Think you know how to research online? – 5 steps to do it better

You might think you know how to research online. After all, Google’s been around since 2002. Well, think again! Finding the information you seek takes more than keying a couple words into a search engine. Follow these 5 steps and see if your findings improve.

First, let’s pick a topic to search. Currently, I’m doing some research for a product in the boating industry. Let’s work with that topic as an example. The following steps work well to gather information online for any project.

1.       Start simple: First things first, always start off simple and go to Google, Bing or Yahoo. I prefer Google. Type in the topic and scan the first two to three pages that show up on the search engine. You will most likely not find what you are looking for. Using the boating theme, my guess is you typed in “boats” or “boating industry” and most of the links that came up were for boating related products for sale in your area.

2.       Make query specific: Searches need to be specific. Make a list of all the specific information you want to find. For example, I’m looking for how many boaters are in the U.S., demographics and buying patterns. Try typing in “How many boaters are in the US” into the search engine. Scan the first two pages again. This time you’re likely to find a couple good links. For even better information keep tweaking the query and re-entering it into the search engine. Try “How many boats are in the US” or “What state has the most boats.” Keep changing the queries until you have found at least three to four different links that have consistent useful information.

3.       Check trade/government association websites: Chances are you won’t get all of your questions answered through this process. Through your initial research some of the links that pop up should be for trade or government associations in the industry you are researching. These organizations usually offer information for free. If you are lucky, they will provide their annual reports or statistics for the industry for free. Perform searches for industry related organizations such as “boating associations” or “boating industry associations.” These searches should come up with some respectable associations like the US Coast Guard and the NMMA.

4.       Dig deeper – industry magazines: These associations have a lot of knowledge on the industry as whole but not in-depth information on the consumers themselves. Using government resources like census.gov, Michigan.gov and others, you can find demographic information on where people live, how old they are and how much money they make per year. This information is important and useful but to dig deeper and fully understand consumers, search for industry magazines. Every magazine is looking for advertisers. In order to get them in the magazine, they provide what is called a media kit. This media kit is full of reader demographics and buying habits. Search “boating magazine Michigan” one of the links should be for Great Lakes Boating magazine. Take a look at their media kit and you’ll find lots of worthwhile information.

5.       Finally, use your library resources. If you have access to a college library many of them have subscriptions to market research reports. This is always the first place I look when doing research but only because I have access to it. Even if you do not have access to many of the market research reports, search for them anyway because there is still useful information in the summary they provide for the report.

Following these steps will set your search in the right direction.  You may not get every question answered initially, but as you learn the process, finding information will become quicker and easier.

Welcome to the world of online researching. Happy searching!