Some Useful Tips for Searching

Information in the World Wide Web

Search is simple: just type whatever
comes to mind in the search box,
hit Enter or click the Search button,
and the search engine will search the
web for content that's relevant to
your search.
 [black and white] is one query,
while [black] and [white] are two separate queries.
• Every word matters. Generally, all the words
you put in the query will be used.

• Search is always case insensitive. A search

for [new york times] is the same as a search
for [New York Times].

• Generally, punctuation is ignored, including

@#$%^&*()=+[]\ and other special
characters. 
Use the words that are most likely to appear on the page.
Ask what you need with as few terms as possible.
As all words are used, each new one limits the results.
Choose descriptive words. 
The more unique the word is the more likely
you are to get relevant results. Keep in mind,
however, that even if the word has the correct
meaning but it is not the one most people use
- it may not match the pages you need. For
example, [celebrity ringtones] is more
descriptive and specific than [celebrity
sounds].
Care with Phrase search ("")
A search for ["Alexander Bell"] (with quotes) will give different
results than the one [“Alexander G. Bell”]
Search within a specific website (site:)
Search engines allows you to specify that your search results must
come from a given website.
For example the search ["internet marketing"
site:www.smallbusinesshub.com] will give you all web pages containing
the word internet marketing within the website
www.smallbusinesshub.com
You can also specify a whole class of sites, for example [art
site:.edu] will return results only from a .edu domain.  
Similarly [ajrak site:.pk] will return results only from
Pakistani sites.
Fill in the blanks (*)
The query [Geotextile made of *fibres ] will give you information about
geotextiles made of different fibres. Note that the * operator works only
on whole words, not parts of words.
The OR operator
For example, [bioluminescence OR light] will give you results about either
bioluminescence or light, whereas [bioluminescence light] (without the OR) will show
pages that include both bioluminescence and light on the same page.
Similar Words and Synonyms ( ) ̴
Such as [“South American”~artist] will give you results on South American and
words that are similar or synonym to the artist( artisan, music, painter, etc.)
Specific Document Types
For example [“zodiac signs" filetype:ppt] will result in giving you places
where you can find power-point files on zodiac signs.
Word Definitions
If you want to know the definition of dadaism search [define:dadaism]
 Exceptions to 'Every word matters'
Words that are commonly used, like 'the,' 'a,' and 'for,' are usually ignored. But there are even
exceptions to this exception. The search [the who] likely refers to the band; the query [who]
probably refers to the World Health Organization – It will not ignore the word 'the' in the query.
 Punctuation that is not ignored
• Punctuation in popular terms that have
particular meanings, like [C+
+] or [C#] (both are names of
programming languages), are not
ignored.
• The dollar sign ($) is used to indicate
prices. [nikon 400] and [nikon $400] will
give different results.