Business Search
Business Search
Business search has become faster and easier due to the digitisation of conventional business directories and the advent of search engines. Earlier, business search meant skimming through thick business directories or working the phones.
Yellow pages, for instance, is a common type of business search directory. The printed business directories organise business information on select metrics such as product categories or location. A consumer has to follow the structured thread to find the needed information. The telephone also served as a business search tool. A few years ago when customer help desks were still a novelty, finding business information meant calling up associates and friends.
Updating Business Search
The digitisation of conventional business directories has made company search easier. The business directories on digital media such as compact discs also provide a search facility for fast information retrieval. The digital business directories though convenient, were no better than their print counterparts in terms of content. A major drawback of business directories is static content. In recent years, many business directories have set up a presence on the Internet, but the possibility of dynamic content is remote due to the high costs involved in real-time updation.
The web-based business search directories compiled by human editors such as Looksmart and the DMOZ Open Directory Project have become popular in recent years. A major shortcoming of such web-based directories, however, is the slow speed at which human editors index the web. The user is also compelled to go through several sections for finding the relevant content. The web-based directories provide a search facility, but their effectiveness depends upon the size of the directory and the quality of key words.
Search Engines for Business Search
The search engines have overtaken conventional business directories and web-based directories in the past few years. Unlike business directories, a search engine simply indexes content created by others. Now search engines such as Google have become potent business search tools. A popular search engine such as Google is the first option of users looking for company information.
The major advantages of a search engine are dynamic content and ease of use. A search engine allows a user to search all the indexed content in the public domain. Although some web sites may not be indexed, they may not remain that way for long given the intensive way search engines index web sites. Google, for instance, uses robots or spiders for indexing web sites.
Pros and Cons of the Search Engine
The biggest advantage of using a search engine to do a business search is the facility of finding information without having to go through several sections. A search engine, however, is only as good as the user. A search engine demands the right key words for finding the relevant content. It will correct a misspelled word or a typographical error, but will not detect a correctly-spelled wrong word. In the hands of a skilled researcher, a search engine will do wonders. A novice, however, will find it difficult to extract value out of a search engine.
A search engine is a good business search tool, but it takes a skilled user to harness its potential. Most beginners are better off with web directories such as DMOZ Open Directory. Interestingly, the telephone has made a comeback as a business search tool thanks to the proliferation of customer help desks. Over the years, business search tools have gotten better in terms of depth and breadth, but as of now there is no single tool for everyone.
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