A couple of months ago I wrote an article about the proper techniques of smart Internet searches using Boolean search strings. So now that you know HOW…. WHERE do you go to search the Internet? There are well over 100 search engines available for your every searching need...you don't need to know all of them, but there are a few important ones you should know and remember. Most function about the same, but to get the best results out of your search you should check each search engine’s help section to instruct you on how to make your searches smarter. There are different kinds of search engines, too.

General search engines are ones that use their own internal engine to search for your text string. Some general search engines to remember are:

Multiple search engines are just what the name implies. They are set up to search several engines simultaneously for your text string. Some multiple search engines to remember are:

For email addresses or phone numbers try these:

Most of these search engines can be reached by just typing "http://www." in front of the name and adding ".com" after the name. Or just type in the name as a search string at any other engine. If all of these aren’t enough for you, then go to http://www.beaucoup.com  for more than 1,000 listings of search engines, directories and indices to help you find just about anything you’re looking for.

My favorite way to search the Internet is to use an internal PC based search utility. I use two; one I paid for (WebSeeker 98 from Blue Squirrel at http://www.bluesquirrel.com), the other is FREE for the download (WebFerret from FerretSoft at http://www.ferretsoft.com). Both programs are accessed the same way, by clicking on START, then FIND, WEB PAGES, and both work approximately the same way by accessing several search engines at the same time.

Webseeker comes with 13 major search engines built in and allows you to add and utilize more than 100+ search engines, eliminates duplicate results and dead links, monitors Web pages for any changes, schedules automatic, unattended searches and automatically updates itself over the Internet. It sells for $49.95, and is well worth the money if you do a lot of Internet searches.

Webferret, which as I mentioned is FREE, searches 10 engines automatically but you can’t add any more search engines. For quick searches I find myself using Webferret more than WebSeeker because of its simplicity and speed. Searches can be narrowed by choosing to match any keyword, match all keywords or by submitting the keywords as an exact phrase. Double click on a result or use the right mouse button to open the web pages using your default browser. It is also designed to keep up with the changing nature of the search engines by automatically updating how they are searched. If the engines change, WebFerret changes too, so that searches always work and are accurate. And did I forget to mention that it's FREE? … and, you know how much I like FREE stuff.