Everything you ever wanted to know about anything can be found on the World-Wide-Web, you just have to know where to search and how to go about it. What follows is a brief introduction to Search Engines and how to use them. There is one search engine that I use more than others, and that is GOOGLE.COM Just click on the link and it will take you there.

While we're talking about Search Engines, try the Site Search above. Search my site for information you know you saw somewhere, but just can't seem to find it again. This will find it for you....providing you search for something relevant.

Google is unique in that it thinks it's pretty smart, so smart in fact that it has 2 search buttons. One that says Google Search and the other, I'm Feeling Lucky.

Let's say you're looking for a certain recipe, like Stuffed Flounder. Type in the search box "Stuffed Flounder" and then click the Google Search button, (make sure you enclose the search in quotes). You should get a results page with about 2,730 links to sites which contain Stuffed Flounder. Now enter this search term exactly as I have it here: +stuffed+flounder+recipe and hit the Google Search button. Now you will have approximately 1,750 links to sites with Stuffed Flounder Recipe somewhere in the content.

Now, using the same search criteria as above, click on the I'm feeling Lucky button. This will bring up what Google thinks is the most relevant site, in this case it might be STUFFED FLOUNDER LA FOURCHE. Google will always try to find the most relevant site for you when you click on the I'm feeling Lucky button.

The above example will work with anything you may be searching for on Google and any other Search Engine. What the other Search Engines do not have is the I'm Feeling Lucky button. The Google Site will not always give you the Site you're looking for when you use the I'm Feeling Lucky button, because it can't possibly know exactly what you're looking for. If you don't want to sift through thousands of links, you might want to try the "Lucky" button before using the "Search" button.

Search Criteria

What you place in the search box will determine what results the Search Engines will come up with. If you were to simply type in Stuffed Flounder Recipe you might get the same results because of the search term, but if you were to search for the same thing on Yahoo you would come up with about 871 links.

The + symbol - By placing the + symbol in front of every word you are searching for (when you have more than one) your searches will be narrowed down to only those pages which contain those 2 words.

The - symbol - Sometimes, you want a search engine to find pages that have one word on them but not another word. The - symbol lets you do this. Let's say you're looking for Baked Stuffed Flounder Recipes, and want to exclude all recipes that contain Grilled Stuffed Flounder. You would type in the following: +Baked+Stuffed+Flounder+Recipes -Grilled
Notice that the +symbol and words are all connected, no spaces but the - symbol has a space after the last word and the word you want to exclude. This is important. If you don't include the space, your search will not produce the desired results.

Here's another ENLARGED look at the search criteria +Baked+Stuffed+Flounder+Recipes -Grilled

Search Engine Links

Following are links to other search engines. Try them all if you like, I think you'll find yourself using GOOGLE more than any other Search Engine. By the way, all Search Engine Sites have search tips. I have just covered the most basic search criteria, and one that you will most likely be using for most of your searches. There are literally hundreds of Search Engines out there. As you go searching, you will discover most of them. Have fun searching and remember, take a break from that Computer every now and then, your Spouse needs you.

• ILOR “...the most user friendly search engine in the world” (their words, not mine) powered by Google.
• Ixquick Metasearch
• All The Web Excellent alternative to Google especially for Pictures.
• Yahoo! - portal providing a category-based Web directory.
• Excite - is a global media company offering consumers and advertisers comprehensive Internet navigation services with iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiextensive personalization capabilities. Search services include the Excite and WebCrawler brands.
• AltaVista - web and newsgroup search engine.
• HotBot - offers users a point-and-click interface, pulldown menus, and the ability to use plain English terminology for iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiconstructing searches.
• Ask Jeeves - Have a Question? Just type it in and click Ask!