Sunday 16 December 2012

How To Search information using search engine???

What is web search engine???

Web search engines work by sending out a spider to fetch as many documents as possible. Spider also called "crawler" or  a "bot" which can goes to every pages or can representative pages on every web site  that wants us  to be searchable and reads it. By using this spider which will using hypertext links on each page to discover and read a site's other pages. 

 Another program,  called an indexer,  which can reads these documents and creates an index based on the words contained in each document. Each search engine uses a proprietary algorithm to create its indices such that, ideally, only meaningful results are returned for each query.

Different Search Engine Approaches

  • Major search engines such as Google, Yahoo (which uses Google), AltaVista, and Lycos index the content of a large portion of the Web and provide results that can run for pages - and consequently overwhelm the user.
  • Specialized content search engines are selective about what part of the Web is crawled and indexed. For example, TechTarget sites for products such as the AS/400 (http://www.search400.com) and CRM applications (http://www.searchCRM.com) selectively index only the best sites about these products and provide a shorter but more focused list of results.
  • Ask Jeeves (http://www.ask.com) provides a general search of the Web but allows you to enter a search request in natural language, such as "What's the weather in Seattle today?"
  • Special tools and some major Web sites such as Yahoo let you use a number of search engines at the same time and compile results for you in a single list.
  • Individual Web sites, especially larger corporate sites, may use a search engine to index and retrieve the content of just their own site. Some of the major search engine companies license or sell their search engines for use on individual sites.

Where to Search First

According from Open Directory Project listed 370 search engines available for Internet users. There are about ten major search engines, each with its own anchor Web site (although some have an arrangement to use another site's search engine or license their own search engine for use by other Web sites). Some sites, such as Yahoo, search not only using their search engine but also give you the results from simultaneous searches of other search indexes. Sites that let you search multiple indexes simultaneously include:
  • Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com)
  • search.com (http://search.com)
  • EasySearcher (http://www.easysearcher.com)
Yahoo first searches its own hierarchically-structured subject directory and gives you those entries. Then, it provides a few entries from the AltaVista search engine. It also launches a concurrent search for entries matching your search argument with six or seven other major search engines. You can link to each of them from Yahoo (at the bottom of the search result page) to see what the results were from each of these search engines.
A significant advantage of a Yahoo search is that if you locate an entry in Yahoo, it's likely to lead you to a Web site or entire categories of sites related to your search argument.
A search.com search primarily searches the Infoseek index first but also lets you search the other major search engines as well.

EasySearcher lets you choose from either the popular search engines or a very comprehensive list of specialized search engine/databases in a number of fields.
Yahoo, search.com, and EasySearcher all provide help with entering your search phrase. Most Web portal sites offer a quickly-located search entry box that connects you to the major search engines.

How to Search

For "tips" on entering your search argument, see each search engine, including Yahoo's . It's good to read the information at least once. By "How to Search," we mean a general approach to searching: what to try first, how many search engines to try, whether to search USENET newsgroups, when to quit. It's difficult to generalize, but this is the general approach we use at whatis.com:
  1. If you know of a specialized search engine such as SearchNetworking that matches your subject (for example, Networking), you'll save time by using that search engine. You'll find some specialized databases accessible from Easy Searcher 2. 
  2. If there isn't a specialized search engine, try Yahoo. Sometimes you'll find a matching subject category or two and that's all you'll need.
  3. If Yahoo doesn't turn up anything, try AltaVista, Google, Hotbot, Lycos, and perhaps other search engines for their results. Depending on how important the search is, you usually don't need to go below the first 20 entries on each.
  4. For efficiency, consider using a ferret that will use a number of search engines simultaneously for you.
  5. At this point, if you haven't found what you need, consider using the subject directory approach to searching. Look at Yahoo or someone else's structured organization of subject categories and see if you can narrow down a category your term or phrase is likely to be in. If nothing else, this may give you ideas for new search phrases.
  6. If you feel it's necessary, also search the usenet newsgroups as well as the Web.
  7. As you continue to search, keep rethinking your search arguments. What new approaches could you use? What are some related subjects to search for that might lead you to the one you really want?
  8. Finally, consider whether your subject is so new that not much is available on it yet. If so, you may want to go out and check the very latest computer and Internet magazines or locate companies that you think may be involved in research or development related to the subject.


From Low Lik Yuen (Eric)

source from:
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/search_engine.html
http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/search-engine

Search Engine Tutorial

Search Engine Tutorial - Internet, Basic Search Tips, Search Symbols, Subject Directories, Metacrawlers, Spiders, Images - Page 1
There are a gazillion Web pages out there - no exaggeration. Most of us can't even find the letter "z" on the keyboard. That's where search engines come in. The problem with search engines isn't that they don't find the info you want but that they find too much info. Keep reading to find out how to narrow down your search and find exactly what you're looking for.
So how do search engines work? Search engines put together a database of sites by sending "spiders" or "robots" to crawl through the Web, going from link to link. When spiders get to a Web site, they index most of the words on the available pages. When you use a search engine, the engine scans its database of sites to match your keywords to those same keywords in pages in the database.

