Since the web is effectively a huge pile of stuff, the first step in using it effectively is to be able to search it. Search engines index content across the web and provide a way for people to locate what they want.
Finding things with search engines presents two basic problems. Either you can’t find anything relevant or you find too many references. There are many guides that provide specific examples on how to use individual search engines. A search on Google or Bing for, “tips for searching the web” will return many pages that explain ways to refine your searching.
Most search engines support a large set of tools for refining your search results. The exact set of search options are specific to each search engine, but there is a basic set of functionality that is implemented on most search engines:
- Punctuation & capitalization are ignored
- Word order affects results (house red does not equal red house)
- Quoted phases usually mean literal (including capitalization and punctuation)
- Many have advanced search options like date filters
- Most use Soundex (if you spell it wrong, the server will compensate)
- Most support basic filters like
- quoted phrases “hello Bob”
- + (include) +arthur must have the text “arthur” in the results
- – (exclude) -arthur must NOT have the text “arthur” in the results
- site:[DomainName] site:ical.com search only on ical.com
There are also some simple organizational methods which can help you to find what you want more easily. They are non-technical and unrelated to any filtering you may do with specific search engines.
- Search for related items (look for hints in the results to search another way)
- Search blog sites for discussions about the topic you are seeking
- Search for specifics like a part number
- Try paraphrasing what you are seeking in multiple ways
- Use multiple search engines
- Rely on search engine soundex results to find proper spellings and resubmit your search
- Change the order of the words in your search request
- Use multiple searches using phrases and keyword list options
- Keep your search results in multiple browser tabs so you can reference previous attempts
- Preserve notes and effective results in a text file or word processing document
- Use bookmarks to preserve places you want to return to
- Organize your bookmarks so you can locate them again
- Learn how to read your browser’s history to recall lost links
overview – what is the web – search criteria – protecting yourself – plan your time
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