SURFING THE WEB

Searching the World Wide Web

By: Dick Travis

One of the greatest features of the World Wide Web is the incredible search capabilities that are available to all of us. Search engines allow us to find information on almost any subject within minutes without leaving your home or computer.

Is it really EASY?

Yes, however, a little knowledge on where to start, when to use certain search engines and how they are organized helps to simplify your searches.

In today’s automated environment, the popular search engine of today (GOOGLE) may not be the most popular tomorrow, due to the innovative techniques being developed every day. As a matter of fact, in the last 10 years there have been many developments causing users to change their favorite search engine many times to keep up to date on the latest search technology.

When the web was in its infancy, there was “starting point” “webcrawler”, “alta vista”, “Yahoo”, “Lycos” and many others. I remember only a few years ago when “metacrawler” took over searching, due to the fact that it searched almost ALL of the other search engines and organized the resultant findings. I used that technique for years before GOOGLE took the lead a few years ago.

There are four categories of search engines on the web:

1) General

2) Directories

3) Specialized

4) Answer-based

GOOGLE will probably be the prime user for the next year or so in the general category, but you can be sure there is competition developing further refinements to make your searching easier, more accurate and even faster.

GOOGLE has several features which separate it from the rest, such as searching for News, Images, Groups and or specialized searches within other websites, as well as a category search similar to YAHOO. Pop-up advertising is not allowed on Google.

YAHOO is a directory-type of search engine. It has developed a heirarchical system of indexing subjects by category. About.com is another search engine that is organized by category among many others. If you are looking for “cars” for instance, directory-type search engines can narrow the search quickly.

Specialized search engines subjects abound on the web. Some of the most active are related to medical, shopping and movies. Actually, many web sites contain their own search engine to help you find information on their particular web site.

Getting your questions answered is becoming very popular lately. Ask Jeeves is probably the most popular fee-based service available, however GOOGLE and others have question-based services on-line. More information can be found from SearchEngineWatch.com.

Click here to see their details on answer-based services, some of which are FREE.

Basically, if you enter queries in the form of a question without adjectives or small words, you will have great results. However, remember to place quotes around those words in which you require all of the words to be in sequence. Placing quotes around specific terms tells the search engine to find ONLY terms that are found together, such as a name, location or whatever.

Using “quotes” around your key words works with almost every search engine, so get used to using them to keep your searches more accurate.

Using GOOGLE, YAHOO or your favorite specialized search engine is the key to finding your informational needs. The World Wide Web will work better for you, if you take the time to understand how to use these tools. Happy Searching…

Email me at dtravis2@cox.net or call at (760) 724-4091