Basic Search Tips

It's easy to improve your search results. All you need to know are some basics. Some search engines have menus to do this but for others you have to enter the right commands. The following basic commands should be plenty of info for most people and should work in most of the major search engines.

Be Specific

The more specific you are, the more info you'll find. Tell the search engine exactly what you're looking for. For example, if you're looking for science experiments, enter School Science Fair Projects instead of science projects. If you know it's a chemistry experiment, add the word chemistry to your search.

The + Symbol`

Put the most important terms in your search first. To make sure the search finds pages with all the words you're looking for, put the + symbol in front of each word. For example, if you're looking for info on Britney and Justin (like if they're still together) then enter +Britney +Justin. Only pages that have both words will be on the list.

The - Symbol

If you're looking for something specific but don't want tons of other info that's not related to your topic, use the - symbol. For example, if you're looking for info on Tony Hawk but don't wanna read about his games, enter Tony Hawk -Pro -Skater -game -Playstation.

Using Quotation Marks

When you put your search terms in quotation marks, it's called a "phrase search." The search engine will give you pages that have the terms in the exact order of the words in quotations. For example, if you're looking specifically for a biography on Sarah Michelle Gellar, enter "Sarah Michelle Gellar Biography" and see what comes up.

Combining Symbols

Once you know how the above symbols work, try combining them to narrow down your search. A better search, than using a bunch of subtractions, might be to do the following: "Kylie Minoque" -Fever -"CD Review"

Booleans

Booleans (pronounced boo lee ans) can be used in most major search engines when they allow some kind of advanced searching. The most popular boolean operators are AND, OR and NOT. Booleans are a lot like the + and - symbols. AND means "include all of the words," OR means "include any of the words" and NOT means "exclude." For example, if you're looking for info on music and dancing enter music AND dancing. Your search will bring back sites that only include both those words.

Search Engine Tutorial
Learning To Use Search Engines
Search Engine Tutorial
The Search Begins Here

Most Popular Search Engines

Google
This is one of the best search engines out there. You don't have to deal with the advertising or search directories that other search engines include. Google lists your search hits according to what sites are the most popular and most visited. There's also an 'I'm Feeling Lucky' search option. You click on the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button and conduct your search as normal except it takes you directly to the first site on the list. Apparently the first site that Google gives you is the best site. This isn't always true but it can save you time if you know exactly what it is you're looking for.

Yahoo
Yahoo was one of the earliest search engines on the net. It hasn't continued to be the best though. You can't do advanced searches to limit the amount of hits your search will receive like most other search engines. Yahoo's site is also a place where you can shop, check your horoscope, email and the day's weather forecast. Yahoo also has a great subject directory.
Excite
Your search results are sorted not by how popular the sites are but by which sites match your keywords the best. However, Excite's site is really cluttered. If you can find the search tool sandwiched between advertising, news and more advertising, then it will do the job. You can search for images here as well, so that's an added bonus.
MSN
Like so many of the other search engines, MSN has tons of shopping options. It also has the top news headlines, a link to your Hotmail account and lots more. The actual search tool is located on the far right of the page, so it's easier to use and locate than Excite's.
AltaVista
AltaVista updates its database (that's where your search results come from) daily. They have over 31 million Web sites in their database, so you're bound to find what you're looking for. It's also a really neat and tidy site. It offers a subject directory, news and ad links - all clutter free.

Where To Go For Images

Have you ever had trouble searching for pictures on the web? If you need pictures but don't feel like spending hours inspecting hundreds of sites for the perfect pic then hit a search engine image bank.
For example, if you head to www.mamma.com, click on the box marked The Web, scroll down and then click on images. Type whatever it is you're looking for in the search box the same way you would if searching for a Web site. The result will be tons of great images at your fingertips. Remember though that many pictures are copyrighted and cost money to download. Make sure you check whether the image you want is free before you download. Some other search engines that have image banks are Google and AltaVista.

Subject Directories

If you're looking for info on popular topics, commercial sites, products or a specific interest, use a subject directory. They're usually smaller than search engines but they're created and run by humans, not spiders or robots. Directories are also good if you don't know what you're looking for. Most directories have a keyword search option so you don't have to dig through almost-related topics. For example, if you're looking for math help but don't know exactly what kind of help or math you need, check out a subject directory on math. There's tons of sections that might lead you to exactly where you're looking instead of having to sort through thousands of pages at a major search engine. If you're looking for something specific, it's better to go with a search engine. Yahoo and LookSmart are examples of Subject Directories.

What are MetaCrawlers?

