1. Select a search engine that represent to the kind of search topics you are interested in and the specific results you are trying to achieve (see below).

2. Consider: Are you looking for a web site? Information that might be contained within Usenet? Academic articles that may only be retrievable with gopher?

3. Narrow your search aims: Do you want a specific hard-to-find document on an obscure subject, or general information on a broader topic? Do you need to search the entire web, or are you likely to find what you are looking for on a number of sites?

4. In making your choice, determine whether the information you are looking for is likely to be in a page's title or first paragraph, or somewhere deeper within the document or site.

5. Read the help files if you are unclear about its searching procedure and use a search engine’s advanced features if available.