Surfing the Internet for business data<\/p>\n
By Hendarsyah Tarmizi
\nThe Jakarta Post<\/p>\n
With the power of the Internet, you can access information on
\nthousands of companies around the world in almost all business
\nfields in a matter of seconds.<\/p>\n
Online business directories offer more advantages than paper
\ndirectories. They are much more up-to-date. Unlike paper
\ndirectories, which are published every one to two years, the
\nonline variety can be updated instantly.<\/p>\n
In the developed world, online business directories have
\nbecome more popular with the business community. With the online
\ndirectories, readers can find the information they are looking
\nfor much more easily. The data contained in the directories is
\nalso presented in a user-friendly format, thus eliminating time-
\nconsuming searches.<\/p>\n
The directories are divided into three categories: The first
\ntype is the global business directory, which lists global
\ncompanies with activities in more than two countries.<\/p>\n
The second type is the regional directory listing global
\ncompanies with activities in more than two countries, while
\nfinally there are country business directories, which list
\ncompanies in a particular country.<\/p>\n
There are hundreds of websites that offer such complete
\nbusiness references.<\/p>\n
Multinational data provider Kompass Group, for example,
\noffers online directories, which give access to information on
\n1.6 million companies, 23 million key product and service
\nreferences, 3.2 million executive names and 744,000 trade and
\nbrand names available in over 70 countries.<\/p>\n
In the third quarter of last year alone, 30 million pages were
\nbeing offered on Kompass.com.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, online business directories are still less
\npopular than the paper ones. But the trend toward using online
\ndirectories is growing with the increase in the number of online
\ndirectory providers in the country.<\/p>\n
In terms of services, the local online directories are still
\nrelatively limited, only containing certain categories of
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
Below are some of the website addresses of local online
\ndirectory providers, which mostly offer information on companies
\noperating in certain fields.<\/p>\n
Export-Import Indonesia's www.export-import-indonesia.com
\noffers a database of exporters, importers and foreign forwarders.<\/p>\n
Travelmart Indonesia's www.travelmart.co.id gives access to
\ninformation on the country's travel companies.<\/p>\n
Indonesia-Product's www.indonesia-product.com provides
\ndirectories on Indonesian industrial products.<\/p>\n
Indonesia Furniture Inc's www.indonesia-furniture.com offers
\ndirectories of furniture companies in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Indonesia Yellow Pages' www.yellowpages.co.id offers
\ninformation on Indonesian companies.<\/p>\n
Indonesia Companies' Indonesiacompanies.com gives access to
\ndirectories of local companies.<\/p>\n
Indonesia Export's www.Indonesianexport.com offers a business
\nto business directory.<\/p>\n
Trade Indonesia's www.tradeindonesia.com features a directory
\nof trade-related resources, events, travel and regional
\ninformation.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Capital Market Links' www.
\nindonesianmarketlinks.net provides information on Indonesian
\ncompanies and links to the Indonesian capital markets.<\/p>\n
Indonesia Net Exchange's indoexchange.com, offers information
\non stock trading and directories of publicly listed companies.<\/p>\n
Most of us are interested in the use of search engines to
\ntrack down websites. Knowing how to use them is a handy skill and
\nshould be an important part of your business.<\/p>\n
Here are some tips provided by Kompass.com on how to
\neffectively use online directories.
\n1. Know the difference between a search engine and a directory.<\/p>\n
Pure search engines - such as Alta Vista (http:\/\/www.av.com -
\ncreate an instant index of the web: visitors can search through
\nthis by typing in keywords that describe what they are looking
\nfor. The search engine will then find matching web sites.<\/p>\n
Search engines such as yahoo which operate as directories are
\ndifferent from Alta Vista because they are generally compiled
\nthrough submissions by site owners. All sites are cataloged by
\ntopic, and visitors "drill down" to find their topic of interest.
\n2. Learn how to use key words and phrases effectively.<\/p>\n
Before beginning your search think about what you are looking
\nfor. These will be your "keywords" or "phrases".<\/p>\n
For example, if you're sourcing "plastic bolts", "CPVC" will
\nnarrow the list very effectively.
\n3. Use boolean terms to refine your search.<\/p>\n
Learn how to use boolean terms (and, nit) to help fine tune
\nyour search. You can shorten these to + or - in many search
\nengines such as Alta Vista. Using these will
\nnarrow your results down significantly.<\/p>\n
For example:+plastic+bolts+europe-nylon (NB:put space between
\nwords) instructs the search engine to find all pages that include
\n"plastic" "bolts" and "europe" but do not contain the word
\n"nylon."
\n4. Use the results to hone your search further<\/p>\n
If the selection offered is too broad, you need to add more
\nterms to make it more specific and vice versa. Also, sift through
\nat least 50 results before starting another search.<\/p>",
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