how to search the internet, a guide to save time and effort

How to search the Northampton Business Directory

How to search the Northampton Business Directory

The Northampton Business Directory, like other directories on the Internet, is a catalogue of businesses and their websites sorted by categories.The directory is organized by real people making contact with businesses. Ensuring the companies listed in the Directory create useful and relevant listings for all users.How to use the Northampton Directory

How to use the Northampton Directory

On the other hand, Search engines, use automated programs called Spiders, to look for information based on keywords entered by users. Common ones such as Google have many different methods for seeking information to find exactly the right response to a request.

How to use the Northampton Directory Directories like the Northampton Business Directory rely on users knowing the type of business or site category needed to find the right information.Searching the Northampton Business Directory is easy. Simply browse the list of categories provided, and then drill down through the categories and businesses from there.

How to use the Northampton Directory Alternatively, users can type a query into the search function box and browse the results provided. The search results list web sites by category and subcategory, based on the entire web site rather than keywords or just one page of a site.

General Searching TechniquesMost people use Google, Yahoo or Bing. They enter keywords or phrases to try and find the information they seek. This works well but many results on the top pages are paid for or are sponsored results.


Many companies employ webmasters and search engine optimization (SEO) specialists to make sure their pages appear in the top two or three pages of results. There are many tricks to improve the accuracy and usefulness of a search query while avoiding duplicate or paid results.


The search engines themselves use proprietary algorithms to determine the page rank of a website. Page rank is simply how high the page is listed on search results. Google tweaks their algorithms several times a month and changes their result layouts in tests to improve ad revenues and improved visitor experience.


This constant change makes it difficult for webmasters and SEO workers to keep websites up-to-date and in the proper format to perform well in the results.Google uses items on the website including the page name, page title and headings in H1 through H6 format, amount of text, keywords, images, links, and frequency of updates to the page.


The engine spiders or search crawlers that do the automated searches must incorporate these items into their search processes for every web page on the internet.Users enter keywords or phrases, and the search engine, retrieves pages corresponding to that enquiry. The pages may not always be relevant to the data entered.


Search engines, are not intuitive and as such they cannot make inferences about what results the user seeks.One key to getting the best results is learning to use specialty searches, searches for a specific area of interest or region, and learning to become an expert.


Most engines have advanced options and tools. These make searches much more relevant and specific to the information users truly want.Start by entering the most specific criteria possible. Tell the search engine exactly what information is needed and try different ways to get the information.


Specialty search engines including region or nation-specific engines are a boon to searchers seeking information specific to certain areas. Searching Google.com works well for the US and the world in general.


However, if a searcher knows they are seeking a site based in the UK, for instance the Northampton Business Directory, they are more likely to find the sites they want by searching www.google.co.uk for UK-specific results.


Most engines have free translation services allowing web users to read documents or websites from around the world.Web searching another trick of experienced web searchers is the use of the so-called Invisible Web.


The term Invisible Web refers to the vast amount of information that engines and web directories do not access directly, such as databases and institution-specific web directories. This information is also known as the Deep Web. Many Internet users have created their own web directories and lists, which search engines do not access directly.


Sites such as Complete Planet, OCLC, and Library Spot specialize in accessing the deep web data bases, libraries and other resources.Another important aspect to successful searching is learning how to expand or narrow the results effectively.


For instance, change the wording to add different keywords. Try alternate spellings of words and ordering terms differently. Find synonyms for the terms.Metasearch engines, such as Search.com retrieve results from many different engines at the same time.


Search.com pulls results from the major companies, including Google, Alta Vista, Yahoo and more. Some Metasearch engines also track other internet users Web searches, what is trending on the Internet, and what other users are bookmarking or sharing on social networking sites.


Use quotation marks around search terms when searching for a phrase. This tells the engine to show only pages that use those terms in the exact order typed by the user. Typing the same phrase without quotation marks will return sites that contain one or more of the terms, which could be a huge number of sites.


Inurl syntax lets searchers look for words within the URL of a specific site. This is a good way to find sites that may not have been found entering a search word or phrase. If the user wants to find only sites that contain the word Flower in the site name, they would type inurl:flower in the search box


Inurl syntax lets searchers look for words within the URL of a specific site. This is a good way to find sites that may not have been found entering a search word or phrase. If the user wants to find only sites that contain the word Flower in the site name, they would type inurl:flower in the search box


Similarly, it is easy to find terms and documents related to the original search term. Add a tilde (~) in front of a search term to tell the search engine to return related terms. Entering ~careers in the Google search box tells Google to return results with the word careers, as well as related terms like jobs, employment, professions and more.


Math symbols are another common method to expand or contract search engine results. Placing the word AND between two search terms ensures the search returns results with both words listed. The MINUS sign (-) tells a search engine to exclude words commonly attached to the search word.


Final ThoughtsAll the search engines are clever, and know a lot more about you than you might think. If you use Google and always search for the same type of brand or similar products, it filters the results and supplies what it knows will interest you. How to Search document
