In today’s digital era, the internet is arguably everyone’s first go-to place for information. With millions of blogs and websites focusing on diverse topics, you can find almost any information online. However, with so much data available on the internet, people often have a hard time finding the precise information they require. Most people don’t know how to leverage existing tools and strategies to get refined search results. They can, therefore, only perform basic online searches that flood them with a deluge of unnecessary results.

To cut through the noise and get precise and reliable information, you’ll need to master online search techniques. That said, here’s how you can improve your search prowess to get accurate information promptly.

Craft Specific Search Queries

Learn to use specific keywords for more relevant and refined results. If you’d like to visit and stay in a state like Michigan, for example, perform a search online using keywords that align with what you’re looking for. To check out boutique accommodations in that location, type in “boutique hotels” and “Left Bank” (a specific district), instead of “Michigan.” By doing this, you narrow down your search to smaller, stylish hotels in a specific area. Simply searching the name of the state will bring up many unnecessary search results and possibly waste your time finding what you want.

Learn How Search Engines Work

Search engines adopt varied metrics to rank search results. Google, for example, ranks results based on metrics like website domain authority, keywords, and content quality. Therefore, a page might rank highly on Google if it’s optimized with relevant keywords and good quality content containing backlinks to authority sources. Bing on the other hand focuses more on social shares, mobile-friendliness, and meta descriptions. So a page with an enticing meta description may likely rank highly on Bing versus Google. When you grasp how varied search engines work, you can interpret the quality of your results appropriately and perfect your research skills.

Learn to Verify Information Credibility

The internet contains all sorts of information, including misleading and outright lies. To get accurate and reliable information, learn to fact-check with authority sources like academic and government sites. Alternatively, you can look up the author’s qualifications and the content’s year of publication. Information that was published a long time ago is probably outdated and inaccurate, especially if it’s about technology and research. If you’re looking for information on sensitive topics like health, check whether the author is an expert in their field.

Explore Academic Databases

When performing scholarly research, explore academic databases for credible information. While most of these databases require you to subscribe, they offer value for money by narrowing your searches to peer-reviewed journals, research papers, and publications covering diverse disciplines. Most such databases use controlled vocabulary to ensure your results contain relevant articles related to your search query.

Many academic resources also have advanced search options that go beyond simple keyword matching. Some of the advanced options include Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) and truncation symbols (*). Such features allow you to capture different variations of a search query and save you time and effort researching.

Leverage Specialized Websites

When performing searches on mainstream search engines, it’s virtually impossible to access data behind paywalls and sites that require a subscription. If you want specific information about someone, you can perform an online search but may encounter very little about them. However, you can also use Nuwber to find accurate and up-to-date information about who you’re interested in. This public data aggregator can provide personal information you wouldn’t get from a basic web search. You could browse directories, but it’s easier to start with tools designed for reverse searches.

Utilize Open Data and Public Records

When carrying out research that requires statistics and demographic data, it’s essential to capitalize on open repositories. Governments, non-profit organizations, and other dedicated platforms maintain different kinds of data online. You can use the information from these resources to refine your research and even cross-reference information. What you find is usually openly available and accessible to the general public.

Try Alternative Sources of Information

Using mainstream search engines like Bing or Google might sometimes give you the answers you need, but that’s only a fraction of content you can access online. If you wish to widen the scope of your research, try looking up links to specific websites that may not be ranked on popular search engines. There are several dedicated websites that provide such links online. You can also use specialized search engines like science.gov, a US government-run search engine, to get scientific information that may not be ranked on Google or Bing.

Keep Tabs on Sources and Archived Data

When performing research that requires evidence-based analysis, you’ll likely need to visit several websites to retrieve credible information. You can make your information retrieval easier by keeping track of your research material. You can do this by saving useful links on folders in your bookmark bar according to their topic or relevance. You can also use third-party apps and resources to store links and web pages. This will help you organize your research material and allow you to carry out your research in a structured way.

Utilize Advanced Search Commands

If you’re looking for specific information online, learn to use advanced commands. If you type in a command like “site: (website address),” you’ll get results related to a specific website. To find specific document types, you can type in the command “file type: [file extension].” Doing so will restrict your search to specific file formats. Using such advanced techniques allows you to perform research with precision that you wouldn’t get with a basic search.

Practice Searching for Specific Keywords in Websites

When researching a website containing your subject topic, you don’t have to read the entire article. You can perform a keyword search for that particular phrase. If you type in a keyword like “smartwatch” on the website you’ve visited, you’ll be able to see all the places this word has been mentioned on the page. This will narrow down your search and allow you to determine whether the information is relevant to your query or not.

To be good at performing stellar online searches, you need a comprehensive research technique. Your strategies should allow you to find accurate and reliable information promptly. This not only saves you time but further equips you with skills you can use to get paying jobs as a researcher or assistant. The tools and techniques listed in this piece give you an advantage through organized and efficient research methods that allow you to access different types of data.