There are many search engines available on the web today, such as:

• Yahoo!
• Lycos
• Alta Vista
• Excite

Deciding which one to use, and how to use it effectively, can be very confusing. Most search engines work similarly to one another, by looking for keywords that you type in. For example, if you type in apple, then the search engine will look for every web page containing the word apple. Here are some tips on how to use the Search Engine of your choice to its maximum potential.

1. Use the minus sign (-) to exclude a keyword

Without any spaces, type the minus sign (-) with out parentheses just before the first letter of a keyword to exclude this word from your search.

For example: If you type flowers -trees roses in the search area, the Search Engine will only return web pages containing the words flowers or roses, and will not return any pages containing the word trees, even if those pages also contain the words flowers and/or roses.

2. Use the plus sign (+) to require a keyword

Without any spaces, type the plus sign (+) without parentheses just before the first letter of a keyword to require that keyword in your search.

For example: If you type +coffee Seattle in the search area, the Search Engine will only return web pages containing the word coffee in their text, and will also return any pages containing the word Seattle, provided these pages also contain the word coffee. All pages returned must contain the word coffee.

3. Use quotes (" ") for multi-word phrases

Using quotes (" ") without parentheses in a search field will cause the Search Engine to look for those keywords next to each other anywhere in a web page. You can use the quotes when searching for a precise sentence or phrase, or for a person's name.

For example: If you type, "Seattle Space Needle" , the Search Engine will retrieve pages containing these three words in that order. Pages containing just the word Seattle, just the word Space, or just the word Needle will not be returned, nor will pages containing "Seattle Space" or "Space Needle." All three words must appear in the exact order specified for the page to be returned.

4. Use the asterisk (*) as a wild card

The asterisk (*) without parentheses is used to represent a character that is not known. This allows you to broaden your search by including plurals, adjectives, adverbs and conjugated words.

For example: If you type med* in the search area, it will then return pages containing medical, medication, medicine, medicinal, and so on.

5. Avoid using generic keywords

When choosing keywords, it is a good idea to avoid generic words like car, sports, and city. You are more likely to find what you’re looking for if you type in BMW, basketball, or Seattle for your keywords.

6. Searching for video, images, or audio clips

If you’re searching for images, videos or audio clips, some Search Engines (like AltaVista) have check boxes in addition to keywords.

For example: If you are typing in music, then you would want to click on the audio check box telling the Search Engine to look for all web pages that contain the word music in it as well as audio clips.