The Internet is an ever expanding universe, it’s a vast collection of information. For ease of understanding think of the Internet as the haystack and the particular information you want to find as the needle. So, how to make your chances of finding your needle in this huge haystack favourable? Well to deal with this daunting task you can use several strategies to make your search more efficient and effective.
Here are seven of these strategies:
- Use the Right Search Engine
Finding the right search engine is the first step to finding your metaphorical needle. Using the right search engine is crucial to finding what you want on the Internet. Although the most popular search engine is obviously, Google, it may not always be the best choice for your needs. Sometimes other search engines like Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo may provide more relevant results for your Search Or Type Web Address.
- Use Specific Keywords
Using specific keywords instead of using broad terms is a significant step in finding exactly what you want on the Internet. Specific keywords that are relevant to your search will help narrow down the search results. For instance, if you are looking for specific information on a specific type of mattress, using the size of the mattress will give you more accurate search results.
- Use Quotation Marks
When you use quotation marks around your search terms it helps you find exact matches for your search. For example, if you are looking for information on “how to make cookies”. The use of quotation marks will help you find pages that contain the exact same phrasing of words.
- Use Advanced Search Techniques
Most of the search engines offer advanced search techniques, these techniques can help you refine your search by giving you results for a specific time period, they can exclude certain words from your search, Boolean operators, or help you find specific file types.
- Use Social Media
Social media may not always be a very reliable source of information but some platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook can be great sources for finding information. Especially when you rely on the official social media pages of companies and organizations to gather this information. Many companies and organizations use social media to share news and updates these can help you stay up to date on the latest information.
- Use Online Communities
Online communities such as Reddit and Quora are sometimes the best sources of information. These communities are made up of people who share a common interest and usually provide very valuable insights and information on a wide range of topics.
- Use Specialized Search Engines
There are specialized search engines that can help you find information on specific topics. For example, if you’re looking for academic research you can use search engines like Google Scholar, oh if you’re looking specifically for images you can use the search engine Flickr.
By using these simple strategies you can easily find your needle in this humongous haystack of information that is the Internet.
