Smart Keyword Searching

Searching efficiently & effectively: Get the best results quickly!

Just think! Every major search engine has information about
millions and millions of World Wide Web sites. At the click of a
button, a search engine sorts through what it "knows" and lists
the sites it "thinks" you want. In some ways, a search engine is
like a well-trained dog. It will fetch what you tell it to and only
that.

HOW MANY WORDS?

While single words are better commands for dogs, a balance between too few and too
many words is better for searching. Think of Goldilocks tasting the porridge!

* A search for a single word may fetch a million sites. Obviously, its tough
and frustrating to check a million sites to find the best one for your needs.
* Adding more words fetches fewer sites that are closer to what you need.
* Adding too many words, such as an entire sentence or question, causes the
search engine to fetch sites with any or all of those words.

THE QUESTION: Is the element mercury toxic? Lets say your teacher tells you to find the
answer.
Choose a search engine: Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask, Dogpile, etc.

TYPE THE NAME OF THE SEARCH ENGINE YOURE USING:

googel

In your search engine, start by typing in mercury and hitting the enter key.

TYPE THE NUMBER OF WEB PAGES THE SEARCH ENGINE RETRIEVED:

Plaent incerince merines eluments
Look over the description of the first ten sites in the list.
TELL WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT BY LOOKING AT THE SITE TITLES & MINI-
DESCRIPTIONS:
A plaenet saveing mounny outerbouter mouters 12guop

By now you may realize that the word mercury has more than one meaning. Try adding
an additional key word to tell what it is about mercury that really interests you. Type in mercury
element.
TYPE THE NUMBER OF WEB PAGES THE SEARCH ENGINE RETRIEVED:
305,000,000

Look over the description of the first few sites in the list.
TELL WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT BY LOOKING AT THE SITE TITLES & MINI-
DESCRIPTIONS:
Stuff
Although these sites might have the answer to your question, they might not. Now try adding a
third word. Type in mercury element toxic.
NUMBER OF WEB PAGES RETRIEVED:
451,000

Look over the description of the first few sites.

TELL WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT BY LOOKING AT THE SITE TITLES & MINI-
DESCRIPTIONS:

Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning, due to mercury exposure.[2] Symptoms depend
upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure.[2][3] They may include muscle weakness,
poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes, anxiety, memory problems,
trouble speaking, trouble hearing, or trouble seeing.[1] High level exposure to methylmercury is
known as Minamata disease. Methylmercury exposure in children may result in acrodynia (pink's
disease) in which the skin becomes pink and peels. Long term complications may include kidney
problems and decreased intelligence.[5] The effects of long term low-dose exposure to
methylmercury is unclear.[6] Now you are
Mercury (chemical symbol Hg) exposure may occur in number of forms
getting
including: metal, vapor, salt, and organic compound. Most exposure is from eating somewhere!
fish, amalgam based dental fillings, or exposure at work. In fish, those higher up in the food By now all
chain generally have higher levels of mercury. Less commonly poisoning may occur as the sites
an attempt to end one's life.[2] Human activities that release mercury into the environment include retrieved
the burning of coal and mining of gold.[3] Tests of the blood, urine, and hair for mercury are should help
available but do not relate well to the amount in the body.[2] answer
the question.

ANSWER THE QUESTION IN A COMPLETE SENTENCE:

How many results do you get

Theusing each
question is onof
thethese search terms
first page!
Search terms Results
ants 91,700,000
ants eggs 790,000
worker ants eggs 535,00
worker ants eggs 541,000
worker ants eggs k3 536,000

Looking at the Numbers - CONCLUSION

WRITE: Using sentences, compare the number and types of web results for your searches as they
relate to or connect with the search terms you used. In other words describe what you learned from
doing this assignment. What did you learn about using key words to search for information?