MetaCrawlers are search engines that send your search questions out to most of the major search engines all at once, unlike a singular search engine like Google that just searches its own database. The results from a search on a metacrawler are usually grouped according to the search engine they were found on. You can also search for images through a metacrawler. Here are Kidzworld's Top 5 MetaCrawlers:

By  Charyn Yi
( LAI JIA YI )

The 10 Best Search Engines of 2012

 The 10 most useful Search Engines of 2012

Web sources:http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/navigatingthenet/tp/top_10_search_engines_for_beginners.htm 
                A search engine is a web site that collects and organizes content from all over the internet. Those wishing to locate something would enter a query about what they'd like to find and the engine provides links to content that matches what they want.As regards real estate, millions of searches are done each day on mulitple search engines for search queries like "Atlanta real estate", or "atlanta ga real estate". The search engine returns results for real estate related sites and content for the Atlanta, GA area in this case. The sites are ranked by highly secret and complex formulas. These formulas are also changed frequently by the engines.Though there are many who attempt to manipulate their sites to get higher placement in results, it's generally best to provide highly relevant real estate and area content and make it very useful for your site visitors. As all the engines are striving to be the most popular based on results that are closest to what the searcher is looking for, it can only be a good strategy to provide that relevant content.
 The 10 most useful Search Engines of 2012

Most people don't want 290 search engines, especially people who are internet beginners. Most users want a single search engine that delivers three key features:
  1. Relevant results  (results you are actually interested in)
  2. Uncluttered, easy to read interface
  3. Helpful options to broaden or tighten a search
With this criteria, 10 Reader Favorite Search Engines come to mind. These 10 search sites should meet 99% of the searching needs of a regular everyday user.
Below is a changing list of user favorites, compiled from reader email suggestions. The sites below are in random order, and are updated regularly to reflect changes and user suggestions.

Submit a Site: you are welcome to suggest a search engine for inclusion in this list.

1. Duck Duck Go

At first, DuckDuckGo.com looks like Google. But there are many subtleties that make this spartan search engine different. DuckDuckGo has some slick features, like 'zero-click' information (all your answers are found on the first results page). DuckDuckgo offers disambiguation prompts (helps to clarify what question you are really asking). And the ad spam is much less than Google. Give DuckDuckGo.com a try... you might really like this clean and simple search engine.
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2. Ask (aka 'Ask Jeeves')

The Ask/AJ/Ask Jeeves search engine is a longtime name in the World Wide Web. The super-clean interface rivals the other major search engines, and the search options are as good as Google or Bing or DuckDuckGo. The results groupings are what really make Ask.com stand out. The presentation is arguably cleaner and easier to read than Google or Yahoo! or Bing, and the results groups seem to be more relevant. Decide for yourself if you agree... give Ask.com a whirl, and compare it to the other search engines you like.

3. Dogpile

Years ago, Dogpile was the fast and efficient choice before Google.  Things changed, Dogpile faded into obscurity, and Google became king. But today, Dogpile is coming back, with a growing index and a clean and quick presentation that is testimony to its halcyon days.  If you want to try a search tool with pleasant presentation and helpful crosslink results, definitely try Dogpile.

4. Bing

Bing is Microsoft's attempt at unseating Google. Bing used to be MSN search until it was updated in summer of 2009. Touted as a 'decision engine', Bing tries to support your researching by offering suggestions in the leftmost column, while also giving you various search options across the top of the screen. Things like 'wiki' suggestions, 'visual search', and 'related searches' might be very useful to you. Bing is not dethroning Google in the near future, no. But Bing is definitely worth trying.

5. The Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a favorite destination for longtime Web lovers. The Archive has been taking snapshots of the entire World Wide Web for years now, allowing you and me to travel back in time to see what a web page looked like in 1999, or what the news was like around Hurricane Katrina in 2005. You won't visit the Archive daily, like you would Google or Yahoo or Bing, but when you do have need to travel back in time, use this search site.

6. Yippy (formerly 'Clusty')

Yippy is a Deep Web engine that searches other search engines for you. Unlike the regular Web, which is indexed by robot spider programs, Deep Web pages are usually harder to locate by conventional search. That's where Yippy becomes very useful. If you are searching for obscure hobby interest blogs, obscure government information, tough-to-find obscure news, academic research and otherwise-obscure content, then Yippy is your tool.

7. Yahoo!

Yahoo! is several things: it is a search engine, a news aggregator, a shopping center, an emailbox, a travel directory, a horoscope and games center, and more. This 'web portal' breadth of choice makes this a very helpful site for Internet beginners. Searching the Web should also be about discovery and exploration, and Yahoo! delivers that in wholesale quantities.

