This is a quick study on how asterisk symbol affects Google search queries, illustrated on a search for insurance in Google Australia.
Quick Summary:
insurance: brings results with word insurance highlighted in title and description
*insurance: word insurance is highlighted with the nearest relevant phrase before it
insurance*: word insurance is highlighted with the nearest relevant phrase after it
*insurance*: word insurance is highlighted with the nearest relevant phrases before and after it
Search Variations:
Where Google decided to bold a relevant related term instead of the main key term we searched for:
Search Anomalies:
Terms that were bold in results that are either not relevant or useful to users:
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