Chapter 2: Defining a Search

Overview

Anyone who needs an example of information overload can look no further than Google. The possibilities for searching on Google are unlimited. I've spent many hours on Google looking for information I need, and many of the products I buy now are the results of Google searches for vendors . However, the simplest Google searches can result in millions of hits and no one can possibly use that many. In short, you need another way to use Google, rather than simply typing search words in the appropriate field and clicking Google Search.

A successful Google search is one in which you obtain the information you need and, hopefully, only that information. An efficient Google search is one in which you obtain the information during the first few URL clicks. The faster you find the desired information, service, or product, the more efficient your search becomes. The focus of this chapter is the search techniques you can combine with the automation a Web service provides to get usable results quickly.

The chapter begins with a discussion of typical searches you can perform without expending a lot of energy defining search terms. It moves on to special search arguments you can add to a request that makes it more specific. For example, while a typical search can locate all occurrences of a particular body part on the Internet, many will want to limit their search to the non-pornographic sites. Limiting a search in this way requires special search techniques.

The final portions of the chapter discuss special kinds of searches that return a particular result instead of the massive quantity of unfocussed results you normally receive. For example, you might want to find files that contain certain information, such as the latest presentation on quantum computers. You might not be too interested in looking at Web sites with the same content in this case because the Web site content might include conjecture that editors removed from file. You'll also discover uses for cached data and filtering techniques. The bottom line is that you can use a multitude of ways to search for information, but locating the most efficient and practical way to perform the search is essential.

Note  

This chapter and those that follow tell you that I obtained a certain number of results for a particular search phrase. Your results will likely vary from mine because Google is constantly updating its search database. I've included the result values for comparison purposes ”so you can better understand the effects of using a particular search phrase.