10 ways to research on the internet

There is almost too much information out there to sift through when planning to attack a new market or start a new venture. You need to be selective and focused. It should rarely be necessary to buy data. Here are ten top research tips.

1. Google – everyone uses search engines and Google is the most popular. However, try the ‘advanced search’ facility which enables you to use more search criteria to improve the quality of what comes back.

2. Check rivals – look at the sites of those you compete with. Register to receive their regular newsletter or RSS feed – let them tell you what they’re up to!

3. Search people – research the people you want to do business with, or who compete with you. Find out what they’re involved with – read their blogs, read criticism and praise.

4. Read minutes – most public organisations publish meeting minutes on the web. This can give you valuable background information if you’re tendering for public sector work.

5. Learn search techniques – there are some clever things you can do with ‘&’ and other symbols to gain specific information. Some examples are listed opposite.

6. Ask the obvious – if you want to know what a word means, type into the search engine the phrase ‘xxxxx means’ and you’ll probably get a definition back.

7. Join a newsgroup – these are popular at home as well as at work. News and user groups give you access to a community of people most likely to know the answers to your questions. Ask people as well as a search engine.

8. Numbers count – many people forget that search engines can search phone numbers and postcodes. Google your own work phone number – you may be surprised what is revealed!

9. Go to university – you’ll be amazed at how much new knowledge you can harvest from a university’s website. Find the homepages of the academics researching your business sector. Most will have hyperlinks to papers they’ve written. Also visit university library sites – they’re full of free information.

10. Check out books – the book reviews on sites such as Amazon often contain enough to inform you without having to buy the book.

Source: The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists