adjusting relivance of index service web search

Question

I run a website that is using windows indexing service to create a catalog for the search page. I return the top 30 results.

I was asked by a user why a certain page was not returned. The phrase searched was "Papal Blessing Form". That is the exact title of a link that points to a PDF form. I tried having the search return all the matches and the page was not returned. I did however get most every page that had the words "form", "Blessing" & "Papal" on them. I even rebuilt the catalog thinking the page was new and not yet indexed.

How do I modify the index settings so better results are returned?

Mike

Answer 1

I have written a blog post about the Indexing Service which addresses your question and some other points.

Specifically to answer your question:

-Cannot adjust page ranking.

The ranking system is closed and no API or boosting mechanism exists.

-Indexing PDF documents requires the Adobe IFilter (another link in the chain).

My claim that you cannot adjust weight is based in part and supported by this post by George Cheng: http://objectmix.com/inetserver/291307-how-exactly-does-indexing-service-determine-rank.html