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The internet has a wealth of knowledge
that all of us have come to really appreciate and often rely
on. There is far more information out there than any of us
can capture and comprehend. The Search Engines have tried to
compile this for us breaking it down into a logical display of
resources so that we can more easily choose from all this endless
information. Unfortunately, we often find that even with
this breakdown we are still overwhelmed or cannot find what we are
looking for. How often do you search for something and come
up with thousands of results that are not what you are
seeking. You know the answer is out there, but how to find
it can be very hard. Here are some tips to help you be more
efficient in your searching.
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| Try
Lots of Engines: Most of us know of the
"big" search engines like Google, Yahoo, and
MSN. These companies have spent millions of dollars
creating the most efficient resources for searching the
internet. They are the most widely used and can be the
best way to find information. What most of us don't
realize is that there are literally hundreds of Search
Engines to choose from. Most of the
"smaller" engines are created by some computer
genius sitting in his living room on a computer. They
can be extremely efficient and often use techniques that are
much better than the more common engines. If nothing
else, the end results are "different" and thus
tend to give you a unique outlook into what you are
seeking. Some of our favorites are: Mamma,
DogPile, and IxQuick. Flagstaff Central has compiled a
bunch of search engines for you to try on our site. Click
here to Search the Web. |
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| Foreign
Engines: We in America tend to think our way is
the best, but it's not always the case. Don't be
afraid to look at Foreign Search Engines to find
information. Often they have a very different way of
displaying information and their rules for getting listed
may be less restrictive (so even the small guys get better
coverage). We find that some of these engines also
have "English Translations" so that you don't have
to know how to read other languages. Click
here to view Search Engines from Around the World. |
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| Define
Your Search: Most of us use our gut reaction to
define what we are searching for. We type in the first
words we think of and hope that we find the information we
are seeking. What we don't realize is that the search
engines are "literal" to the words we use.
Often it's a simple matter of redefining the terms to
actually get the right information. The more vague you
are the more broad based the results will be. While
the more defined you are the better and more defined the
results. A good example is that if you put in
"Flagstaff" you will get all sorts of general
information about Flagstaff, perhaps even little sites that
come up that have nothing to do with what you are seeking
and simply had the word Flagstaff on their site
somewhere. On the other hand, if you put in
"Flagstaff Pet Adoptions" you will get information
about the places that adopt pets in Flagstaff. The
more clearly you request the information, the more chances
you will find the right places on the net. |
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| Tricks
of the Trade: Often when you do a search you will
put in a whole string of words to see what comes out.
Often these words are all looked for individually and very
often they just happen to end up on the same page of a
website, but really have nothing to do with what you are
searching for. To combat this there are some
"symbols" you can use to help define a
search. The first one we recommend is using
"quotes" around a phrase that you wish to
find. Without the quotes the engines look for the
words separately on the page, put with the quotes it will
target the exact words as a unit. Another trick is
using the "+" symbol between words or phrases to
have it look up one phrase plus another phrase, or writing
in "OR" between phrases to say search this word
"or" that one. Each of these symbols will
get you a different set of results and may define your
search better. All of the search engines use a
different set of symbols for these things, so we recommend
you actually look at the "help" screens to see
what they use. |
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| Advanced
Search: Most of the search engines have an
"advanced search" button right under or near the
main search box. If you click on this you will see
that they provide ways of breaking down your search.
They give you dropdown menus that ask you questions like
choose a range of time or only search the titles of websites
not the actual information on a page. These can be
very helpful to breaking down the information very cleanly. |
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| Preferences:
Most of the big search engines allow you to set
"preferences" on how you want your searches to be
performed. Once set, the engine "remembers
you" and displays the results the way you want
it. So, if you want to have the top 50 listed on a
page instead of only the top 10, you can tell it to do
this. This makes future searching easier and easier
for you. |
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In the end, all of the above methods can
make your searching a ton easier and more successful. We hope
that you use the above methods and figure out what works for
you. Each of us have different ways we like to see and get
information, so pick the ways that make sense to you! |
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Back to Computer
Tips |
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| Flagstaff Central is not liable for any damages or repairs due to our tech tip.
Things do happen whenever you work on a computer.
We recommend you be as careful as possible. If you prefer to not handle repairs or
clean up, we recommend you contact a professional.
Click here for a list of local computer repair companies. |
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