How To Use Search Engines

What tools!

By Snarky LisaPublished a day ago • 3 min read

Ah, search engines. From Google to Yahoo, Bing, and even more indie-styled ones such as DuckDuckGo, these popular websites can be very useful tools for finding information on various matters in life and in the world — even if they don’t necessarily have much information of solely their own to give.

That being said, search engines are not invulnerable. Being websites on the Internet, they are perfectly capable of leading to just as much low-quality data as they are capable of helping find good material. For every reputable news website out there, there is a treasure trove of misinformation and unverified gossip lurking a few pages below it.

With all of the above in mind, it is important to be careful when one uses a search engine. What does this actually entail, though? Well, this article will go over just that.

Please note that I am not a licensed professional. As such, I cannot fully guarantee that any of this advice will work. Nonetheless, I hope you find it of at least some use for your life.

Don’t Type Too Much

As a general rule of thumb: don’t make your sentences super long. Like, just don’t.

Search engines are designed to aggregate data from internet websites based on how well the latter match a given searcher’s search terms. The more terms one uses in their searches, the fewer matches there will be. After all, words are more likely overall to appear on their own than they are to combine with other ones, even if said combinations are fairly common.

The one exception to this rule is if you absolutely wish to narrow down specific results. When it comes to certain obscure topics — at least in my experience — sometimes they only show up when several words in them are typed into the search box.

However, for general searches: just stick to a few key simple terms. It’ll likely be worth much more in the end.

Take Advantage Of Advanced Search

Are you getting bored with the same bland, monotonous top websites every time you search something of interest to you? Fear not! Advanced search exists for a reason. While specific features may vary by site, let’s take Google as an example:

Narrow down your results’ languages with the language tool. Filter out dates by using the “last update” feature. Focus on getting material from one specific website thanks to the “site or domain” tool.

For simpler goals, you can also filter certain words out, force Google to use specific combinations of your search terms, and even do numerical analysis for your search results. In addition, search settings allow you to block out adult-oriented content if you do not wish to see it.

Vet Your Results

That being said, it’s important to vet your results.

Cross check your sources — and make sure they all just aren’t from the same company. Apply some common sense while reading or watching what you find as well. Does argument B not flow from argument A at all?

Finally: don’t use Google or Yahoo or whatnot for the sole purpose of accessing illegally graphic real-life content. These websites do use cookies and various other tracking tools. If the police are desperate, they may very well be able to find you. Even if they don’t — why go to these sorts of sites when there is so much more out there on the World Wide Web?

…

Search engines can be both frustratingly complicated and pleasurably easy. When a balance is struck between these two mediums, that’s when they typically achieve the informative purposes they were made for.

Any other thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments!