Tiscali Members: Searching the Internet

There are hundreds of search engines on the internet, each of them with their own set of rules and shortcuts. It's easy to get confused when it comes to finding the right answer to your query. Tiscali search can help. We've put together some tips to help you find what you want faster, whether you're a newcomer or a 'netveteran'.

Try and narrow down your results by using as many keywords associated with the object you're searching for as possible. For example, if you just type in 'football' when looking for the latest Championship results you may receive thousands and thousands of unsuitable links to trawl through.

In most search engines you can use a plus (+) sign before each word to ensure all your search terms are used. This should cut down on the amount of unnecessary results that can often crop up. Tiscali search makes it easier by adding all your search terms first. Conversely, you can also rule out certain terms by adding a minus sign (-). 'Why add something I'm not looking for?' you may ask. Well, you may be looking for information about Tony Blair's personal life, but don't want to hear any information on the Labour party. Therefore you would type in 'Tony Blair -labour party' to rule out any references to his politics. The plus and minus signs are what are known as 'required' and 'prohibited' terms.

If you're looking for something very specific, try using the advanced search feature set up on many popular search engines. This allows you to specify whether you want all, some or at least one of your keywords to be used in the search. Many will also let you search by language, date, file format, and even domain (web site or portal). For example, Tiscali search allows you to not only search the web, but also allows you to narrow down your query to the Tiscali portal only.

Even after getting to your website of choice, it can often be hard to find what you were looking for. Some search engines provide a cache function whereby you can see your original search terms highlighted within the body of the page so it's easier to find what you're looking for.

If you're looking for help with your PC, try entering a few key phrases from whatever error message you received, into the search box. This should usually do the trick and point you in the right direction towards fixing it.

Don't worry if you've lost an important webpage you found last week. Simply open your Internet Explorer's history and search the cache.

If it's an important email you're looking for, most ISPs or mail providers will show you how to find it. In Tiscali webmail you can search by subject, message text, sender or recipient. Find out more