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http://www.altavista.com |
| Are you using
AltaVista.com to its fullest ability when searching for genealogical information?
Probably not.
Like most search engines, searches may be performed using a variety of methods, depending on how they are worded and how aptly you use all the bells and whistles. I'm sure most of you know that if you enter your surname into any search engine, you'll probably get 3,738,303 possible responses! How can you narrow those search results? Take a moment and read the HELP screen AltaVista and other search engines provide. At AltaVista, you can look for a single word or a phrase; you can include words and exclude words. For example, I can search for Hendrickson. The search results would include any page that the word "Hendrickson" was on. That certainly won't help me. Next, I can tell AltaVista to search for the exact phrase "Hendrickson genealogy". By putting quotes around the words, it tells the search engine that the exact phrase "Hendrickson genealogy" must be on those pages. By using + and - signs, you can include or exclude search terms. As an example, there are a lot of Hendrickson from New York. This is not my branch. So my search term might be something like "Hendrickson genealogy" - "New York". Or, if I want Hendricksons in Kentucky, I might search Hendrickson +Kentucky. I can also search for any Web page with Hendrickson Genealogy as part of its title, by entering title:hendrickson genealogy in the search form. When using AltaVista.com (or any major search engine), don't just type in your surname and get disappointed with the results. Read the HELP screen, try forming your query with different wording or phrases. Be creative. If your name has an unusual spelling, use wildcards in the search. |