In vim, how do I go back to where I was before a search?

Programming in vim I often go search for something, yank it, then go back to where I was, insert it, modify it.

The problem is that after I search and find, I need to MANUALLY find my way back to where I was.

Is there an automatic way to go back to where I was when I initiated my last search?

From stackoverflow Edward Tanguay

• I've always done by it setting a mark.

  1. In command-mode, press m [letter]. For example, m a sets a mark at the current line using a as the mark indentifier.

  2. To get back to the mark press ' [letter]. For example, ' a takes you back to the mark set in step 1.

  To see all of the marks that currently set, type :marks.

  ---

  On a slightly unrelated note, I just discovered another nifty thing about marks.

  Let's say you jump to mark b by doing 'b. Vim automatically sets the mark ' (that's a single-quote) to be whichever line you were on before jumping to mark b.

  That means you can do 'b to jump to that mark, then do '' (2 single-quotes) to jump back to whever you were before.

  I discovered this accidentally using the :marks command, which shows a list of all marks.

  From Mark Biek

• The simplest way is to set a mark, with m[letter], then go back to it with '[letter]

  From Paul Tomblin

• Ctrl+O takes me to the previous location. Don't know about location before the search.

  Edit: Also, `. will take you to the last change you made.

  Mark Biek : It also appears that pressing CTRL+O enough times will also start taking you back through previously opened files.

  amrox : Ctrl+O is my preferred method also. I use it constantly and wish other editors replicated its behavior.

  Edward Tanguay : Yes, CTRL-O and CTRL-I seem to take you back and forth where you've been, nice.

  Vulcan Eager : With CTags, Ctrl+T will take you back... don't know how it is different from Ctrl+O.

  Nathan Fellman : Ctrl+T will only take you back if you got there using a tag. If you searched it without using tags Ctrl+T will take you back to the place you were before you searched for your last *tag*

  Vulcan Eager : Hah! It's less than 2 years since this post and I don't remember any of this.
  From Vulcan Eager

• Use mark and return. To mark a spot before your search, Esc into command mode, then hit ma, where a is any letter of the alphabet. After you do your search you can return to the spot you marked by hitting `a (that's a backquote then the letter you marked your spot with) in edit mode.

  Bill the Lizard : Paul Tomblin and Mark Biek, you guys are fast.

  Paul Tomblin : You gotta get up pretty early in the morning to beat the Stack Overflow addicts.

  ldigas : Hell, no. You gotta stay up all night !!
  From Bill the Lizard

• Use `` to jump back to the exact position you were in before you searched/jumped, or '' to jump back to the start of the line you were on before you searched/jumped.

  From Max

• You really should read :help jumplist it explains all of this very well.

  From André