Have you ever tried to search for something but was surprised with the alarming number of results? Did you want something specific but just couldn't find it with the way you typed in your query? Well, you're not the only one.
Lots of people are confused with search engines. There are lots of terms and operators you can use to make your next Internet search a lot easier. They will help you get closer and closer to the kind of results you want.
There must be hundreds of search engines that you can use. So how do you know which one to use? Some of the most used ones are AltaVista (http://altavista.digital.com), Lycos (www.lycos.com), Infoseek (www.infoseek.com), and Excite (www.excite.com). Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) which is not a search engine, but a web directory, is also very popular and widely used. You can search by categories, news stories, etc.
One of the most searched items on the Internet is cars. You may have even tried to search for cars on the Internet yourself. But, what if you wanted to just look for cars in our area (Seguin, New Braunfels, San Antonio, and San Marcos). Don't go through all the pages of search results. Instead, try using some advanced options that search engines use today.
First of all, there are four basic keywords for searching.
Using 'AND' finds only documents containing all of the specified words or phrases. You can use the plus symbol instead of 'AND'.
'OR' finds documents containing at least one of the specified words or phrases.
Another basic one is 'NOT,' which excludes containing that specified word or phrase. You can use the minus symbol instead of 'NOT'.
Finally, there is 'NEAR.' It finds documents containing both specified words or phrases within a few words of each other.
This query: +car +"san antonio area" +texas -dallas -houston utilizes the plus command as well as exact phrases. It looks for cars and auto dealers in Texas, but not in Dallas or Houston.
You can also insert wildcards. Instead of just searching for 'dog,' try searching for any kind of dog. Use this search query: 'dog*'. That way, it will pick up all forms of the word dog. If you are trying to look for an exact phrase or word, try putting it in quotes. That way, it will look for EXACTLY what you type in. Be careful of spelling, though! Usually, you will want to type your query in lowercase letters, unless you are performing a casesensitive search. Also, special characters from foreign languages may hinder your search results. Consider that when searching.
Lots of search engines don't just search for text. Some have the ability to search for links, titles, host names, image names, etc. The logic behind it is kind of grey but it is out there for you. If you would like to look for these things, look for help links within your search engine.
Some search engines have specific search options, like AltaVista and Yahoo, which is what makes them so popular. In AltaVista, you can search the Usenet and limit your search to a certain language. You can also translate web pages in different languages with the click of a mouse.
AltaVista recently has also introduced LookSmart, which is similar to Yahoo. From http://SearchEngineWatch.com:
"Unlike Yahoo, browsing through LookSmart and its AltaVistabranded version does not bring up a page devoted to each topic. Instead, selecting a topic causes a submenu of topics to load. Eventually, a selection of web sites is displayed. A blue arrow at the end of each topic indicates there are more subtopics, while an image of a text document shows if the next click will bring up a page of results."
Yahoo allows you to search in their categories, which can help a lot. It helps you come up with ideas and it puts all of the links for a group or category together, which makes searching in Yahoo super easy. Also, Yahoo allows you to search in other search engines and, with a click of the mouse, lets you check news stories for an item.
It used to be that you could just search for World Wide Web documents. That is no longer true. Now you can search for many more things, including phone numbers and addresses, maps, phone numbers, email addresses, yellow pages, white pages, and more. If you provide the address, Yahoo Maps (http://maps.yahoo.com/yahoo) can give you point to point driving directions from your house, or any other location for that matter. More and more ways are being discovered to search for these things. Some of the most inclusive and popular ways to search for phone numbers, email as Yahoo People Search (http://yahoo.four11.com/cgibin/Four11Main?yahooe&template=yahoo.t), Four11 (http://www.four11.com), Switchboard (www.switchboard.com), and The Yellow Pages (http://theyellowpages.com).
As you can tell, there are no limits to search engines. New technology every day allows you more and more advanced searches. Now that you have a better concept of how to do advanced searches, try searching for cars in the San Antonio, New Braunfels, and Seguin area. You will find that using the keywords, wild cards, etc. can help you more than you know.
For the most up to date information on search engines, check out Search Engine Watch at http://www.searchenginewatch.com.
Will Meier is a student at Seguin High School. His email address is willcm2001@aol.com. His web site is http://members.aol.com/willcm2001/.
Internet Beat column coordinator is Gloria R. Rivera. Her e-mail
address is riverag@connecti.com; web site at http://www.seguin.net.
Everyone interested is welcome to submit an article to her for
review and publication in this monthly column.