8. Mahalo

Mahalo is the one 'human-powered' search site in this list, employing a committee of editors to manually sift and vet thousands of pieces of content.  This means that you'll get fewer Mahalo hit results than you will get at Bing or Google. But it also means that most Mahalo results have a higher quality of content and relevance (as best as human editors can judge).
Mahalo also offers regular web searching in addition to asking questions.  Depending on which of the two search boxes you use at Mahalo, you will either get direct content topic hits or suggested answers to your question.
Try Mahalo.  You might like it enough to even become a editor there.
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9. Webopedia

Webopedia is one of the most useful websites on the World Wide Web. Webopedia is an encyclopedic resource dedicated to searching techno terminology and computer definitions. Teach yourself what 'domain name system' is, or teach yourself what 'DDRAM' means on your computer. Webopedia is absolutely a perfect resource for non-technical people to make more sense of the computers around them.

10. Google

Google is the undisputed king of 'spartan searching'. While it doesn't offer all the shopping center features of Yahoo!, Google is fast, relevant, and the largest single catalogue of Web pages available today. Make sure you try the Google 'images', 'maps' and 'news' features... they are outstanding services for locating photos, geographic directions, and news headlines.


 By sheuejiun kuan ( Kuan )


Effective Use of Search Engine


Web sources from: http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/may98/gak5.htm
By Greg Knollenbergthe, CEO of Writers Write, Inc.


Online research has become an essential skill for writers. What typically took place in libraries, by phone calls or visits to experts in the field is being changed because of the Internet. Experts can sometimes be contacted by email and information, whether it is addresses, phone numbers, or detailed specifics on a certain subject, can be accessed on the World Wide Web. Search Engines have become the most important tools in locating this information, so it is important to know how to use them effectively. Search skills can be developed through practice in using the search engines and by reading the help pages provided by the search engines themselves. Over time, you will learn which search engine is good for pulling up what kind of information. This article will provide a general overview of the various search engines and some of their advanced search features which will help you with your online research.

What Are the Major Search Engines?

There are many search engines and internet directories, but familiarizing yourself with several major ones will be enough to get your online research off to a good start. The main search engines included in this article are InfoSeek, Yahoo, Excite, HotBot, AltaVista, Lycos and LookSmart; LookSmart and Yahoo are actually large directories rather than true search engines. Even these large commercial search engines and directories have been found to search only a small portion of the Web; however, this is typically enough to help you get to the right webpage that contains the information you are looking for or to a website that contains links to other sites containing information on your subject. Many of the major search engines are also becoming known as "Internet Portals" because they provide a number of popular services for the frequent internet user.

The Basics

When searching there are some simple rules to keep in mind. Generally the more keywords you use in your search the more specific and accurate your results will be. For example, a search for the Chicago Bulls Star, Michael Jordan, will produce better results if you search for the words "Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls" than if you search for just "Michael Jordan" which might bring up links to websites containing references to another person named Michael Jordan. However, if there was an article that did not mention the "Chicago Bulls", but did contain information about Michael Jordan (the Chicago Bulls Star), then you might miss out on this webpage. Therefore, you should try to fine tune the search as much as possible without being so strict on your keywords that you might miss something important. For example, Michael Jordan also starred in a Loony Tunes Movie named Space Jam, but searching for "Michael Jordan Space Jam" might eliminate some choice sports articles simply because they don't mention the movie. Try to use additional keywords that you think would be mentioned in the article or website you are looking for; this will help to eliminate unwanted results.

An easy way to simplify a search on many of the search engines is to place quotes around the topic, for example "Michael Jordan" or "Honey Bees" or "Student Contests." This way, the search will focus on the word combination and not bring up all the pages that contain the word Micheal or the word Jordan or Student or Contests. Some search engines will also perform this same function when you place a + sign in front the keywords such as +Student +Contests.

Search Engines Do More Than Search Text

In addition to searching text, search engines will also let you search for graphics, sounds and other kinds of files. Search engines will also search through the latest news stories from recently released press releases to news stories in national newspapers which is very useful if you are looking for the absolute latest information on your search topic. Search engines can also be used to search newsgroup postings, online and offline events and perform services such as chat, instant messaging and product searches for online shopping. Search engines also provide search access to databases of third parties which allow you to search through corporate reports, telephone listings, yellow pages, zip codes and numerous other information databases.

InfoSeek

InfoSeek is one of the best search engines for finding information In addition to searching the Web, InfoSeek provides guides to popular subjects which contain links to recommended sites. Each main topic in the guide is broken down further into subtopics, which contain links to more websites. Each topic will bring up a list of popular websites for that topic, which can be useful in getting you to a related site for your subject area very quickly. If you run a search on InfoSeek that relates to an InfoSeek guide you will notice that it pulls up a "Best Bets" feature that contains different categories related to your search. As mentioned above, these guides can get you to a website quickly without having to try out results from your search. The guides can also be accessed directly from the homepage of InfoSeek -- where it says "tune into our channels."

