As close as I can tell, there are about 100 million websites on the internet right now (seriously, I just counted). Of course, that’s the coolest things about the web: there’s just sooo much information, literally at your fingertips. But how to navigate that maze and get to the tidbit you want? This’ll help. Here are some quick tips on how to improve your search results.

Let’s say you’re, oh I don’t know, building a wood-fired pizza oven. And you need 587 fireplace bricks. You know you’re gonna get the best deal in Phoenix, so start off Googling…

I’ve found a 3-word combination almost always works best. First word: what you want to do (like “buy”, “review” or “define”). Second word: the simplest form of the main thing you’re after (in this case “brick”), and lastly, a modifier, like where you want to find the thing.

The 3-word combo, in that order, will generally return the results you need or at least return a shopping directory, dictionary, or other type of index where you can find what your looking for, as well as where to get a sandwich after you’ve picked up the bricks.

Most search engines prioritize from left to right. Keep that in mind when arranging search terms. Also, use the simplest form of the word when beginning a search. For example search for “brick” rather than “bricks” or “firebrick”. These tricks will get you into the right ballpark.

Also, any search engine worth its salt will allow you to refine your search by putting a + or - in front of key search words. A plus sign in front of a keyword means that word MUST be included in the result. A minus sign means the word MUST NOT be included in the result.

So, will return sites identified with Arizona State except those for universities.

Putting “quotations marks” around part of your search phrase can also be really useful, especially when looking up a two- or three-word name, like a person or place name. Example: finding “Peter Pepper” is a lot easier than finding Peter Pepper, because in the latter case you’re going to have to sift through all the results containing either word, when what you want are only results with the entire string of characters “Peter Pepper”.

Finally, check out this Internet Explorer shortcut… just type yahoo or yourcomputersystem (or any business name) directly in the address bar and hit CTRL ENTER. This trick works for most business (.com) sites.

These are just a few things that can make surfing the web a little easier and speed you along, down the information highway.