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Life on the go:
Making online search easier
It’s Friday night. You're already running late for a fun night out with the new friends you met during your latest travel nursing assignment. Just before you walk out the door, you remember you're supposed to buy your nephew the latest Star Wars video game for his birthday in two days. No big deal, it seems simple enough; enter a quick search online, buy the game and have it shipped overnight. Unfortunately, the search results that keep coming back when you try to find the game are anything but helpful. You find some sites talking about the movies, some sites reviewing the game, but not selling it and of course a few hardcore fans' sites about their favorite characters. Running out of time, you get more and more frustrated, but you don't have to anymore.
Search engines like Google and Yahoo are constantly working to improve the results they return; keep in mind though, there are millions of websites out there they must sift through. One of the easiest things you can do to get better results is learn to be more specific in telling the search engines what you want to find. At Medical Solutions, we know how important saving time and being efficient are when it comes to getting the most enjoyment out of your travel nursing experience. Here are some tips to help you do that when you're searching online.
Be specific
For starters use multiple search terms. Increasing the number of keywords (around 4-5) you use will improve your chances of finding the exact information you want. For example, don’t search for cars; instead try searching for red Saturn car for sale. Your results will be much more relevant to you.
Know what you don't want
In some cases you will need to tell the search engines what you don't want to find. Using the minus sign will tell the search engines that you don't want a word or subject included in your search results. For instance, if you want to find dogs, but not puppies type dogs –puppies. Make sure to include a space before the minus sign for it to register.
Use quotes
To find exactly what you're looking for, use quotation marks to tell the search engines to locate an entire phrase. For example, putting quotes around "dish soaps" will ensure that you don't end up finding the latest Hollywood gossip or what's happening on daytime TV.
Don't use common words
Don't forget that a lot of common words like where and how are ignored by most search engines because they can slow down a search without improving results. However, if there is a common word that needs to be in the search for you to get the results you need, simply insert a + before it. You can also just do a phrase search such as "where is Williamsburg" using quotes around the terms.
Date your search
Sometimes you may only be looking for information from a specific date range. To do this, pick the dates you want to look for and type them in with two periods between them (2004..2006). By placing two periods between two date ranges you can tell the search engines to only return information from that specific time period.
Some results are ads
It can also be helpful at times to know the difference between ads and unpaid results. When your results return and you see an area labeled "Sponsored Results" or "Sponsored Links" those are links that advertisers have paid to have displayed.
Get spelling help
What if you don't know how to spell something you're searching for? Simply use a use a tilde along with your search term (for example if you can't remember how many n's and t's are in Cincinnati, simply type in Cincinati ~). Although most search engines will now ask you if that is what you meant to search for if you do have a misspelling.
Search a specific site
Another useful search technique can allow you to only search the site you want for the search term you need. To do this, simply enter the term or terms you're looking for followed by the word "site" and a colon followed by the domain name. For example, to find recipes on MarthaStewart.com, enter: recipes site:www.marthastewart.com.
Bring the information to you
One of the easiest things to do on the Web these days is to let the information come to you. Utilizing RSS feeds (Real Simple Syndication), like the one on our Travel Nursing Blog, can make your online life much easier. RSS feeds can distribute information from websites right into your Windows Internet Explorer (Version 7) window. You can also use free services for this, such as Newsgator or Bloglines. These sites allow you to subscribe to the feeds of many sites that cover topics that interest you. Their services will gather all the feeds in one place for you so you can regularly check your personalized site for any updates that have been made to the individual sites. Sites like My Yahoo and a personalized Google News page can also deliver specialized content directly to you.
These tips are just the beginning. Don't forget to utilize the advanced search options available to you on the search engines as well as their help sections, which offer even more tips on effective searching. Below are some links to sites with more advanced search advice.
Web Searching Tips
Yahoo! Advanced Web Search
Yahoo! Help -Search
Google Advanced Search
Google Help : Advanced Search
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