When running a search on InfoSeek there are a couple things you can do to enhance your results. First, you can search within the given results to further limit the information returned by the search. Simply enter an additional keyword or keywords and click on the "search within these results" box. InfoSeek also groups all of your results that occur in the same website. You will notice when this happens, because it will say under the website description "grouped results from" and the domain name of that website. You can click on the group results link to find more related pages on that particular website or you can click on "ungroup these results" to show every single page that matches your results, regardless of whether they occur in the same website. Ungrouping results can be useful if a particular website has many, many pages on your subject and you are looking for information that may be found on only a single page within that website. Searches can be further limited by using the advanced search, reachable by following the advanced search link on InfoSeek.

Searching for news stories is also available on InfoSeek. You can search through recent Reuters, PR Newswire and Businesswire releases or through news stories from major newspapers. InfoSeek will also search through company profiles, newsgroups, email addresses, phone numbers and stocks. In addition to searching, you can also reference information such as maps, Roget's thesaurus and Webster's dictionary. These additional tools can be found on the menu bar located at the top of InfoSeek.

Excite/Webcrawler

Excite provides a search engine that will crunch through webpages, and also provides searches of recent news stories, site reviews, a shopping guide and more. In a similar way to InfoSeek, if you are looking for well-developed and established sites for a particular subject you may want to visit the reviewed sites first. Site reviews on Excite can also be found on Webcrawler, but in a different layout. If you are only interested in the reviews you might find Webcrawler's set-up more convenient.

If you are looking for something very specific, then search the Web through Excite's search engine. Excite also provides searching of recent news stories. For later reference you can store your search keywords on Excite so you can re-run the same search another time. Be sure click on the "search tips" link to get additional search ideas and to find out additional ways to search Excite. Excite's "Power Search" will allow you to further limit your search. It allows you to select words that your search must NOT contain in addition to the words the search MUST contain. It also allows you to search only through websites that Excite recommends, to bring up only titles in your results (and not the description) and to show the results by the website's main URL. Excite also allows you to personalize Excite, under the "My Excite" section, which allows you to store your favorite websites, different kinds of news information, weather and other content for quick access.

Lycos

Lycos is another major search engine that is also becoming more of a media site, similar to Excite, Yahoo and InfoSeek. The main web search on Lycos uses a technology called WiseWire which brings up particular pages that pertain to your query and allows users to rate these pages at the same time. These "community guides" will often include some useful sites that you may not have found elsewhere. With Lycos you can also add more options to your search. By clicking on search features or by going to www.lycos.com/search/ you will also find the option of searching within a specific website. For instance, you could search only within the USA Today website by entering www.usatoday.com and then entering your keyword(s).

Lycos also has an advanced search option, dubbed "Lycos Pro." In addition to the options mentioned above, Lycos Pro allows you to rank the importance of different criteria pertaining to your search results including: how close together your keywords should be, how much the results need to match all of your keywords, how important is it for the keywords be part of the title of the webpage and whether the keywords need to appear in the exact order as you entered them in the search box. For each criteria you can select a low, medium or high measure of importance.

The help section on Lycos is detailed and includes screenshots that help you understand what each type of search can do. Lycos will also search for images, sounds and products and search through Usenet postings, message boards, and personal homepages. Lycos also provides web reviews, through its "Top 5% of the Web" service.

Look Smart

Look Smart is not a search engine in that it does not physically search through websites. Instead, Look Smart reviews a great number of websites and this database of website reviews is searchable on Look Smart. If you are looking for a website on a general subject, you should consider a search Look Smart first. In addition to searching the reviews, you can also click on the main topics (located on the left bar on Look Smart's homepage) which will dig you deeper into that topic and bring up more options. Clicking on these options will allow you to refine your search into more specific categories. Look Smart provides a quick and effective way to find websites quickly. However, if you are searching for a very specific topic, you might start with one of the search engines instead.

Yahoo

Yahoo is fast becoming a major media leader. As a search site it functions as a huge directory, which when searched will pull up links to some major and some minor sites related to your search. Searching Yahoo can be either useful or invaluable, depending on your subject field. If Yahoo cannot pull up the information you need, the keyword(s) you entered are run on AltaVista's search engine. One drawback to searching on Yahoo is it will often bring up unsignificant webpages related to your topic, such as personal homepages or outdated websites in addition to the more serious or commercial website(s) on your topic. By clicking on the options link next to Yahoo!'s search box you will get to an additional search page where you can limit your search to only the most recent additions to Yahoo -- as recent as within the last day or week. You can also browse through the listings in Yahoo by category from Yahoo's front page.

Yahoo also provides searchable news stories culled from various major sources. News comes to Yahoo from Reuters, E! Online, Variety, The Sporting News, ZDNet and others. Yahoo also provides product searches for online shopping, web reviews, stocks, maps, phone numbers and email addresses. If you are looking for news of new websites, Yahoo provides daily picks and an internet magazine called Yahoo Internet Life. Yahoo also provides online diversions in the way of message boards, chat, email addresses and instant messaging (Yahoo pager).

