As the Web grows more crowded and just plain "noisy" with
information bombarding us from every angle, most people
welcome any tool, trick or shortcut to help them wade
through the mountains of data to find what they want.
Since your web browser represents your main window to the
Internet, it makes sense for any tool which enables you
to find what you need and get around faster online should
sit right where you need it most.
Introducing Web browser "toolbars," free little programs
that work with Internet Explorer and Netscape to put you
several steps closer to the information you need right
now.
~ Google Toolbar ~ The free toolbar from search giant
Google offers the best search features of any toolbar we
evaluated.
Not only does it allow you to search the web, but also
enables you to search within a website to find specific
information.
The Google toolbar's main features include "Page Rank,"
which gives an indication of a website's overall value
based on your search criteria and other factors, along
with a "backwards links" function which allows you to see
which sites link to the website currently loaded in your
browser.
You can download the Google toolbar on your web browser
by visiting http:/ oolbar.google.com and following the
simple installation instruction.
~ Alexa Toolbar ~ Alexa's main claim to fame revolves
around its traffic ranking report on virtually any site
on the Internet.
The lower the Traffic Ranking number, the more popular a
site rates in Alexa's eyes. Currently Yahoo, MSN and
Google occupy the top 3 spots on Alexa's charts.
With so many websites on the Internet, an Alexa ranking
of less than 100,000 is considered good, and a ranking of
less than 10,000 is considered outstanding as far as a
site's relative popularity on the Web.
Alexa also offers a related links feature right on the
toolbar so you can quickly find links to sites that other
people also visit when surfing the site you currently
have loaded in your browser.
Alexa also offers a pop-up blocker to help cut down on
the pop-up windows that seem to invade your desktop the
minute you venture online. You can download the Alexa
Toolbar free from www.alexa.com.
~ AltaVista Toolbar ~ Former search giant AltaVista
recently jumped on the toolbar bandwagon with their
offering from www.altavista.com.
Install the AltaVista toolbar and access a couple of
interesting features, including a language translation
button and an MP3 search.
Click the "Translate" button and instantly translate
entire web pages from one language to another.
The MP3 search will help you find the tune you want from
AltaVista's audio index.
Most of the toolbars offer additional gadgets to help you
with everything from weather forecasts to currency
conversion.
Because they offer many of the same features and they
take up valuable screen space, using more than one
toolbar at a time often proves impractical.
Since most toolbars come free of charge, evaluate them
all for their main features and overall usability for
your particular needs and then stick with the best one.
About the Author
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of
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Here> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com