Shopping online can only be as easy as consumers make it. It’s not easy to shop online, when you’re using the search engine. Generally search engines give thousands of results for one broad subject. Misuse of words, and not being specific when using the search engine can make your online shopping experience a bad experience. Consumers should know there are some search engine tips, which can optimize your online shopping experience. So, if you can’t find something your shopping for, it may be best to reexamine how you use the search engine. Sometimes looking for quick information on the Web can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. With so many billions of Web pages in cyberspace, finding specific information can be a very difficult task, but there are many ways to get more out of your favorite search engine, whether it’s MSN Search, Google, or Yahoo!

First, you should use the advanced search field. Almost all search engines have an “advanced search” area that provides Web surfers with more specific options.  You can search by an update date, look for Web sites with a specific domain like “.net,”  or find Web sites in a preferred language. The advanced search gives an even more narrowed search, so there may just be a dozen results, compared to thousands. Secondly, consumers should search with a phrase. This better helps the search engine find what you’re looking for, offer a sequence of words in a specific order, using quotation marks around the phrase. For example, if you’re looking for information on the TV show Saturday Night Live, type “Saturday Night Live” into the search window, and use quotation marks. Without quotations on each end, a search engine will likely look for Web sites containing any of the words separately.

Next, you should be specific.  If broad search words like car classifieds, yield too many results, try more specific words such as used car classifieds, Mercedes classifieds, or London car classifieds. Also, check spelling; typos or spelling mistakes are the most common reason for unsatisfactory search results. If you’re not sure how to spell a product or brand name (e.g., ’satellite receiver’ or ‘Minolta’), try a more general term (e.g., ‘digital’ or ‘TV’) and use the product or brand links in your initial results to select the correct match. Fourthly, use alternative search words.  If your keywords do not produce the results you want, try synonyms. Sometimes it’s better to use different words, or alternative words when shopping online. Next, search all of the categories to ensure that you get as many relevant results as possible from your search.  Even if you think you know which category a product would be found in, it’s often best to search the whole site and narrow down to the right category with the links in your initial results. Also when searching for a product, don’t use abbreviations, nicknames or slang words. If you’re looking for quality and not quantity, a few search engines provide access to handpicked “Best of the Web” sites; one example is About.com.

Another time saving tip is by having a search toolbar. If you do a lot of searching on the Web, consider downloading the free MSN Search Toolbar or Google Toolbar to assist with your shopping, and other searches. You won’t need to leave the Web site you’re on to type in a new query; this should minimize your searching time and add to your shopping time. The final tip is to specialize your search engine. There are many specialized search engines; MSN Search, for example, has MSN Shopping for shopping-related Web sites. Using this specialized search engine will drastically decrease your search results, because you will only receive the results of online merchants that are selling the product you need.

Using these search engine tips will keep shoppers coming back to the Internet. Hundreds of irrelevant search results can make shoppers frustrated, and turn many away. The best search engine practice gives the best results, when you’re shopping online. The Internet can be great a great source of information, and is an even greater source for shopping. Consumers will be even more secure, when they receive better merchant, and brand results.

 

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