AltaVista

AltaVista is a great search engine if you are trying to pull up a large number of webpages relating to your search. AltaVista is also used by Yahoo when Yahoo's database is unable to match your search. AltaVista is most effective when you are involved in a very specific search or when when you are searching for recently added or updated webpages. You can search for new pages on your subject by changing the date on the search box to a recent date. Simply change the date from the date which reads 21/Mar/86 (the default date) to a more recent date and AltaVista will only search webpages posted since the date you select.

AltaVista can also perform a variety of search options you will not be aware of unless you click through to AltaVista's help menu. These additional options include: search only the text found in a hyperlink, find pages that contain a particular applet class, search pages with a particular domain name suffix (such as .com, .edu or .de), search pages on a specific website (i.e. usatoday.com), find images, find pages that link to a particular website, search through the text found only on the title of webpages and search for text on webpages but do not include the text in found in a link, image or title of the page. AltaVista also includes a number of specialty options for use when searching newsgroups, which are also explained on the help menu.

AltaVista works best when you want a large number of results, have a very specific topic or you want to search only recently posted webpages. It is not as useful if you are seeking a website on a general subject because AltaVista will bring up more results than you will want, including many inappropriate listings.

HotBot

HotBot is also an excellent search engine when you are interested in a large number of results and you are searching a specific subject. HotBot also provides browsing by subject through website reviews and has licensed reviews from Look Smart for this option. HotBot has an excellent search tool, entitled SuperSearch that will allow you to restrict your web search by the date, by the domain suffix (i.e. .com, .net), by continent and by media type such as audio or video. You can also restrict your search to a particular domain which can be useful if you are looking for information within a particular website.

HotBot also provides searching through recent news stories with its news search service entitled Newsbot. HotBot also contains searches for businesses, people, newsgroups, domain names, discussion groups and shareware.

Different Places for Different Searches

There is no perfect place or "all-in-one" search engine to do all your internet searching, because different search engines and directories will give different results. However, certain search engines do provide better results for certain searches. If you are searching for a general subject matter, try InfoSeek's guides or search through the reviews on Look Smart. If you are searching for something where you want to maximize the number of results try using AltaVista or HotBot. Remember to use quotes around your subject when appropriate, especially if you are searching for a person's name such as Abraham Lincoln (to eliminate results that include Lincoln's whose first name is not Abraham or results like Lincoln Town Cars, Lincoln, Nebraska and people named Abraham whose last name is not Lincoln).

For a quick reference, try Writers Write® Research which provides search boxes to many of the search engines mentioned above. Another useful page that contains links to numerous search engines can be found at: http://www.howtoweb.com/search/. Most importantly, spend some time getting used to the different search engines and directories to see what they have to offer. Read the help guides. Try out the super searches or advanced search tools. You might be surprised at just how easy it is to find the information you want.


By ChiSan Vivica
(Khoo Chi San)

How People Interact with Search Engines

Web sources: http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo/how-people-interact-with-search-engines

One of the most important elements to building an online marketing strategy around SEO is empathy for your audience. Once you grasp what the average searcher, and more specifically, your target market, is looking for, you can more effectively reach and keep those users.
Robot Evolution
We like to say "Build for users, not search engines." When users have a bad experience at your site, when they can't accomplish a task or find what they were looking for, this often correlates with poor search engine performance. On the other hand, when users are happy with your website, a positive experience is created, both with the search engine and the site providing the information or result.
What are users looking for? There are three types of search queries users generally perform:
  • "Do" Transactional Queries - Action queries such as buy a plane ticket or listen to a song.
  • "Know" Informational Queries - When a user seeks information, such as the name of the band or the best restaurant in New York City.
  • "Go" Navigation Queries - Search queries that seek a particular online destination, such as Facebook or the homepage of the NFL.
When visitors type a query into a search box and land on your site, will they be satisfied with what they find? This is the primary question search engines try to figure out millions of times per day. The search engines' primary responsibility is to serve relevant results to their users.
It all starts with the words typed into a small box.
 




Search engine usage has evolved over the years but the primary principles of conducting a search remain largely unchanged. Listed here are the steps that comprise most search processes:







  1. Experience the need for an answer, solution or piece of information.







  1. Formulate that need in a string of words and phrases, also known as “the query.”








  1. Enter the query into a search engine.








  1. Browse through the results for a match.








  1. Click on a result.








  1. Scan for a solution, or a link to that solution.








  1. If unsatisfied, return to the search results and browse for another link or...








  1. Perform a new search with refinements to the query.













By: Leong Sook Yee BA 11110163 (Miyu Nancy)

















Using Seach Engine

Using Search Engines to Find Information on the Web

Search Engines

Search engines on the World Wide Web are remotely accessible programs that let you do keyword searches for information on the Internet. There are several types of search engines and searches may cover titles of documents, URL's, headers, or full text. Keep in mind that the results you get from one search engine may not match the results you get from another search engine. In fact, they are often different due to the way each search engine behaves. Therefore, it may actually be beneficial to use more than one search engine on a regular basis.
In this section, we briefly look at Google and Yahoo!. Web pages are often dynamic and can change at any time. As a result, you may find that if either site changes, your experience with JAWS may be different than what is described here.

