There are so many ways to search for information on the internet. Sure, Google is still one of the most popular methods, but sometimes you already know where you want to search for something, and you just want to search one site. My favorite tool for this job is a simple little browser plugin for Google Chrome called "Context Menu Search."
The "context menu" is that list of things you see when you use your right mouse button to click on things. It's called the context menu because it changes depending on what your doing and where you click. If you click on your computer's desktop, you'll get different options than if you right-clicked in a Word document. There are many programs that add themselves into this context menu to enable you to do things more quickly (I'll talk about some more of those in future blogs).
Context Menu Search works like this: you're browsing the web and you see something you'd like to search for on a specific site. First, you highlight that word or phrase. Then, you right-click on it and go to "Context Menu Search," which will list a bunch of search engines you can use to search for that word or phrase.
Lets give a more specific example. You're reading a news article about Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and you want to remind yourself what movies he's been in. You would click and drag your left mouse button over his name, then right-click it, go to "Context Menu Search," and click on "IMDB." You would then be taken directly to the IMDB search results for "Joseph Gordon-Levitt."
The list of search engines that show up in this list are completely configurable. You can see my list here, which includes the sites I use most often to search for things. I've put Amazon first because I search for things on that more than anywhere else. I can have as many or as few sites in that list as I like.
It's easy to install this extension. All you need to do is go here and click on the button that says "Free." I'll be installed and you can use it right away. The extension comes with many preconfigured sites, and gives you instructions for how to add almost any site with a search box.
You may notice that I haven't added Google its self to my Context Menu Search. That's because Google has a handy tool for this built into the context menu. If you highlight something and right-click on it, you'll see an option for "Search Google for '___'." It's quite handy, and easier than opening a new tab or going to Google directly. It's even easier (I think) than typing your query into the Chrome Omnibox.