Search the Web More Efficiently: Tips, Techniques and Strategies (Part I)

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 them) 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™ [ 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/ ]

A subject directory (web directory) is a searchable collection of Web pages gathered, selected and organized by human editors into hierarchically subject categories. A virtual library is a web directory that includes highly selective links, chosen mostly by librarians.

Web directories cover a much smaller proportion of the Web but using them will bring you more highly relevant results. The largest web directories index a few million pages compared with the billions of pages indexed by some major search engines.

Remember that the web directories - like the search engines - do not search the Web directly. Instead, they search their own databases of indexed Web pages. Also, be aware that directories might not be up-to-date. Some search engines are in fact hybrid search tools because they are both search engines and web directories. (Google™, for example, has a search engine and a directory, powered by Open Directory Project)

Some widely used web directories are:

* Google™ Directory [ http://directory.google.com/ ]
* Open Directory Project (ODP) [ http://www.dmoz.org/ ]
* Yahoo! [ http://www.yahoo.com/ ]
* Zeal [ http://www.zeal.com/ ]
* JoeAnt [ http://www.joeant.com/ ]
* Gimpsy [ http://www.gimpsy.com/ ]

Popular virtual libraries include:

* Librarians' Index to the Internet [ http://www.lii.org/ ]
* Internet Public Library [ http://www.ipl.org/ ]
* The WWW Virtual Library [ http://www.vlib.org/ ]
* Internet Scout Project [ http://www.scout.wisc.edu/Archives/ ]
* BUBL Link [ http://www.bubl.ac.uk/ ]

The so-called invisible (deep) web is a collection of online information stored in live databases accessible on the Web but not indexed by traditional search engines. Examples of excellent invisible web databases are:

* ProFusion [ http://www.profusion.com/ ]
* Invisible-web.net [ http://www.invisible-web.net/ ]
* Complete Planet [ http://www.completeplanet.com/ ]
* Resource Discovery Network [ http://www.rdn.ac.uk/ ]
* direct search (Gary Price) [ http://www.freepint.com/gary/direct.htm ]

A meta search engine (also known as metacrawler or multithreaded engine) is a search tool that sends your query simultaneously to several search engines, web directories and sometimes to the so-called invisible (deep) web. After collecting the results, the meta search engine removes the duplicate links and - according to its algorithm - will combine and rank the results into a single merged list.

Because most of the meta search engines take only the top 10 or 20 from each search engine, you can expect excellent results, "la crème de la crème."

But be aware that because some search engines and web directories do not support advanced searching techniques - such as quotation marks to enclose phrases or Boolean operators - no results from those search engines will appear in the meta search engines' results list when those techniques are used.

Remember, meta search engines do not maintain their own databases and therefore cannot accept web site submissions.

The best meta search engines are:

* ez2Find [ http://www.ez2find.com/ ]
* Vivisimo [ http://www.vivisimo.com/ ]
* InfoGrid [ http://www.infogrid.com/ ]
* Infonetware [ http://www.infonetware.com/ ]
* iBoogie [ http://www.iboogie.com/ ]

A special kind of meta search engine is the search utility (also called desktop search programs or client-side search software). Unlike the web-based meta search engines listed above, search utilities are software programs that you download to your computer. The most popular are:

* Copernic [ http://www.copernic.com/en/index.html ]
* Arrow Search [ http://www.rt-software.co.uk/arrow_search/ ]
* SearchRocket [ http://www.searchrocket.com/ ]
* WebFerret [ http://www.ferretsoft.com/index.html ]
* ProtoSearch [ http://www.npccenterprises.com/products.shtml ]

Meta search engines are excellent tools, but they do not eliminate the need for search engines.

For more about meta search engines, see my article: The Meta Search Engines: A Web Searcher's Best Friends.

Which Search Tool Should You Choose?

* If you're looking for specific information use search engines.

* If you're looking for a unique or obscure search term or if you want to make an in-depth analysis of what's out there on a specific subject, then use meta search engines.

* If you're looking for general information on popular topics, use subject (web) directories.

* If you're looking for scholarly information use virtual libraries.

* If you're looking for real-time information or for dynamically changing content such as the latest news, phone book listings, available airline flights, etc., then use specialized databases (invisible or deep web.)

There are thousands of search engines, hundreds of meta search engines and dozens of web directories and specialized databases. Choosing the right search tool - from the start - can make the difference between a successful search and a frustrating experience.

Before Starting the Search

The easiest way to find information is when you know a web page Internet address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) such as Fortune Magazine at http://www.fortune.com. You can find these addresses on business cards, TV commercials or newspapers. Simply type the URL in the browser's address box and hit the enter (PC) or return (Mac) key.

Be aware that in most browsers, you do not have to type"http://" or even "www" before the domain name. You can access a site simply typing the domain name such as"sony.com."

Special note: Be careful when you copy and paste a long URL from an email message or from some web sites. URLs that span two lines have a gap (space) between the last character of the first line and the first character on the second line. First, get rid of the gap and then paste it in the browser's address line.

Other times you may not know the URL but... you can guess it. Often companies will use their name, acronym or abbreviated name followed by ".com", such as ibm.com or apple.com. The same thing is true for educational institutions (add the ".edu" suffix) or government sites (add ".gov") So, whenever you don't know an URL, you can try to guess it.

If you do not know the URL, you'll have to find it by searching the Internet. In many cases, a simple search on the name of an organization within most search engines will return a direct hit on their web site.

Tips For Searching Smarter:

* Read the search engine's "search tips" or "help" page before using a search tool. Strangely enough, most of the time you'll find the "search tips" link on the "Advanced Search" page or on the "results page." Anyway, regularly check the search tips page because the rules often change.

* Customize the output of the results. Use the search engine's "preferences" page. Some search tools allow you to select the value for:
* the total results per page; usually 10 by default (select
* the maximum - often 100)
* the search tool's timeout - select the maximum
* the search depth - select maximum.
Be sure to save the new "settings" or "search preferences" for the next time you use the search tools. Also, set the browser you use to accept cookies.

Tips To Make Your Search Faster:

If you're searching for information and you are not interested in graphics on the pages you see, turn off or disable graphics. You can also turn off sounds, animation, Java, JavaScript, etc. See your browser documentation for instructions.

If you decide to keep the graphics, in the case of a"heavy" page, you can always press the STOP button in the browser, immediately after you see the text and before the graphics are entirely loaded.

More Tips:

* Most search tools are case-insensitive which means that you can construct a query - your search request - by typing all the words - even proper names - in lower case text.

* If you type a long query, most of the search tools' search boxes are not very wide so you cannot see the entire query. Write the query in a word processor and then "copy and paste" into the search box. Be aware that Google™ only allows 10 words in the search box.

* Some search tools offer an option called "similar pages" (Google™) or "related pages" (AltaVista and Teoma.) Clicking on that option will show you relevant results for the page you're interested in.

* Some search engines have a function called "see more hits/results/pages from the same domain." Sometimes it can be useful.

* Also, some search tools, such as Google™, allow you to see an English translation for a results page that is written in a foreign language. If you want to translate a web page and you have the URL, you can also use:

* Systran [ http://www.systransoft.com/ ]
* Fagan Finder [ http://www.faganfinder.com/translate/ ] or
* alphaWorks (IBM)
[ http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/aw.nsf/html/mt ]

Remember, don't expect perfect translations because that seldom happens.

* Looking for pages in a specific language? Some search engines (Google™, AlltheWeb, etc.) have an advanced search page that allows you to select the language from the pull-down menu.

* If your search terms contain letters not present in the English alphabet such as "é" or "ü" (example fiancé or München), use Fagan Finder's (Search Engine Ultimate Interface) which allows you to use these special letters in many major search engines. It makes a big difference. A search for Munchen in Google™ gives 570,000 results while for München - "u" with umlaut - gives 51,700,000 - almost 10 times more.

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This article is written by a guest writer. The views and opinions within this article are those of the author and are not those of Detechnify.com

You can get details of the writer at the end of the article.

Daniel Bazac is the Search Engine Marketer for Web Design in New York [ http://www.web-design-in-new-york.com ], a site design, search engine optimization and promotion company. He also maintains Bazac Weblog [ http://www.bazac.blogspot.com/ ] a blog about the search engines and search engine marketing news and articles. He can be reached at mailto:danielbazac@hotmail.com .