content appearing first.
- Why are the results different if I launch my search from a CBBC, CBeebies or Learning page on bbc.co.uk?
- The BBC produces a large range of content aimed at a variety of audiences and ages. However some of our content isn’t suitable for our younger audiences and so when you launch a search from CBeebies or CBBC you only get back results from those areas of the site. This ensures those audiences are only exposed to the appropriate age-related content.
- For Learning the audience age range is broader so whilst they can explore other areas via the categories at the top on the page we do initially only show learning related results.
- Why do some search results on bbc.co.uk have different categories to other search results?
- The categories that appear in the search results are based upon which categories the results come from. So for one search if that term is relevant to a programme that’s available on iPlayer then the iPlayer category will appear but for another search if there is no programme available to watch on iPlayer it won’t appear.
- This is true for all the categories across bbc.co.uk.
- In the search results on bbc.co.uk how are the featured links, which are labelled Editor's Choice, selected?
- Our editors carry out research into popular topics and recommend the best and most informative content available for your search term from within the BBC.
- On some pages of search results on bbc.co.uk there is an "Elsewhere on the Web" section. Where do the articles in this section come from?
- The results in the Elsewhere on the Web section are from a feed of content from a third-party supplier and have to meet our editorially agreed criteria. You can find out more about the Elsewhere on the Web system here.
