10 tips for smarter, more efficient Internet searching

These days, everyone is expected to be up to speed on Internet search techniques. But there are still a few tricks that some users -- and even savvy searchers -- may not be aware of.

Did you hate memorizing seemingly insignificant facts for tests at school? No photographic memory? Good news! Life is now an open-book exam -- assuming you have a computer, browser, and Internet access. If you know how to use a good search engine, you don't have to stuff your mind with facts that are useful only when playing Jeopardy! and Trivial Pursuit.
Chances are, you aren't the first person to run across the problem you are experiencing. Chances are also good that an answer is awaiting your discovery on the Internet -- you just have to remove the irrelevant pages and the unhelpful/incorrect results to find that needle in the haystack.
Google has been fanatical about speed. There is little doubt that it has built an incredibly fast and thorough search engine. Unfortunately, the human element of the Internet search equation is often overlooked. These 10 tips are designed to improve that human element and better your Internet search skills. (Note: All examples below refer to the Google search engine.)

1: Use unique, specific terms

It is simply amazing how many Web pages are returned when performing a search. You might guess that the terms blue dolphin are relatively specialized. A Google search of those terms returned 2,440,000 results! To reduce the number of pages returned, use unique terms that are specific to the subject you are researching.

2: Use the minus operator (-) to narrow the search

How many times have you searched for a term and had the search engine return something totally unexpected? Terms with multiple meanings can return a lot of unwanted results. The rarely used but powerful minus operator, equivalent to a Boolean NOT, can remove many unwanted results. For example, when searching for the insect caterpillar, references to the company Caterpillar, Inc. will also be returned. Use Caterpillar -Inc to exclude references to the company or Caterpillar -Inc -Cat to further refine the search.

3: Use quotation marks for exact phrases

I often remember parts of phrases I have seen on a Web page or part of a quotation I want to track down. Using quotation marks around a phrase will return only those exact words in that order. It's one of the best ways to limit the pages returned. Example: "Be nice to nerds".Of course, you must have the phrase exactly right -- and if your memory is as good as mine, that can be problematic.

4: Don't use common words and punctuation

Common terms like a and the are called stop words and are usually ignored. Punctuation is also typically ignored. But there are exceptions. Common words and punctuation marks should be used when searching for a specific phrase inside quotes. There are cases when common words like the are significant. For instance, Raven and The Raven return entirely different results.

5: Capitalization

Most search engines do not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase, even within quotation marks. The following are all equivalent:

• technology
• Technology
• TECHNOLOGY
• "technology"
• "Technology"

6: Drop the suffixes

It's usually best to enter the base word so that you don't exclude relevant pages. For example, bird and not birds, walk and not walked. One exception is if you are looking for sites that focus on the act of walking, enter the whole term walking.

7: Maximize AutoComplete

Ordering search terms from general to specific in the search box will display helpful results in a drop-down list and is the most efficient way to use AutoComplete. Selecting the appropriate item as it appears will save time typing. You have several choices for how the AutoComplete feature works:
Use Google AutoComplete. The standard Google start page will display a drop-down list of suggestions supplied by the Google search engine. This option can be a handy way to discover similar, related searches. For example, typing in Tucson fast will not only bring up the suggestion Tucson fast food but also Tucson fast food coupons. Use browser AutoComplete. Use this Google start page to disable the Google AutoComplete feature and display a list of your previous searches in a drop-down box. I find this particularly useful when I've made dozens of searches in the past for a particular item. The browser's AutoComplete feature must be turned on for this option to work. Click one of these links for instructions detailing how to turn AutoComplete on or off in I.E. and Firefox. Examples:

• Visual Basic statement case
• Visual Basic statement for
• Visual Basic call

8: Customize your searches

There are several other less well known ways to limit the number of results returned and reduce your search time:

