Is Google the best search engine for the Internet? What can I use other search engines for?

There are a number of search engines that you can use to help answer questions -- Yahoo, Ask, LiveSearch and Dogpile among them.  Most important is to be familiar with what you use regularly.

Assuming that you do use Google, try to know the basics and explore some of the advanced features. Google’s home page is very plain, but if you click on Advanced Search, there are many other options. You can search within particular domains (edu, org, etc.); kinds of files (Word, pdf, Excel, etc.); without certain words, and a variety of other possibilities. For reference you might use the translators, Google Books or Google Scholar. You can type a zip code, an area code, a currency conversion, a telephone number, and other common questions into the search box and find an answer. Google Maps and News offer good reference assistance also. Be sure to look at Advanced Search options when searching on each of the Google search.

Should you always use one search engine? If you’re looking for pictures or images, be sure to check others. Search engines process image requests differently so you might be surprised to see what results you get.

So regardless of which search engine you use, learn the features that will enable you to help your customers.