The phrase "tastes like chicken" can be applied to pretty much anything. Take search engines for example-- most would agree that Google is hands down the plump, tasty bird of the inter-web. Other search engines might taste similar to Chicken Google, but each one has its own charming quirks. But when we humans are used to performing a function a certain way, like web searching, we assume that every search field we encounter will perform like delicious Google. While that and a Diet Coke waterfall might make a perfect world, it's not so easy to accomplish.

Our search engine for Freelance Marketplace is ever-evolving, and there are some things that both freelancers and employers should know when searching.

The content that makes up your Freelance Marketplace profile comes from both the information you type (like your introduction and client list) and information that is pulled from a database (like content from the expertise and specialty categories). Employers can search either with keywords or by the categories on the left of the FM profiles page. Some employers like to use keywords, while others like to search by categories. Since employers search in different ways, your profile needs to cater to all searching tendencies.

When you search the Freelance Marketplace with keywords, search results are delivered from content in your profile the profile that's been typed by you, like your introductory paragraph. That's why it's important that you write a killer intro that's chock full of words that will burst out in a keyword search. Words like "diverse" and "accomplished" are great for your person of the year acceptance speech, but to the Freelance Marketplace search engine those words are a major buzz kill. Employers aren't typing in "diverse" or "writer" into the search field; they are using keywords that relate to the work they want you to do, so likely they are typing in a specialty. That means you should be using those kinds of words in your introduction. For example, if you're a freelance writer with experience in the Education field, guess what word you should have in your introduction? Education! This may seem obvious to some, but I've come across many profiles that would win lots of superlative contests, but not get any jobs.

Employers should know that when using keywords, you should use one word at a time; doing this will give you more precise results. Also, when you type in multiple words, search treats them as phrases. So, if an employer searches for "health, politics," they will only get results if those words appear consecutively in the freelancer's profile. This might seem like a flaw to some, but most of you will find find that using single keywords, combined with category searches, will score you better results.

Then hopefully you will discover that tasting like chicken isn't such a bad thing.