by MisterTickle

Created on: March 13, 2010   Last Updated: March 14, 2010

The KISS rule comes in handy especially when searching on the internet. KISS: Keep It Short and Simple. Searching on the internet is important in our everyday lives as it helps us get information and gain knowledge. It also helps us find things that are not in books or information in books that we can’t get a hold of.

The first part to searching effectively is to find the right search engine. Google, the search or internet king, is not what it used to be. Each search service site has their own way of providing the best search results for users. I dare say that Google’s method is showing poor results. Experiment with a few search engines and see which one suite your purpose the most.

http://www.scour.com which is a combination of many search engines.

The “KISS” rule is really useful when searching. Try keeping the words simple and in some cases more specific. When your keywords are really general, it’s really hard to narrow down to the website containing the information you want. It’s harder to search with the keyword “paper.” Most likely you will get results asking if you want to buy paper, what you can do with paper and so much more. Typing in “history of paper” will get you similar results to the origin of paper and the history.

Using quotation marks is quite useful. It means exact words or phrase. If I put quotation marks on: history of paper, then I will get sites containing that phrase. Other useful symbols include “+” and “-“signs. The “+” meaning users want to add something to the search results and “-“meaning remove from search results. The difference between “+Wikipedia” and “-Wikipedia” will result in one containing an entry from Wikipedia while another does not.  

To make search results better reporting useless or inaccurate information is important. Not only, but also reporting dangerous sites that could cause damage is also a good idea. This way it helps those wanting the same answers as you, will be able to get it with your help. Also try not to have unnecessary words. The more words you have, the more the results will try to match all those words. Rephrasing words also help. For example, "how to buy a computer" will get you results. Also "computer buying tips" will get you another set of results. For "how to buy a computer" will include tips, but more on the process of purchasing and it being delivered. While "computer buying tips" will feature what to look for when buying a computer.

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