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Have you ever found yourself typing a word in your favorite search engine and then sadly watching as over a million websites were returned for you to peruse? Ever felt that ‘ol sinking feeling in your stomach as you look unbelieving at the results wondering what language search engines actually speak in? (You're convinced at this point it’s not plain English!)
Search engines come in many sizes and operate on their own specific set of rules. The table below shows some of the top search engines and an approximate of how many pages they have listed. Obviously, using the larger search engines increases your chances of finding what you're looking for. Think of it like shopping in a small mall versus a larger one. Both have pro’s and con’s. (Note – Yahoo is a directory and is not included in this specific article).
| Search Engine Size*
(in millions) |
The key
to finding specific websites begins with a two simple actions:
|
|
| Big (140) | AltaVista: www.altavista.digital.com/ | |
| Big (110) | HotBot: www.hotbot.com | |
| Big (55) | Excite: www.excite.com | |
| Medium (30) | InfoSeek: www.infoseek.com | |
| Medium (30) | Lycos: www.lycos.com | |
| Big (67) | Northern Light www.northernlight.com | |
| Small (2) | Web Crawler www.webcrawler.com | |
Let’s assume that Excite is the search engine of choice (www.excite.com) and I'm searching for a business that can draw up a brochure for my company, A+ Computer Solutions located in Boise. I might be tempted to type in the first word that comes to mind: "brochure". After typing the word "brochure", I can easily find 1,449,160 matches and the first is in San Diego.….that ol’ sinking feeling hits again…
To trim those numbers down, I need to think about the location of the site that I'm looking for. Further, I need to focus on what type of company would actually provide the service needed. Most likely – a company specializing in Desktop Publishing. With this information in hand, I’m prepared to tell the search engine that I want to look for Desktop publishing in Boise.
Now the key question: How are the words placed in the search box? Some specific search features are outlined below along with an example of how each would be used to find desktop publishing in Boise.
| Type of Search Feature | Explanation |
Example |
| Phrase Searching Placing quotes around search phrase. Not case sensitive |
Concept searching is when your search phrase triggers additional matches on the same concept: i.e.: cat = feline, animal, pet, kitty. | "Desktop Publishing Boise" "Printing Services in Boise" |
| Boolean Searches Use of AND, OR, AND NOT. MUST BE CAPITALIZED! |
AND requires all terms to be in the items returned. | Desktop AND Publishing AND
Boise
Returns webpages with all terms. |
| OR allows either of the terms. | Desktop OR Publishing
Returns webpages with either term. |
|
| AND NOT logic excludes any terms after the words: AND NOT | Desktop AND Publishing AND NOT
San Diego OR Denver
Excludes any mention of San Diego or Denver in the returned webpage list. |
|
| Use of Parentheses ( ) |
Any parts of a search phrase enclosed in parentheses will be performed first. Each additional set of parentheses will be performed in consecutive order. | (Boise) Desktop AND
Publishing
Groups records with the word 'Boise' first, then combines the results with the required words: Desktop Publishing. |
| Excite Default Search is Fuzzy AND logic. If you do not use Boolean logic searches, pages containing the entire phrase will be listed first; then those with fewer parts of the phrase will be listed consecutively. |
Example: Desktop Publishing
The results containing both words are ranked first, while
webpages containing only one of the terms are ranked next. |
|
If websites are marketed appropriately by the owner, the site will appear successfully near the top of a search results list. If not, the site may the be the 999,999th listing returned. A poor use of business funds, in my humble opinion.
Website marketing is a very important item to consider when designing and developing a website for business use.
Gail Hughes the owner of A+ Computer Solutions. Email comments or questions to gail@softwaresavvy.com
*source: searchenginewatch.com
A+
Computer Solutions, Inc.
Boise, Idaho
Phone: (208) 377-1794
email
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2004, A+ Computer Solutions Inc.
All rights reserved
last updated 11.24.04
