I’ve always thought of myself as pretty
proficient when it comes to searching. When I was younger I used to utilize
multiple search engines when searching, but now Google is really the only site I
use because of its dominance. Searching for the information you want seems a
little more difficult in recent years because of the growth of sponsoring for
Google and search engine optimization. If I had to lay out a guide based on how
I search for information, this is what it would include:
1.
Always use Google. It is the most popular and
should give you any site you are looking for. If you dig a little deeper than
the one search option, you’ll find that Google allows you to narrow your search
with tools like, when the info was published, how strictly it is filtered,
language, region, including x words, excluding y words, reading level and so
on.
2.
For your initial search, type what you think the
least educated person would put in. If you’re looking for cheap shoes in Boston,
search “Shoes Boston Discount”, for example. If you’re looking for a more specific
answer, be more specific with what you type, for example, “Shoes Heels Leather
Boston Newbury Street”.
3.
Always go a little further and see what they
offer for links, images, video, news and maps to get a fuller search of
whatever it is you are looking for. I really like that Google is connected with
Youtube because you can more specifically search for videos
4.
Going beyond the first or second page of results
isn’t usually worth it. I don’t usually go past page 3. If a site is popular,
it will have better search engine optimization, so it is probably a better
source.
Those guidelines basically reflect my own personal
searching, hopefully it will be helpful for others as well!
Hey Ally-
ReplyDeleteLike you, it seems like a lot of people use Google as their main search engine. I like how you talked about the different search tools that Google has (they are always useful). Also, you mentioned that you used to use other search engines when you were younger, but now only use Google.
I remember using different search engines when I was younger also (ask, dogpile, msn, etc.) but now since Google has pretty much dominated search engines everywhere it's the easiest one to get to (not that it would be too far of a stretch to get to others). Every computers search bar automatically brings you to google. It's funny how you get better results when you take what you listed in step two as opposed to asking a specific question. I've asked exactly what I need and found nothing but when you just type in key words the page options are endless.
ReplyDelete