Google

EXERCISE: Use the link below to go to the Google Web site and follow along with the instructions.
When you first go to the Google Web site there is a blinking cursor in an edit box where you can type the word or phrase that you are interested in.
Google Instant is a search enhancement that shows results as you type. It is designed to predict a person's search by updating the page and showing results while you type. It is a time-saving feature. However, because the page is changing as you type this can sometimes cause problems for screen reader users. You may find a link on the page that reads "Screen reader users, click here to turn off Google Instant." If you choose this link it makes your searches using a screen reader much easier.
To change your preferences for Google you can do the following:
  1. Press INSERT+F7 to open the JAWS list of links.
  2. Choose the link Options, and then press ENTER. A links submenu opens on the Google site.
  3. Press DOWN ARROW to move to the link Search Settings, and then press ENTER.
  4. Beneath the heading Google Instant predictions is an On/Off slider bar. At the time of this writing it does not read well with JAWS. Press ENTER on it to go into forms mode.
  5. Press DOWN ARROW on this slider bar to turn the feature off.
  6. Press NUM PAD PLUS to get out of forms mode.
  7. Press B to move to the Save button at the bottom of the page, and then activate it by pressing ENTER.
To begin searching, for users of JAWS prior to version 10.0, the first thing you need to do is press the ENTER key to go into Forms Mode with JAWS. Once you are in Forms Mode, you can then type in keywords that will define your search.
If you are using JAWS 10.0 or later, forms mode comes on automatically when you get to a Web page which has the focus set to a blinking cursor in an edit box. If for some reason forms mode does not come on automatically on your computer, you can also press ENTER to go into forms mode, or you can press INSERT+F5 to open the Select a Form Field dialog box for JAWS.
MAGic Tip: MAGic users, just click into any edit box and forms mode comes on automatically for you.
JAWS Tip: New since JAWS 10, JAWS users who use a mouse can also click into edit boxes and forms mode comes on automatically.
After you have typed in some text, press ENTER to activate the Search button.
Google only returns Web pages that contain all of the words in your query. If you find that you get too many "hits" or Web pages that match your search, you can enter more words in your search query to narrow the choices.
Using good keywords gives you better results. Be as specific as you can. For example, a search for the keyword "musicians" will yield far more results than a search for the keywords "Elvis Presley." You do not need to include "and" between terms, but the order in which you type your keywords will affect the search results. You can also search for a specific phrase by including words in quotation marks. Google searches are not case sensitive.
You can also use the following items within your keywords for Google searches:
  • - (minus) sign. Causes Google to exclude a word from your search. For example, "JAWS" can refer to a screen reading software or a famous movie. You can exclude many of the movie-related hits by searching for "JAWS -movie." (Be sure to include a space before the minus sign and no spaces between the minus sign and the word "movie.") Searches for JAWS with different conditions yielded the following results:
    • JAWS, about 50,600,000 hits
    • JAWS windows -movie, about 8,600,000 hits
    • "JAWS screen reader" (in quotes) about 62,000
As you narrow your search and use better keywords, you get more relevant results.
  • Putting a phrase into quotes tells Google to look for the exact words in that exact order.
  • You can search for something within a specific website by typing the word or phrase followed by site:FreedomScientific.com (where the dot com changes to whatever site you are searching.
The I'm Feeling Lucky™ button takes you directly to the first Web page Google returned for your query. You will not see the other search results at all. For example, to find the home page for Stanford University, simply enter "Stanford" into the search box and choose the I'm Feeling Lucky™ button. Google takes you directly to www.stanford.edu, the official home page of Stanford University.
Try typing different things such as names, phone numbers, and more to find people or things.
Try a search for Freedom Scientific. Use this link to go to the Google Web site. On the results page, there are a couple of things you can do to get more information about the results of the search:
  • The statistics of your search are typically placed between the search edit box and the search results. You can press DOWN ARROW a few times to find this line, or you can use the JAWS find command CTRL+F to look for the word "Results," and then read that line. For example, when testing this, the search found, "About 86,400,000 for freedom scientific. (0.22 seconds)." This can be useful if you need to narrow the search.
  • Google uses a "main" ARIA landmark to guide you to the search results. You can press SEMICOLON to move from one ARIA landmark to another.
  • The items found as a result of your search are placed on the page as both links and headings. You can press the navigation quick key H to move quickly among the headings that match your search. Since they are also links, you can press ENTER to activate them and move to those Web pages of interest.
  • Below each heading (and link) that match your search is a short synopsis of what that page is about. After pressing H to move to a heading (link), just press DOWN ARROW to read the text below it for more information.
  • Remember, you can also press SHIFT+H to move backwards.
  • There is also a good structure to the headings. The heading level one on the page is the Google logo and link that will take you back to the main Google page. The search results begin to be listed after a heading level two. The matches found for the search are all level three headings.
EXERCISE: Google now uses ARIA landmarks to make navigation easier. Explore them by pressing SEMICOLON to move from landmark to landmark, and then press DOWN ARROW to move into the next section.
You can also read through the search results page using normal reading keys or use INSERT+F7 to open the list of links and see what related links were found. Use the Move to Link button in the links list ALT+M) to move to a particular link and then down arrow through the associated text to find out if this might be what you are looking for.
In addition to the information displayed on the initial results page, there are often links to more pages of information that meet your search criteria. These pages are reached by activating the link for the number of the page. Usually you will find links for additional pages 2 through 10 near the bottom of each page. Each page beyond the first page also contains a number of items that match your search.
NOTE: Look for an ARIA landmark called "content info region start" to move to these links quickly.