• The plus operator (+): As mentioned above, stop words are typically ignored by the search engine. The plus operator tells the search engine to include those words in the result set. Example: tall +and short will return results that include the word and.
• The tide operator (~): Include a tilde in front of a word to return results that include synonyms. The tilde operator does not work well for all terms and sometimes not at all. A search for ~CSS includes the synonym style and returns fashion related style pages --not exactly what someone searching for CSS wants. Examples: ~HTML to get results for HTML with synonyms; ~HTML -HTML to get synonyms only for HTML.
• The wildcard operator (*): Google calls it the fill in the blank operator. For example, amusement * will return pages with amusement and any other term(s) the Google search engine deems relevant. You can't use wildcards for parts of words. So for example, amusement p* is invalid.
• The OR operator (OR) or (|): Use this operator to return results with either of two terms. For example happy joy will return pages with both happy and joy, while happy | joy will return pages with either happy or joy.
• Numeric ranges: You can refine searches that use numeric terms by returning a specific range, but you must supply the unit of measurement. Examples: Windows XP 2003..2005, PC $700 $800.
• Site search: Many Web sites have their own site search feature, but you may find that Google site search will return more pages. When doing research, it's best to go directly to the source, and site search is a great way to do that. Example: site:www.intel.com rapid storage technology.
• Related sites: For example, related:www.youtube.com can be used to find sites similar to YouTube.
• Change your preferences: Search preferences can be set globally by clicking on the gear icon in the upper-right corner and selecting Search Settings. I like to change the Number Of Results option to 100 to reduce total search time.
• Forums-only search: Under the Google logo on the left side of the search result page, click More | Discussions or go to Google Groups. Forums are great places to look for solutions to technical problems.
• Advanced searches: Click the Advanced Search button by the search box on the Google start or results page to refine your search by date, country, amount, language, or other criteria.
• Wonder Wheel: The Google Wonder Wheel can visually assist you as you refine your search from general to specific. Here's how to use this tool:

1. Click on More Search Tools | Wonder Wheel in the lower-left section of the screen (Figure A) to load the Wonder Wheel page.
2. Click on dbms tutorial (Figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

As you can see in Figure C, Google now displays two wheels showing the DBMS and dbms tutorial Wonder Wheels, with the results for dbms tutorial on the right side of the page. You can continue drilling down the tree to further narrow your search. Click the Close button at the top of the results to remove the Wonder Wheel(s).

Figure C

9: Use browser history

Many times, I will be researching an item and scanning through dozens of pages when I suddenly remember something I had originally dismissed as being irrelevant. How do you quickly go back to that Web site? You can try to remember the exact words used for the search and then scan the results for the right site, but there is an easier way. If you can remember the general date and time of the search you can look through the browser history to find the Web page.

10: Set a time limit -- then change tactics

Sometimes, you never can find what you are looking for. Start an internal clock, and when a certain amount of time has elapsed without results, stop beating your head against the wall. It's time to try something else:

• Use a different search engine, like Yahoo!, Bing, Startpage, or Lycos.
• Ask a peer.
• Call support.
• Ask a question in the appropriate forum.
• Use search experts who can find the answer for you.

The bottom line

A tool is only as useful as the typing fingers wielding it. Remember that old acronym GIGO, garbage in, garbage out? Search engines will try to place the most relevant results at the top of the list, but if your search terms are too broad or ambiguous, the results will not be helpful. It is your responsibility to learn how to make your searches both fast and effective.
The Internet is the great equalizer for those who know how to use it efficiently. Anyone can now easily find facts using a search engine instead of dredging them from the gray matter dungeon -- assuming they know a few basic tricks. Never underestimate the power of a skilled search expert.

Improve Your Internet Search Skills

When conducting Internet searches, there are several very useful search techniques for finding the most reliable information available. I try to find the most widely respected sources for any articles I write. Most people tend to respect messages which are backed up by information posted on websites of the major media, universities, or government sources. Below are a few key Internet research techniques to use search engines more effectively and find the most reliable sources. The tips covered are:

• How to verify and find the strongest source for information


• Set your search results to 100


• Take advantage of the "Cache" link


• Find disappeared articles and older versions of webpages when you have the URL


• Use search engines to search a single website


• How to find reliable sources when you only have text or video


• Search for reliable videos


• Consider a "What You Can Do" section

How to Verify and Find the Strongest Source for Information

Whenever you receive important information about which you are uncertain, there are several ways you can try to verify what you've received. Particularly if you are writing an email to friends or posting a message to the Internet with information that may be difficult to believe, your friends and readers will generally trust what you write more if you include links to reliable sources for any key information you provide. Here are a few key techniques you can use to verify information and find the best sources:

• Pick out several of the key words which would identify Internet posts on the topic.


• Type them into a search engine.


• On the results list, scan the URLs at the bottom of each entry.


• Look for the most reliable source listed.


• Search both Google and Yahoo, as they often differ.


• At the bottom of the search page, if you find "repeat the search with the omitted results included," it may be worthwhile to click it to find more results.

If you don't immediately find a good source, search both on the search engine's regular search page and its news search page. The news search can be found in the string of links at the very top left of the page on Google or in the dropdown "more" menu on Yahoo. The regular search is more complete, but often has many entries from non-reliable sources. The news search page limits your search to more reliable news websites, but often misses key important sources. If the information you are searching is recent news, you might want to start on the news search pages.

