By
Gowri Kumara
Submitted On December 14, 2011
Most popular search engines:
As good as they are, search engines are complicated and are constantly changing to adapt as the Internet changes. Nowadays larger part of the Internet is real-time data which comes from Twitter and Facebook news feeds. Search engine algorithms nowadays have too many parameters for ranking pages. Doubts arise as to whether you are getting results from the best source of the information for your specific query. Search engines often give preferences to blogs and articles written on popular websites which in their opinion is rich with quality content. A lot of the times the answer you're looking for might lie in a simple discussion in a group where people in a similar situation as you are sharing ideas. Medical answers is a great example for this kind of data that gets hidden in search engine rankings.
Vertical search:
For quite sometime now, vertical search engines have been used to overcome this problem. Here is the definition form Wikipedia - A vertical search engine is different from a web search engine as it focuses on a specific segment of online content. Several domains have successfully used this model, especially in scenarios where the data is constantly moving and traditional search engines cannot adapt as fast to the data. It also has the advantage of providing deeper search results. Websites like Zillow, Kayak, Expedia are great examples of vertical search engines. Try using vertical search engines for finding your medical answers as they tend to be more accurate in the quality of the results.
Medical information:
Medical data available on the Internet has been polluted by companies that are trying to make a profit by attracting users. While there are reliable and trusted sources online, there are numerous services that provide incomplete information and make false promises. A lot of websites promise answers from real doctors and often charge a fee for the service. There is no guarantee that these are real doctors and even if there are we don't know about the history of their practice. Even blogs are full of opinions of an individual based on their experience, which can be nothing like what you're looking for. As the case with Internet in general, there are malicious websites, that try to steal money or your personal medical information. Privacy is another topic that has been discussed in great length in another blog of mine. You should be extremely careful with giving away personal medical information online. Consider all the factors of reliability and security before using a site. Be sure to read their privacy policy and understand what they do to protect your data.
Reliable sources:
There are several trusted, reliable sources of free medical information online. Some of them are WebMD ( http://www.webmd.com ), Yahoo! Health and MedHelp.org. There are also discussion boards where people participate and share experiences and opinions about a certain medical condition. Yahoo! Answers, eHealthBoards, SteadyHealth are some good forums. Try describing your symptoms and searching for answers in these discussion boards. You'll get to learn about real experiences by other people.
Conclusion:
Better safe than sorry! Getting incorrect medical advice or losing your private medical information can cost you dearly. You should ensure that you get answers for medical questions from only the trusted sources online. It is also good to take the time and search for the most accurate answers. A simple web search engine may not have all the answers you need, so you must have a strategy to find the best answers on the Internet.
As good as they are, search engines are complicated and are constantly changing to adapt as the Internet changes. Nowadays larger part of the Internet is real-time data which comes from Twitter and Facebook news feeds. Search engine algorithms nowadays have too many parameters for ranking pages. Doubts arise as to whether you are getting results from the best source of the information for your specific query. Search engines often give preferences to blogs and articles written on popular websites which in their opinion is rich with quality content. A lot of the times the answer you're looking for might lie in a simple discussion in a group where people in a similar situation as you are sharing ideas. Medical answers is a great example for this kind of data that gets hidden in search engine rankings.
Vertical search:
For quite sometime now, vertical search engines have been used to overcome this problem. Here is the definition form Wikipedia - A vertical search engine is different from a web search engine as it focuses on a specific segment of online content. Several domains have successfully used this model, especially in scenarios where the data is constantly moving and traditional search engines cannot adapt as fast to the data. It also has the advantage of providing deeper search results. Websites like Zillow, Kayak, Expedia are great examples of vertical search engines. Try using vertical search engines for finding your medical answers as they tend to be more accurate in the quality of the results.
Medical information:
Medical data available on the Internet has been polluted by companies that are trying to make a profit by attracting users. While there are reliable and trusted sources online, there are numerous services that provide incomplete information and make false promises. A lot of websites promise answers from real doctors and often charge a fee for the service. There is no guarantee that these are real doctors and even if there are we don't know about the history of their practice. Even blogs are full of opinions of an individual based on their experience, which can be nothing like what you're looking for. As the case with Internet in general, there are malicious websites, that try to steal money or your personal medical information. Privacy is another topic that has been discussed in great length in another blog of mine. You should be extremely careful with giving away personal medical information online. Consider all the factors of reliability and security before using a site. Be sure to read their privacy policy and understand what they do to protect your data.
Reliable sources:
There are several trusted, reliable sources of free medical information online. Some of them are WebMD ( http://www.webmd.com ), Yahoo! Health and MedHelp.org. There are also discussion boards where people participate and share experiences and opinions about a certain medical condition. Yahoo! Answers, eHealthBoards, SteadyHealth are some good forums. Try describing your symptoms and searching for answers in these discussion boards. You'll get to learn about real experiences by other people.
Conclusion:
Better safe than sorry! Getting incorrect medical advice or losing your private medical information can cost you dearly. You should ensure that you get answers for medical questions from only the trusted sources online. It is also good to take the time and search for the most accurate answers. A simple web search engine may not have all the answers you need, so you must have a strategy to find the best answers on the Internet.
Gowri Kumara
GudAdvice.com - Get answers to your medical questions fast!
[http://www.gudadvice.com]
A user friendly medical search engine that helps you quickly find accurate answers to your health questions from only the most trusted online sources.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gowri_Kumara
GudAdvice.com - Get answers to your medical questions fast!
[http://www.gudadvice.com]
A user friendly medical search engine that helps you quickly find accurate answers to your health questions from only the most trusted online sources.
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