Search Engine Links

    
 

 


 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Glossary of Communications, Computer, Data, and Information Security Terms
 http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade/secgloss.htm

Search the newsgroups (Usenet discussion forums)
 groups.google.com

Search for a person or a business (White Pages, Yellow Pages, Maps & Directions)
 www.switchboard.com

Software to help you search
 www.copernic.com

Actually finding stuff when searching
Search Engine Watch contains news and tips about search engines, including search engine tutorials. If you're not fascinated by the topic, Search Engine Math is probably all you need to read to do successful searches.

For general searches, many use AltaVista or Google. A favorite multiple search engine page is DogPile. About is interesting when you want in-depth information on a topic compiled by one person. Yahoo may be one of the most popular directories on the web. groups.google.com searches newsgroups, so you can read what real people have written about a topic.

Basic Search Tips (These are general tips and don't apply to every search engine. If you've got a favorite search engine, take a couple of minutes to read their particular search tips.)

  • Put a plus + sign before every word that must appear in the results.
  • Do not put a + sign before optional terms.
  • Put a minus - sign before words that must not appear.
  • Put quotes around terms that must appear as a phrase.
  • Use lower case type for best results.
Example Search 
Let's say you were doing a search for hotels or bed and breakfasts in Medford, Massachusetts. It would be nice if the hotels were inexpensive, but you don't want to rule out sites that don't specifically state "inexpensive." Your search would look something like this:

+hotels +medford +massachusetts "bed and breakfasts" inexpensive

If necessary, tweak the search until the results you're getting back closely match what you're seeking.

When you get results that are way off, click on any result that is close to what you're looking for to see what kind of terminology that site is using. For example, you might be searching for "doing your books online," but everyone else is using the term "online accounting systems." When you realize that, change your search terms and do a new search. Keep tweaking in this manner until your results are mostly relevant.

Wisconsin Residents won't want to miss out on their own valuable resource, at BadgerLink, being "Wisconsin's Connection to the World of Information," BadgerLink is maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning.

Which are the major search engines?

Here is a list of the top search engines (not necessarily in any particular order):

  • Yahoo (www.yahoo.com)
  • Google (www.google.com)
  • Altavista (www.altavista.com)
  • Overture (www.overture.com)
  • LookSmart (www.looksmart.com)
  • Lycos (www.lycos.com)
  • AOL Search (www.aolsearch.com)
  • Ask Jeeves (www.askjeeves.com)
  • Teoma (www.teoma.com)
  • Excite (www.excite.com)
  • Fast Search (www.fastsearch.com)
  • HotBot (www.hotbot.com)
  • MSN Search (www.msn.com)
  • Northern Light (www.northernlight.com)
  • ODP / DMOZ (www.dmoz.com)



SEWWUG members - Please Click this bar (one time, only):

Contact the SEWWUG webmaster to add your favorite search engine to this list.
Click, below, to submit another Search Engine.
Copyright © 2002 SEWWUG
All trademarks, tradenames and service marks mentioned and/or used belong to their respective owners.