This article will get you started searching the internet, and keep you from wasting time while doing it – assuming you don’t WANT to waste time! It is NOT going to be exhaustive, and will not show even HALF the techniques that MDStech knows. It will, however, get you started.
The Goal:
Find the information you seek in ONE attempt.
First, WHY?
You search the ‘net quite often for information. You actually search a lot more than you think, because EVERY time you look for something – whether its on Amazon, or eBay, Instagram, Facebook, Tunblr, Twitter, or a search engine – you can use these principles EVERYWHERE you search.
Imagine the time you can save.
Second, WHAT?
Let’s stick with Search Engines. Most people use 1 or at most 2. There are literally hundreds of search engines out there – and NONE of them cover the entire internet. [Not even Google].
To keep things simple, let’s group search engines into 2 categories:
- Regular
- Meta
1. Regular search engines – like Google or Bing – take the words you type into the search box [the “keywords”] and try to find webpages that they previously discovered [“crawled”] that matches your words.
They don’t really understand the meaning of words, though – which is why you will get a mixture of results ranging from crossing a river to a car manufacturer if you search for the word “ford”.
2. Meta engines – Click here for a list – search other search engines and combine the results into one list. The advantage of Meta engines is that each of the “regular” engines knows about different parts of the internet. Thus, by searching several engines at the same time, you can cover MORE of the internet to find your information.
Third – HOW? part 1
And,
Or,
Not.
Those three words can be very powerful, and can help you find your info in ONE try – when combined with the tips in part 2, below.
You can tell your search engine to search for
first word AND second word AND third word
This would make the engine look for web pages that HAVE to contain all three words.
You can tell your search engine to search for
first word OR second word OR third word
This would make the engine look web pages that HAVE to contain only ONE of the words
You can tell your search engine to search for
first word NOT second word
This would tell the engine to list any webpages that contain the first word, but only if they do NOT contain the second word.
Examples:
ford and chevy and honda
The results HAVE to have all three car brands
ford OR chevy OR honda
The results must have only ONE of the three words
To be honest, this one is not used much at all
ford NOT car NOT truck NOT vehicle
The results will have the word “ford” in it, but hopefully you won’t get any results relating to Ford Motor Company.
HOW you tell the engine to do this depends on the engine. Check the engine’s help pages.
[Often, just typing the keywords gets you an AND search. Putting a minus sign in front of a keyboard means NOT. Try it and see if it works.]
Fourth – HOW? Part 2
How do you come up with the words to type in that search box? Ah, THERE’s the secret sauce to search.
Step One: The Question
Phrase your search in the form of a question. Write it down until you get the hang of this.
HINT: The more specific the question, the better the chance you’ll get this done in one try.
Step Two: Underline
Underline the important words.
Step Three: Keywords
Those underlined words are your keywords. Type them into the search engine.
Step Four: READ the results.
Actually look at the descriptions to see what will LIKELY give you the answer you seek. Doublecheck the web address to see if it looks like a legit source [Hint: Facebook.com probably isn’t a good choice.]
Step Five: Go to Page Two.
Sometimes the answers you seek are on page two or three.
Step Six: Synonyms
If you haven’t found the results, look at your keywords. Is there another way to phrase it? Are there any synonyms you could use?
For example, instead of “rain”, you could use “downpour”, “weather”, “inclement weather”, “precipitation”
HINT:
You have a Thesaurus on your iPad.
AN EXAMPLE
You look at your shoe, and see the shoelace has this little thing on the end of it, and start wondering if that thing has a name,
Step 1: Phrase it in the form of a question.
What is that thing on the end of my shoelace called?
Step 2: Underline the important words
What is that thing on the end of my shoelace called?
Step 3: Type those underlined words into your search engine of choice.
If that doesn’t work, make sure to check page 2 and 3 of the results. Or you could try using a synonym – “name” instead of “called”, for example.