Important Note: Entries to news searches on most search engines are usually deleted after about one month, so you won't find older media articles there.

Set Your Search Results to 100

To ease your searches, set your search engine to display 100 results. Here are directions to do so using Google. Yahoo is similar, though the page you want is under the link "Options" and then "Settings.".

• Go the "Search settings" link. It is in the drop down menu on the wheel icon at the top right of the Google search page.


• Scroll down to "Number of Results" and change it to 100. This makes searching through more than 10 results much easier.


• In that same window you might want to choose "Open search results in a new browser window."


• Click "Save Preferences" and you are done.

Take Advantage of the "Cache" Link

If you click on a search entry and it gives you a blank page or an error message, it will usually still be available at that cache link. To find the "Cache" button on Google, click on the green downward pointing arrow at the end of the second line and select "Cached". On Yahoo, click on "Cached" at the end of the second line. If these are no longer there (the search engines have fequently changed how to access the cache), do a search to find out how to access the cache. You might want to download and save the entire cached page (File > Save Page As), as it will likely disappear from the search engine before too long if the webpage has been removed.

Find Disappeared Articles and Older Versions of Webpages When You Have the URL

The Internet Archive is a very useful source for Internet research. It can be used to find a copy of an important web page that has been removed. It can also be used if a webpage has been changed and you want to see what it used to look like. Here's how to use this great resource.

• Copy the URL (Internet address) of the missing or changed page.



• If there is anything in the "Wayback Machine" box, delete it.


• Paste the URL you've copied into the box and click the "Take Me Back" button.


• Click on any date listed to see the original article as it was posted on that date.

The above method will show you exactly how the webpage looked on the date it was copied into the archive. Please note, however, that any website can request not to be listed on the Internet archive. Though very few websites have done this, unfortunately many major media websites have done so. If this is the case, you may still be able to find the article on another website using a quote from the original article, as mentioned in the section immediately below.

How to Find Reliable Sources When You Only Have Text or Video

If you receive the text of an article you want to use that claims to be from a major news, government, or other reliable source, but no link is given, or the link is to an less-known news website, you can usually find the original article easily on its source website. The same technique can be used when you watch a Google, YouTube, or other video of a news report and want to find the report posted on the major media website.

• Copy a string of seven to ten words or so from the text. It is generally better to find text with less commonly used words.


• Copy that string of words into your favorite search engine and put quotation marks on both ends. This limits the search to only webpages with that exact string and order of words.


• Click "Search"


• Scan the URLs at the bottom of each entry listed to find the news website.


• If the list is too long and the article is less than a month old, click on the "News" link. This limits the search to pages from websites defined as news websites by these search engines.


• For video, use the same technique by typing in a string of seven or so words spoken in the video.

For articles from a news agency like AP (Associated Press), some people will be more convinced if the article is picked up by a website like MSNBC, ABC, New York Times, etc. By doing a search on a string of words as instructed above, you will often find the article published on a major media website. You can then list the sources as something like MSNBC/AP or New York Times/AFP. Always include links for verification.

Important Note: If a legitimate, but important AP article is not picked up by other media sites, you can then be fairly certain it is being censored by media ownership. In my extensive research on the Internet, I have found this happens often with subjects most sensitive to the power elite of our world. For clear examples of this by numerous award-winning journalists, click here.

Use Search Engines to Search a Single Website

When you want to search for something on a specific website, there is a way to refine your search so that the entries listed only come from the specified website. In the search engine, simply type "site:" then enter the site's URL, no quotation marks. Type in a space after the URL, and then whatever words or string of words you want to search. When entering the site, http:// and www are not necessary, but there must be no space between the colon after the word "site" and the URL.

Search for Reliable Videos

You can sometimes find video coverage of key information by doing a simple video search using key words at www.google.com/videohp. Google owns both Google Video and YouTube. They also list many other video websites on the video search page, so searching this one resource gives you search results for most popular video websites online. A few times I've been amazed to find video footage of sensitive articles which disappeared from their source website. Even if you have the written text from a major media website, including a link to or embedding a video report of the text in your message can make it much stronger.

Consider a "What You Can Do" Section

These Internet search tips should help you to find the most solid sources available for information you receive and articles you write. If you want to recommend to your readers to contact the media and their political representatives about your information, you can use this link or post the information from the link. You might also want to include a "What You Can Do" box like that below. It encourages people to join in spreading the word and making a difference.

How do I enable or disable or delete Internet cookies?

