Web Design and Web Development Resources

ARTICLES

Search The Web More Efficiently: Tips, Techniques And Strategies

By Daniel Bazac

Studies show that after email, searching the Web is the most popular activity on the Internet. Searching is easy; finding what you're looking for can sometimes be difficult. Hopefully the advice below will make your next Web search a breeze.

Do you really need the Web?

Before using the Web to search for information, you'll have to ask yourself if the Web is the most appropriate medium to use to find your information. You can find a florist shop in your neighborhood faster by using the local, printed Yellow Pages instead of using the Web. And sometimes a library can give you better, more comprehensive answers than the Web.

However, in most of the cases, the best and fastest way to find information is... a Web search.

Obviously, the first thing you need to search the Web is a computer with Internet access.

Before really starting your search, you'll have to decide which browser you are going to use. As a reminder, a browser, according to WhatIs.com is a program "that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web." You can select a popular browser such as Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla or Opera or you can use an alternative browser. My favorite: Avant Browser. (I have NO connection with MyBookmarks.com) Keep in mind that some browsers are faster or have more options. You can download these browsers from their companies' web sites.

Tools for searching the Web

There are many search tools available: search engines, subject directories / virtual libraries, invisible (deep) web databases, meta search engines, etc.

A search engine is a keyword searchable database of Internet files that uses a software program to continually scour the Web. The resulting information is then indexed and stored in its database.

My favorite search engines are:

• Google(tm) [ http://www.google.com/ ]

• AlltheWeb [ http://www.alltheweb.com/ ]

• MSN [ http://www.msn.com/ ]

• Teoma [ http://www.teoma.com/ ]

• AltaVista [ http://www.altavista.com/ ]

• WiseNut [ http://www.wisenut.com/ ]

continue