6.3: Looking at Search Results

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If you put in the hard work recommended in the last section, then you have a search engine that you trust. Once you’ve run your search, though, you still need to figure out what to do with the results you get. You could click randomly through the results, or you could just decide to go with the first one. Assuming you want to increase your chances of finding good and useful information, there are some more targeted strategies you can employ.

Skip the promoted searches

This might seem obvious, but it we’ve all fallen for them at some time or other. In all major search engines, it will say in very small print under the web address if the listing is an ad, or “sponsored” “promoted” content.

Read multiple results

It is fine to trust your preferred algorithm to give you the best results towards the top, but we need to also be mindful of search engine optimization. The best way to protect yourself from stealth marketing is to look at more than one result.

Remember how to evaluate testimony

Last chapter we took a careful at how to evaluate the claims of others. Search results are just sources of information, and we still need to apply the appropriate level of scrutiny before we can trust them.

Be willing to move on

While it is easy to find information on the internet, it is not always easy to evaluate the sources of information we find there. In cases where the author’s credibility is difficult to establish (or when their identity is hidden) the best course of action is to move on and try another source.