Microsoft Internet Explorer users

Deleting cookies

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x and 6.x users can delete cookies by clicking the "View" menu, "Internet Options" and clicking the button "Delete Cookies."

Viewing cookies on your hard drive

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x and 6.x users running Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 can delete or view cookies on the hard drive by opening the "C:\Document and Settings\\cookies" folder, where is the name of your account used to log onto the computer.

Other Internet Explorer users may locate the cookies in one of the below directories.

• Windows 95 and 98 users - C:\Windows\Cookies
• Windows NT users - C:\WinNT\Administrator\Cookies

Disabling cookies

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x users can disable or manage their cookie settings by clicking the "View" menu, "Internet Options",  and selecting the "Privacy" tab.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x users can disable cookies by clicking the "View" menu, "Internet Options", "Advanced" and select "Never accept cookies" or "Warn me before accepting cookies."
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x users can disable or warn for cookies by clicking the "View" menu, "Options", "Advanced" and select "Never accept cookies" or "Warn me before accepting cookies."

Enabling cookies

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x and above users can enable or manage their cookie settings by clicking the "View" menu, "Internet Options",  and selecting the "Privacy" tab.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x users can enable cookies by clicking the "View" menu, "Internet Options", Advanced" and unselecting "Never accept cookies" or "Warn me before accepting cookies."
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x users can enable cookies by clicking the "View" menu, "Options", "Advanced", and unselecting "Never accept cookies" or "Warn me before accepting cookies."

Mozilla Firefox users

Deleting cookies on your hard drive

Mozilla Firefox 1.0 users can delete the cookies on their hard drive by clicking the "Tools" menu, "Options", clicking the "Privacy" button, and under "Cookies" click the Clear button.

Disabling cookies

To disable Mozilla Firefox 1.0 cookies, click the "Tools" menu, "Options", clicking the "Privacy" button, and under "Cookies" uncheck the "Allow sites to set cookies" option.

Enabling cookies

To enable Mozilla Firefox 1.0 cookies, click the "Tools" menu, "Options", clicking the "Privacy" button, under "Cookies" check the "Allow sites to set cookies" option.

Netscape users

Deleting cookies on your hard drive

Netscape 7.x users can manage and delete cookies by clicking the "Tools" menu and then "Cookie Manager."

Disabling cookies

• Netscape 4.x users can disable cookies by clicking the "Edit" menu, "Preferences", "Advanced", and select "Warn before accepting cookies."
• Netscape 7.x users can disable cookies by clicking the "Tools" menu and then opening the "Cookie Manager."

Enabling cookies

• Netscape 4.x users can enable cookies by clicking the "Edit" menu, "Preferences", "Advanced", and unselect "Warn before accepting cookies."
• Netscape 7.x users can enable cookies by clicking the "Tools" menu and then opening the "Cookie Manager"

Opera users

Opera users can manage, disable, and enable their cookies by clicking the "File" menu, "Preferences", and selecting "Privacy."

Google search tips

Below are some basic tips as well as some secrets that can be used on Google to help improve your search results and find things you may have never thought of.

1. Group your search query to find better results. For example, if you're searching for computer help, you'll find better results if you search for an exact phrase by surrounding it in quotes: "computer help".
2. If a lot of your results have keywords you're not search for use a minus sign. For example, if you're looking for computer help but don't want pages containing Windows type: "computer help" -windows
3. Google supports number ranges, for example, if you're searching for computer help between the year 2000 to 2005 you can type: "Computer help" 2000..2005
4. See the Google operators page, which lists dozens of the available operators Google allows. For example, the below search would search for URL that contains the word computer: allinurl: computer
5. Visit the Google Features page, which lists hundreds of different examples of the things you can find through Google and how to find them.
6. See the Google dictionary definition for a listing of dozens of other Google services.

Below are some more advanced searches and what they do.

intitle:index.of + mp3 -asp -html -htm -php -pls -txt

In the above example, when entered into Google this search result looks for any index of MP3 files that does not contain the standard web pages like HTML, PHP, etc. or any other non-related pages. In the above example you can replace mp3 with avi or other file extension to search for these files.

intitle:index.of + mp3 "" -asp -html -htm -php -pls -txt

In the above example you could replace "" with the artists name, track, group, or name of the MP3 you're looking for. Keep in mind when downloading MP3 that you should own the track or song you're downloading otherwise it's considered illegal.

inurl:"ViewerFrame?Mode="

In the above simple example, Google will return results of insecure live web cams and with some of the services even allow you to control the cameras over the Internet.

The above three examples are just a few more advanced searches used to help illustrate how many different things can be found through Google.