Currently, I’m using Yahoo! for my everyday searches, supplemented by Microsoft’s Live.com.

One of the biggest benefits of using alternative search engines is seeing different results. I’d gotten tired of Google showing Wikipedia as the first result for virtually everything. Yahoo! and Live don’t give Wikipedia nearly as much weight as Google does, so that’s a major bonus – other sites manage to rise to the top of the results pages.

Anyway, since I’m using Yahoo! much more, I was pleased to come across this guide on the Yahoo! search blog which shows you how to get better results out of your search queries. Here’s an overview:

1. Advanced search queries: terms you can add to your search to filter for specific results. You can use square brackets to specifiy the order of words in the search. For example [gerard mcgarry] will find "Gerard McGarry", but not "McGarry Gerard".
2. Package tracking: Tracking UPS, FedEx and USPS deliveries directly from the search bar.
3. Definitions & Synonyms: Type define or definition along with your query to get a dictionary style definition of a word.
4. Exclude terms: This works in the standard way – if you want to exclude a term from your search type the word with a minus sign in front of it.
5. Travel information: You can get a host of travel information including a flight tracker, traffic status and maps.
6. Quick links to Yahoo! services: Type the name of the Yahoo service you require and an exclamation mark immediately after to visit that Yahoo! service. For example, a search for ‘news!‘ will take you directly to Yahoo News.
7. Open Shortcuts: Similar to the technique in point 6, you can automatically search a specific site using this. Search Wikipedia for information about The Wombles by using the search ‘!wiki The Wombles‘. To search for variations on this type of query, do a search for ‘!list‘

Not a bad set of tips for getting the most out of Yahoo!. The one thing I’ve noticed is missing (to my knowledge) is the calculator and currency converter functionality. If I find a way to do this, I’ll let you know!

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page.

When you do a search in Google (for example), a page of (usually 10) results is displayed to you. These results are what the search engine thinks are most relevant to your query. Results on subsequent pages may have relevance, but that becomes increasingly unlikely the further back you go.

The results displayed by any search engine are based on a number of factors. The most important is whether the content of the web page matches the words in the search query.

Other factors may include how authoritative the website is, the age of the website and how many links point to the site. Inbound links are considered a ‘vote’ for your site, which is why so many people place emphasis on link building for SEO.

Why Do I Want To Be On The First Results Page?

You want people to visit your website.

It’s a fact that the majority of searchers will find what they’re looking for on the first page of results. Obviously, the prime position is at the top of the page, among the first three results.

Search engines are a vital source of traffic for your website. If you show up in first position on page one of the results, people are much more likely to click through to your site than someone whose site appears on the tenth page of results.

So, your position in the Search Engine Results Pages is critical to the exposure and eventual success of your website.

How Do You Search?

I want you to think about how you search for information on the Internet.

How many pages of results will you wade through to find the right information? How often do the first results you find meet your needs? Do you refine your query to get better results?

If you own or run a website, you’ll see the importance of getting on that first page of results for whatever keywords drive visitors to your site. In a future guide, I’ll be looking at how you can track what search phrases people are using to find your site and how to extend content on your site.