Searching for information online
Search engines, like Google and Yahoo, are often the key to saving time searching on the web.
The web is massive and has billions of pages. With all this information to search through, the best way to find relevant websites on a specific subject is to be as specific as possible. For example, to find sites on how to treat a sprained ankle, type in ’sprained ankle treatment’ rather than just ’ankle’. The more refined a search, the more accurate the search results will be.
When the results of a search appear, advertisements may also appear around the search results. On Google, for example, there are many sponsored links and ads, which may relate to the subject area. Although the user may choose to visit these, it’s important you know the difference between a search result and a commercial advertisement.
Most search engines have an Advanced Search feature. This enables users to search for pages within specific dates ranges, countries or by other criteria.
Many search engines will enable the user to control the content sources through the search engine. This can be done by going to the settings page of the search engine and selecting the ‘safe search’ option to make sure inappropriate content remains hidden.
Search engines aren’t the only way to find information. Users can also search via social bookmarking sites, such as Delicious. Another searching shortcut is to use a wiki, such as Wikipedia. Even if it doesn’t have the exact information required, it may have links to websites that do have the information.