Google Search Tools

Google also provides easy-to-use search tools. For example:
  • "Weather Chicago" yields the current weather in Chicago
  • "25 kilometers in miles" converts kilometers to miles
  • "Define screen magnification" yields definitions for screen magnification
  • "Seafood restaurants 33716" yields restaurants that serve seafood in or near that zip code
  • And so on...
NOTE: For both the Google Web site and the Yahoo! Web site discussed in the next section, be sure to check out the other links on their sites for Advanced Search, Help topics, and more.

Yahoo!.com

Yahoo! is another search engine that many people use. The main Yahoo! page also has more information on it, such as sports and news headlines, entertainment links, and links to many other items. This tends to cause the page to appear more cluttered than the Google site, but may prove itself useful to you as well. As with Google, when you first go to the Yahoo! Web site there is a blinking cursor in an edit box.
For users of JAWS prior to version 10.0, the first thing you need to do is press the ENTER key to go into Forms Mode with JAWS. Once you are in Forms Mode, you can then type in keywords that will define your search.
If you are using JAWS 10.0 or later, forms mode comes on automatically when you get to a Web page which has the focus set to a blinking cursor in an edit box. If for some reason forms mode does not come on automatically on your computer, you can also press ENTER to go into forms mode, or you can press INSERT+F5 to open the Select a Form Field dialog box for JAWS.
MAGic Tip: MAGic users, just click into any edit box, and forms mode comes on automatically for you.
JAWS Tip: New since JAWS 10, JAWS users who use a mouse can also click into edit boxes and forms mode comes on automatically.
After you have typed in some text, press ENTER to activate the Search button.
Yahoo! behaves very much the same way as Google and displays a list of hits of matching items. These are links to further resources, and each link here also has a text description taken from that source that matches your query.
After a Yahoo! results page loads, press the letter H to move to the different headings on the page. Below the heading Search Results, you find the main links that match your search. Each contains a short text synopsis below it and a link for a cached version. Since the headings are also links, pressing ENTER on one takes you to the Web page indicated. Beneath each heading/link is text that describes a little bit about that page. Press INSERT+F7 to use the list of links to explore the links, or you can also press TAB to move from one link to another.
NOTE: Yahoo now also uses ARIA landmarks on search results pages. Look for the "main" region landmark to guide you directly to the search results area.
To find the number of matches, use the JAWS Find and look for the word "results" without the quotes. You should hear something like the following: "50,300,911 results."
Yahoo! also has links to other results pages, just as Google does. These links show as numbers 2 through 10 and are located near the bottom of the page.

Going Beyond the Search Engine Results Page

OK, so what happens when you choose one of the links you find on a search engine page? What strategies do you use to find the information you were initially searching for on the resulting page?
ANSWER: All of the strategies you learned in this series of Surf's Up lessons, including:
  • Use N to jump past a series of links to move to the next block of text that has at least 25 characters without a link.
  • Use the list of links (INSERT+F7) to look for links that begin with specific words.
  • Use the list of headings (INSERT+F6) to look for structure in the headings on a page.
  • Use the JAWS Find to search for words or phrases on a Web page.
  • Look for ARIA landmarks.
  • Use the Adjust JAWS Options list to change things as needed such as:
    • Stop page refreshes
    • Search for <title> attributes, acronyms, abbreviations, and more.
  • Use the Custom Label feature of JAWS to label unlabeled links or unlabeled form fields on pages that you visit often.

Information from:  http://www.freedomscientific.com/training/Surfs-Up/Search_Engines.htm

By: Leong Sook Yee BA 11110163 (Miyu Nancy)