Tread Towards A Successful ?Internet Research?

Internet is a terrific resource containing billions of web pages dedicated to thousands of topics. Since the amount of information available on the Internet is so vast and mind baffling you may feel lost.

Your expectations from "The Information Superhighway" will crash if you proceed with the general view that exaggerates the ease of Internet usage. What is required is a moderate, balanced approach keeping one's head on shoulders. Approaching the net should be similar to any other research endeavor i.e. by adopting a formal strategy to maximize results. "Motivation" is the key word here. If you do not have a serious research goal, you cannot dig far.

To make the search a more meaningful exercise and profitable too, you should know where to search and how to search. Be clear about what you are looking for? Be specific in the identification and use of keywords. Being an advanced Internet researcher, you should always use the advanced services when available on a search engine or a directory or a look-up. Have a list of Boolean search strings ready before proceeding on for advanced search in a search engine. For preparing Boolean expressions the following may be used as required:

"AND" is used to tell the search engine to find both terms on the same page.

"OR" is used to find one term or the other. Looking for one term is very useful when the same term may appear in two different ways.

"NOT" tells the search engine to look for web pages with the first term but not the second.

"NEAR" instructs the search engine, only to return the web pages in which the terms are near each other.

Categories of Search Tools available are:

Search Engines ? They use keywords or phrases to search the Internet. Many of them allow you to enter questions rather than simply a few search terms. Most search engines have catalogues that sort a limited number of sites on the topic. Some frequently used search engines are:

• Alta Vista

• AOL

• Excite

• Google

• Hotbot

• Lycos

• MSN Search

• Northern Light

• Overture

• Web Crawler

Meta Search Engines - They quickly and superficially search several individual search engines at once and return results compiled into a convenient format. They only catch about 10% of search results in any of the search engines they visit. Some examples of Meta S.Es are:

• Ask Jeeves

• Copernic

• Meta Crawler

Subject Directories ? They are the collection of web sites picked by editors (sometimes experts in a subject) and organized into hierarchical subject categories. They are often carefully evaluated and kept up to date. Some widely used directories are:

• About.com

• BigHub

• DMOZ

• Invisible Web

• Yahoo

Search engines are wonderful but the problem is that none of them has indexed even half of the Internet. Each search engine indexes the web differently, searches the web differently and thus has very different results. This means if you enter a search into Altavista and get zero results, this may not be the case if you go to Northernlight or Google. A good web researcher must search a few search engines before exhausting the search.

What is MUST before setting out for search is a glance at the FAQs. As each search engine is different from each other, it is essential to set your doubts at rest before you proceed.

X-raying the websites ? At times you will not be allowed to access a particular page on the website as it may not be linked with any of the pages on that URL. A good researcher knows that just because you are not allowed access to a page, does not mean you can't still get in. If you can't get in from front door of the website, then try the back door of the server by using the advanced function on a search engine. Even if a page is not linked, the search engines might have indexed it. All you need to do is go to the advanced search function on Altavista and type in host:XYZ.com AND the words you expect to find on your page.

Flip Searching ? Flipping is a technique in which you look for pages containing links to specified URLs. Use linkdomain:ABC.com to tell the search engine to locate all the pages that are linked to "ABC URL".

Every great researcher should have an organized library of resources. Whether this comes in the form of organized bookmarks and favorites or a notebook, it is imperative to track your research.

The Internet is like an ever-changing medium. What worked yesterday, may not work today. Therefore, a good researcher should always have "Ever Onwards" as the motto and should not surrender the search easily. With over billions of pages on the Internet you can turn all odds in your favor and succeed in finding what you are looking for.

About The Author

Jagmohan Saluja is a Virtual Professional providing support services to small businesses. To know more about him visit http://www.internet-researcher.com.

indianva@internet-researcher.com

---

10 Things to Expect from Your SEO Copywriter

From the perspective of a business owner, webmaster, or marketing... Read More

The Myth of Search Engine Submission

Contrary to what most people think, it is not necessary... Read More

How Search Engines Connect Sellers and Buyers

Maggie knows how to find what she wants. She lets... Read More

Tread Towards A Successful ?Internet Research?

Internet is a terrific resource containing billions of web pages... Read More

7 Search Engine Resources You Should Be Using Now

Ask any business person who's website is at the top... Read More

Top 2 Ways To Get Higher Rankings in Major Search Engines

Top 10 search engine rankings. Everybody wants it but a... Read More

SEO - Are You Making The Search Engines Mad?

If you've been involved in SEO (search engine optimization) for... Read More

Is This A ?DMOZ Killer? In The Making?

Is building a Human-Edited Fully "Democratic" Search Directory Possible?The independent... Read More

The Benefits of Organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

If you're going to sell any type of product or... Read More

Search Engine Algorithm Quandaries

Before you make drastic changes to your website after a... Read More

Link Popularity: Improve Your Search Engine Rankings

What is link popularity?Link Popularity is simply the total number... Read More

Choosing your Meta-Keywords

Introduction This article assumes you already know what... Read More

Submitting Your Site To The Open Web Directory: Some Dos And Don?ts

One of the most important steps in any site's publicity... Read More

Get Better Search Engine Rankings with RSS

RSS is the latest craze in online publishing. But what... Read More

DMOZ: Rotten To The Core

I knew things were bad at DMOZ. But I guess... Read More

How To See What Pages Of Your Site Google Has In Its Index

There is a lag time between the indexing or updating... Read More

Developing A List Of Keywords For Marketing

Keywords aren't just some words that allow search engines, like... Read More

The Sandbox Effect

What once many people thought they had a penalty, is... Read More

How to Get One Way Backlinks

Don't be fooled into believing that all backlinks are created... Read More

Google Patent Application - SEO Highlights

The recent patent application filed by Google details numerous items... Read More

So, Where Has Your Search Engine Been Today?

Visit Google, Yahoo, MSN or one of the lesser search... Read More

SEO Basics - 8 Key Strategies For Online Business Success

The world of search engine optimization (SEO) can be a... Read More

Are Your SEO Efforts Going To Waste?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a long and complicated process... Read More

PPC v Natural Search ? A Cost Comparison Case Study

The attraction of Pay Per Click (PPC) online advertising is... Read More

A Simple White Hat Technique To Get Indexed By Google

Everybody knows that getting indexed in Google is getting more... Read More

SEO Hints and Tips and Free SEO Tools

Do you realize that if you manage your website, SEO... Read More

Why Search Engine Optimization is Not Enough

OK. So you've created a nice website with lots of... Read More

Keywords: The First Step To Recognition

Open Wordtracker [ http://www.wordtracker.com/ ] and you'll see... Read More

SEO for CEOs ? Search Engine Optimization Unmasked for CEOs

If you're like most other CEOs, the term "search engine... Read More

Absolute & Relative Links How Do They Rank?

The question for this article is whether or not you... Read More

The Life Blood of Internet-Based Home Businesses...Search Engines

Anyone involved in an Internet-based home business will soon come... Read More

How to Get a Website Indexed Fast

Get Indexed FastWhat does getting indexed mean?The search engines keep... Read More

The Top 3 Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Websites Search Engine Rankings- and How to Fix Them!

Getting your website up and running is hard enough. After... Read More