Searching the web

Internet can be considered as the largest library available and updated continuously. So, sometimes to find necessary information can be difficult.

The name World Wide Web (WWW or Web) even  reflects its essential features:

• is for searching information in the entire Internet (World Wide = worldwide)
• uses hypertext to organize information, which makes it look like a spider web (web) allowing easy navigation from one page to another.

For finding information in Web it can be used the following tools:

• navigation service – the browser, which allows access to information by entering the web address of the page (called a URL – Uniform Resource Locator – standard identifier where to find the resource), or by following a hyperlink to another document (which contains the URL of that page)
• automatic search service – by:
  • search tools
  • indexing tool
  • search engine

The browser allows, in general, to perform the following operations:

• to browse web pages and viewing them
• to follow links between documents that contain hyperlinks
• to copy information from the Internet on your computer
• to search information in the Internet
• to quick retrieve information by using “bookmarks” (“favorite page”) and history
• to access other Internet services: e-mail, instant messaging, etc..

So, the browser integrates access to many Internet services through a user friendly interface and easy to use.

A faster alternative to “browse” web pages looking for desired information is to go to a search service, ie a website that generally contains the following information:

• instructions that show how to use the service
• methods by which the user may propose a topic for searching

Portals are specialized sites which function as a library catalog. These websites arranged by categories or domains various websites available on the Internet, according to certain criteria within the categories set (the subjects, by popularity, etc..).

Often, portals offer other services in addition to search (e-mail, news, etc..)

Search engines are websites that are designed to help the user to find easiest most directly the information on the Internet. Most times, in its role of search engine, are found both functionality – catalog indexing and search menu.

Search engine is basically an application that “browse” web pages on the Internet looking for words or phrases required by the user. To do this it uses some automated programs that make up the list of words within sites. Search results are displayed based on relevance determined by the search engine using indexing terms in these lists.

Therefore, search terms must be as defining as possible for the subject (keywords).

To limit the area of the search, it is better to use the advanced search mode (“advanced search”) that allows finding information faster through multiple search criteria.

For example, Google shows only pages that include all your search terms. There is no need to include “and” between terms. To search further, just include more terms and the results will contain a specific subset of the pages returned by the original application.

You can exclude a word from your search by putting a minus sign (“-“) immediately prior to the term you want to avoid. Also, you can search for phrases by including it among quotes.

Some tips for effective search:

• Be as exact as possible. Through a precise query is producing fewer results and relevant content is easier to find. For example, if I looked up the word law, we obtained several millions results. To search for copyright law are thousand times fewer results, while for the exact phrase “copyright law” there are very few reults.
• Do not use common words. Use appropriate words as sought subject, or search utility will return dozens of web pages with irrelevant information for you.
• Learn to adjust your query. If your query returns too many results, refine the search area. If your results are not sufficient, rephrase it in a more general way. Not always top keywords are the best.
• Use different forms of words. You can use different words that relate to the subject matter sought to get as much relevant information for you
• Use synonyms. For example, type both “running” and “jogging”. If you use a search utility that supports combinations of words – key synonyms, separate it by OR keyword
• Use quotes in quotation marks. If you search for a specific phrase or title, place them in quotation marks (eg. “Internet for Beginners”) to form search tool
• Use capital letters when necessary. Most directories and search indexes differentiate between uppercase and lowercase letters of the string searched. If the entered text contains only lowercase, search tool will identify only written text either uppercase or lowercase. If you write a capital letter, search utility assumes that it has a special meaning and will only display results that exactly match the string respectively.
• Learn secrets used search tool. Some search tools provide special facilities that help relevant content to be found more easily.