How to Use Online Search Engines

Using online search engines be a great way to learn about many things. You can look on the internet to search for jobs, learn new recipes, exchange thoughts about recent episodes of television series or read the latest edition of an international newspaper. Before you sit down in front of a computer and begin it is important to understand how to use the net effectively. Here are some tips to get you started and make the searching process flow more smoothly.

1. Step 1

   Use broad based search engines. A search engine is a method of finding the websites that you want or need. In order to get to a web page one must know the address of the web page. Often this is a string of letters and numbers that you may not know. A search engine can find this information for you. There are many popular search engines. Start with google. Google is the one of the most comprehensive search engines on the web. To use google pull up the address of the website listed at the bottom of this page. Type in the name of the information you want such as New York City restaurants. Once this information has been entered various websites will appear in the search engine.

2. Step 2

   Use more specifically focused search engines. Using a broad based search engine may not yield the information you desire. Choose a more narrowly based search engine instead. For example if you are searching for medical information choose a search engine that specifically focuses on medicine and science such as pogofrog.com. Pogofrog allows users to type in a certain word or phrase. They are then given results that have only sources from medical information. Other websites (such as sites dedicated to travel or business) are filtered out of the results. This can save you time and energy by avoiding sites that will not meet your needs.

3. Step 3

   Use keywords and Boolean algebra properly. If you throw a broad based term into a search engine you may be confronted with results that number of in the millions. Find specific information by correctly narrowing your search term. One method of narrowing your search is to use two words and the word and to link them. For example if you are looking for Siamese cats and kittens, it is best to type the words, “Siamese cats and kittens,” rather than just Siamese cats. The search will only bring up pages that contain all three words. Another way to reduce results shown is to type the word not in front of the word. A word may have multiple meanings. This can narrow the search to only one meaning. For example if you are looking for information about Washington state type the words, “Washington not d.c.” This will bring up results only related to the state. Websites with references to the capital will be excluded.

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