Question

Adding maths formatting in a question?

If maths formatting is added in a question does this affect the ability to search for that question.

E.g. Its is obvious that `ax^2+bx+c` is easier to read than ax^2+bx+c, and in some cases the formatting is essential to avoid ambiguity but does this affect the ability to search for ax^2+bx+c to find a match

Answer 1

No.

Explanation:

I actually remember bringing this up about `3` years ago--time flies, haha :D

As far as we know, adding math formatting to a question does not affect the ability to search for that question. In other words, adding math formatting to a question does not impact the way search engines index the question.

Here's an example. A quick Google search for "integral x/(x^2+1)" produced these results.

You can find the question here. As you can see, the fact that the question was formatted did not impact the search in any way. Basically, the math formatting is never added to the URL of the question, so it does not affect the searches, i.e. search engines ignore it.

So by all means, don't hesitate to format as many questions as you can/want, especially if it helps with readability and reduces ambiguity.