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How to use search engines and directories If the Internet were a book ……………. Directories would be the table of contents. They organize web sites into related categories or topics, just like a table of contents organizes the chapters in a book into different sections. Of course, in the case of the Internet, the 'book' is so big that even the table of contents needs its own table of contents. That's why most directories start with top-level categories and let you 'drill down' to more and more specific topics. Search Engines would be the index........ Search Engines are constantly running software called 'robots' or 'crawlers' that read entire web sites and update the index entries for that specific Search Engine. Again, due to the incredible amount of information, you don't browse through a Search Engine's listings, you search through them by entering a word (or words) that captures what you're looking for. Enter the words or phrases and the Search Engine should provide you with a set of 'results pages' depending on the number of successful 'hits' that your search produces. How do you know when to use a Directory or a Search Engine? The best answer is: use both. Say, for instance, you're reading a book on computers. You might look through the table of contents to see if there's a chapter on word processing. But if you were looking for a more specific topic - like mail merge - you would look in the index. Of course, looking in the table of contents for related topics doesn't hurt, especially if there is an entire section on writing letters. By the same token, you can look up 'computers' or 'word processing' in the index but you might simply get too many entries related to such general terms. A good rule of thumb is: If your topic is general, go for a directory first. If your topic is very specific, go for a Search Engine. But in all cases, be flexible, and check out multiple sources. Directories and Search Engines vary greatly, and no one resource claims to have indexed the entire Web. Some directories are coupled with a search engine, and many engines include a directory of sites. However, a search engine will yield better results for a well-specified query. Try a variety of services and see which ones suit you best. Bookmark those for further reference. All Directories and Search Engines are constantly updating their data, and you are more likely to be successful in your searches if you use a variety of search engines and directories. Hints for using key words to search You need to select the key word or keywords that come closest to the meaning of your query. All search engines feature help pages for simple and advanced searches. If you use the same search engines regularly consult their help pages to find out the best way to enter your key words query in that particular search engine. Examples of directories – Examples of search engines – |
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