#9 How to use search engines effectively?

 

How to use search engines effectively?

Search engines have become an essential part of today’s digital world, they help us find out any information quickly and easily. Although plenty of information available on internet, sometimes we cannot find the information we are searching. This is why we must know how to use search engines to search what we are looking for. In this lesson we will learn the basics of search engines and effective ways to use it.

1. Keywords: Key words are the basics of search engines; these are the terms or phrases that we use to search information on search engines. As we enter any key word on search engine it will give a list of results of web pages which contain that key word. Accurate and usefulness of the results depends how relevant and specific keywords we enter.

2. Boolean Operators: Boolean operators are special characters that can be used in combination with key words that will make your search result more precise. To combine multiple keywords we can use AND, OR and to exclude certain information, we can use NOT.

3. Quotation Marks: Quotation marks are used to refine your search results. We can enclose a phrase in quotation marks and search the exact phrase instead just combination of individual keywords.

4. Advanced Search: Almost all search engines have this tool which helps us to find information precisely based upon criteria specified. For instance, by using Advanced search tool to search a website that have been updated within a certain time frame or to search pages that contains particular types of files. E.g. PDF,DOC, etc.

5. Search Results: When we search anything on search engines the results that we get are based upon ranking given by relevance. Generally, the most relevant result will appear on the top of the list, while less relevant results will appear down the page. A complex algorithm decides the ranking of results which considers various factors like the relevance of the content, the quality and quantity of links to drive traffic to the page, and the popularity of the website.

6. Cached Pages: Many search engines allow us to view cached pages, which are screen shots that had been saved by the search engines at some particular time. Cached pages help if a web page has been removed or changed since it was indexed by the search engine.

7. Sponsored Results: Besides, the standard search results, sponsored results could also be seen at the top or bottom of the page, these are paid advertisements that companies or organizations use to market their products or services.

8. Privacy: When the search engines search any information they also retain your details of your location and the devices that you are using. By doing this, the search engines can improve the quality and relevancy of your query. Sometimes the hackers take advantage of this system. You can secure your information by using privacy focused search engine, deleting your search history and minimizing the input of your personal information.

In conclusion, search engines are an important tool in this digital world, by knowing its algorithm we can use them effectively, and search relevant information very easily.

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