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How to Search the Internet

TIPS ON USING INTERNET SEARCH ENGINES Do you Yahoo!, Google, or Ask Jeeves? Or, are you just frustrated with trying to search the Internet? If you are, then you're not alone. Searching the Internet isn't easy and the best techniques today may not work tomorrow -- because the search engines are constantly changing. Here are a few tips to get you started.   KEYS TO REMEMBER The Internet has over 7 billion pages of information and is adding millions of new pages each day. No search engine has indexed the entire Internet. At best, the major search engines have indexed about half of the internet. That means, any search is never complete. And each search engine may or may not have indexed the specific page you are looking for. The major search engines make their money through advertising. Thus, many of the top listings (those presented first) may not be the most relevant to your search. Most likely, they are the ones paying the most to be your first "click." Also, the search engines are not always clear about which links are advertisements vs. which are relevant search results. Not all search engines are the same. Each has its own algorithm (formula) for fetching search results and determining the order of the results. To make matters worse, they are constantly changing their algorithms in order to stay ahead of the web sites that try to manipulate the results to get their own listing nearer to the top of the list. Secondly, search engines are not indexing the same web pages at the same time. While Yahoo! may have indexed a particular site, the same site may not have been indexed by Google. Thus, different results from different search engines. Even technically savvy people get frustrated with searching the Internet. All of this information is subject to change -- frequent changes!   WHICH SEARCH ENGINE TO USE? Everyone has their favorites, but it is often good to try different search engines simply because you may get different results. Google (www.google.com) - Currently, has indexed the most pages on the Internet and has a lot of useful tools (like image searches, definitions, phone numbers, maps, recent news, calculator, etc). Soople (www.soople.com) - You can't remember how to do a Boolean search or how to look up a definition in Google? Just log on to Soople which provides a nice interface to Google's advanced features. Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) - Like Google, it has some very good tools. Note: Lycos, AltaVista, AllTheWeb, and MSN all use Yahoo! technology; if you are using one of them, you are basically using Yahoo! Vivisimo (www.vivisimo.com) - Is a meta-search engine, (grabs results from all the top search engines) -- the best part is that Vivisimo categorizes the results. E.G. if you search for "hot dogs" Vivisimo will break the list down into categories like Sausages, Restaurant, Carts, Recipes, and New York. You can then select which category of results you would like to look at. Ask Jeeves (www.ask.com) - A great search engine if you are looking for specific 'how to' information (rather than a complete web site), such as the answer to a pesky question, like how to get that ink stain out of the carpet? I like its simplicity.   HOW TO USE THE SEARCH ENGINES Use the advanced search page -- Almost all search engines have an "advanced search" page that provides you with more specific options. Here, you can search using dates, filter web sites with a specific domain like ".net," or find web sites in a preferred language. Be as detailed, distinctive and specific as you can be. If the search is too broad search, try to be more specific. In our example, enter: monty python british comedy troupe Search with phrases using quotation marks around the phrase. Without quotations the search engine will look for pages containing any of the words. With quotations, the search engine will look only for the matching phrase. If you enter the following search terms: monty python The result will be all web pages that have the word monty or python somewhere on the page. You might find stories about General Montgomery, python snakes or Flying Circus. Instead, try entering: "monty python" If you're looking for information specific to the Monty Python TV show, you might enter (in quotes): "monty python flying circus" Boolean Search -- Use a plus (+) or minus (-) sign (most search engines use this). Put a plus sign (+) in front of a word that must be found in the search window. In our example, let's say you can't remember the name of the Monty Python broadway show, but you know it has something to do with "spam." You might type in: monty + python + spam This will ensure that the results have all the words monty, python and spam on the web page and you will probably get a hit on the name "spamalot." Similarly, place a minus sign (-) in front of a word that you do not want to appear in the search results, such as typing in: python -Monty This will produce results that of snakes and not the comedy troupe. Still hitting a wall? Change your search: Think of synonyms or a completely different context. Often by changing the words you are using you can find a new list of search results. Think of every synonym you can regarding your search. Buy a good synonym dictionary, or use Thesaurus.com Special functions within search engines -- Several of the search engines can specify pictures, word definitions, UPS/FedEx tracking numbers, news, stock quotes, phone numbers, etc. Again, check the Soople site for an easy way to remember these alternatives to conduct a Google search. Specialized search engines -- Searching for a specific topic, try search engine specific to the topic. Try using "subject directory," "gateway directory" or "search engine" with your specific topic to find these specialized engines. Save time with a search toolbar -- Google and Yahoo! both have tool bars that can be added to your web browser. They work with most web browsers including Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox. If you do a lot of searching, these tools bars will save you time. Ego Searches -- if you want to keep up with news or blog stories about your company, or maybe your own name, these are called ego searches. Google and Yahoo! have a feature that allows you to monitor these results automatically through an 'RSS' feed. RSS is an acronym for real simple syndication. With an RSS feed, you can have daily results of your ego search placed into your home page (if you use a customize-able home page). Conduct a search on ego searches and RSS to find out more information. Hire a search service. They cost money, but if there is something that you are desperate require or need to track, these services can be of value.   LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION Tutorial on Web Searching from UC Berkeley - www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html How to choose a search engine - library.albany.edu/internet/choose.html   DEFINITIONS Search Engine Those web sites that can assist you in finding information on the Internet. Basically, they are an electronic card catalog system. You enter the search criteria and the engine produces a list of potential web sites that may meet your needs. Indexed Pages Those web pages that the search engines have 'read' and stored for searching. If the search engine has not indexed a web site, the web site will not be a part of any search results. Meta-Search Engine Sends the search to multiple search engines and retrieves the results into one list. Subject Directories Well-organized directories which are often devoted to certain subjects (such as travel, business, academic, libraries, etc). All web sites listed in the directories are reviewed and organized by humans. So they may not have covered a lot of the internet, but what they have is easy to find.   ----------------------------------------------------------- The SSBiN website and is the result from efforts by the Entrepreneur and Small Business Alliance  (ESBA) of the Saginaw Vision 2020. For more information, please contact us at: http://www.ssbin.org/contact.htm. Copyright (c) 2006 www.ssbin.org SSBiN is not responsible for the content or the privacy policies of Web sites to which it may link.