How to Use Search Engines to Find Anything on the Web

As a writer, I am often called upon to do research on the web. Sometimes, I need to find information that can be difficult to locate or that is hiding in a sea of similar web pages. I have gotten very good at finding things-to the point where people know that if I can't find it, it is probably not on the web.

Most people think it is enough to type in a few generic words into a search engine and they will be able to find what they are looking for. Then, when they start browsing the results, they become frustrated as they find numerous pages that seem to have nothing to do with the topic they typed in.

Let's pretend you are trying to find out the release date for the new Jessica Simpson movie. So, you go to Google and type in Simpson. You find that there are 80 million pages that have the word Simpson in them. Yahoo is not much better as it had 71 million pages.

Unless you plan to spend the next five years looking at websites, you need to learn how to do a better search. Here are a few of the best tips.

Use Specific Phrases.
Quotation marks are powerful things when used in search engines. It tells the search engine that you are looking for that specific phrase. When you don't use quotation marks, the search engine looks for all pages that contain those words, but not necessarily places the words in that order.

When I typed in "Jessica Simpson" movie into Google and Yahoo!, they both came back with only about 7 million pages. I'm now a lot closer to what I am looking for, but still have more work to do.

Tell the Search Engine Which Words or Phrases it Must Include.
The plus sign (+) comes in handy when you have specific words you know should be included on a page. By typing a plus sign immediately before the word, you are telling the search engine that the pages must include that word. Any word that does not have the plus sign before it is considered optional.

When I go back to my Jessica Simpson example, I typed in +Jessica Simpson movie. Notice there is no space before the plus sign and the word Jessica. Now I get about 29 million hits in Yahoo and 3 million hits in Google and not a single The Simpsons Moviepage in sight.

Subtract Irrelevant Information.
Say you want information about a new Jessica Simpson movie, but when you type in Simpson movie, you find yourself swamped by pages about The Simpsons Movie-the cartoon Simpsons, not the buxom blonde Simpson. This is a time when using the "-" key can help you. By typing in words that the page should not contain, such as Bart and Homer, and placing "-" before it, you will tell the search engine not to include pages with those words.

When I first typed in Simpson movie, I got over 25 million hits in Yahoo and 9 million hits in Google. By typing in Simpson movie -Bart -Homer, it reduced the hits to 16 million in Yahoo and 7 million in Google. Not great and I was not close to removing all the pages about The Simpsons Movie, but it was better.

Think About What Words the Page Would Have.
This requires you to use a little logic. When doing a search for information, I often brain storm and try to imagine what words the person might also use on that page. This will help me make the search more specific.

For example, I know that the words release date would probably be included on a page about Jessica Simpson's new movie. It might also include scheduled for release. Since it is her latest movie, 2007 would be a term to include in a search. If I knew the title or any costars, I could also include those words in my search.

Include more at first, and the reduce it as needed.
Many people mistakenly type in only one or two words into a search engine when they are looking for something. This is a big mistake. In search engines, more is better. You can then slowly eliminate less relevant words if you don't find what you are looking for or if the search engine doesn't come back with any hits. When doing this, place the most important words first.

So, going back to what I am looking for, my new search includes what I know about Jessica's new movie: Jessica Simpson movie 2007 release date. This came back with only 900,000 hits in Google and a little under 2 million hits in Yahoo. This provides me with the best results and I'm able to find what I was looking for simply by scanning the first page of results. (If you were wondering, the movie was set for release on August 3, but has been delayed until the last week of August.)

Combine Several of These Tips in One Search.
When doing searches, sometimes you will need to include more than one to get the best results. You can place plus and minus signs before a phrase in quotes and multiple instances of any of these. For example, some of the other ways I could have done the same search include:
+"Jessica Simpson" -Bart -Homer 2007 "release date"
"Jessica Simpson" -"Dukes of Hazard" movie release
+Jessica +Simpson new movie

Hopefully, you get the idea. The trick to doing a successful search of the internet is to be as specific as you can in what you are looking for. It might take a little practice, but this skill can saves time and prevents headaches. Although if you get a headache, these tricks will enable you to find a method to get rid of it very quickly.