The Invisible Web – Part 5 of Add Value

Several years ago two guys wrote a book published by a small publisher. It sold only a tiny fraction as many copies as the Da Vinci Code. The book was written in 2001, before most of us had even heard of Google, and before most of us had gotten in the habit of relying on search engines for our information. It’s called The Invisible Web, and it has an impact of staggering proportion that far exceeds its sales – and also provides you with a huge opportunity if you are willing to pay attention.

Gary Price and Chris Sherman wrote The Invisible Web – and one of my prized possessions is copy signed by Chris. Today, Gary and Chris remain among the 5 or 10 super-gurus of Internet search. Mr. Price is perhaps most famous for his List of Lists, not the topic of this article, but, you certainly must check it out sometime. Mr. Sherman is associate editor of Search Engine Watch, probably the most respected overall web site not only for Internet search, but also for search engine optimization.

(If you live in Denver, where Sheryl and I do, you can meet Chris Sherman at the upcoming Search Engine Strategies Local conference at the Adam’s Mark Hotel on September 28.)

The entire concept of the “invisible web” is your key to business success, career advancement, personal development, and to locating your car keys. Sorry, got carried away, nothing, not even the invisible web, can help you with that last one.

The simplest way to define this invisible web is that it is “all the stuff Google can’t find.” In fact, it’s also all the stuff that the other search engines can’t find –Yahoo, Ask.com, DogPile, ElephantStomp or anything else you can name. That’s why they call it “invisible,” see?

“Well, how can that be?” you might ask. Think about it, rich as Google is, it can’t access “Invisible Web” sites because they are often hidden behind roadblocks. Some examples of this are web pages that are “scripted” funny (because Hollywood can’t do it anymore), sites with password protection, databases that require payment and any website that Penn & Teller have decided that you shouldn’t see.

Seriously, the technical definition of the invisible web is, well, technical – and, of course, you are not going to find that here. What we will say is that by far most of the good stuff available on the Internet just can’t be found by Google and the search engines (kinda’ sounds like a rock group). I repeat – most of the good information available on the Internet can not be found by Google and the search engines.

Add to that what we call the “virtual invisible web,” and the stuff Google can’t find becomes even more enormous. The “virtual invisible web” is the information that is, admittedly, accessible by Google (and other general search engines), but you simply wouldn’t know to ask for it. It’s the tens of thousands of web sites that offer incredibly unique or innovative products or services that you had no idea even existed.

What? Well, let’s try a few – and then we we’ll let you go back to work. Did you know, for instance, that there is a site that provides you with someone else’s password, like instantly? Yeah. How would you have known to ask Google for something like that? It wouldn’t occur to most of us to ask about such a thing (would it?!!).

How ‘bout a site that lets you browse just the cottages in Hawaii, not the hotels? Or, a site that will merge all of your various frequent flyer accounts into one simple web page? Maybe a site that finds all of the jobs listed on the separate job posting sites? A site… well, you are getting the picture, aren’t you?

Such sites from the invisible and the virtual invisible web can transform your business, your career and your personal development. Still, the studies show that 9 out of 10 Americans think Google is all they need. That’s where your opportunity comes in. This article is part of a series of articles about how better web search skills can help you add value for your employer. If nine out of ten people at work have no idea how to get to the resources of the invisible web, your opportunity comes from knowing how to find them.

There are sites (even free ones) where you can get new sales leads; sites where you can save money and time and hassle; sites that will connect you to mentors, partners and investors; and sites where you can revive your spirit and your soul after all that commerce.

They say that the “invisible web” is 80 or 90 or 95 percent of the web. If you include the “virtual invisible web,” though, it’s almost all of it. Most of those other employees at work, most of your competition if you are a business owner, and most of your own staff if you are a manager, have no idea of the invisible web resources available to them. Now that you do – start learning more, and don’t stop. Type in “invisible web” in any good search engine and follow your nose.

Those web sites we mentioned? I thought you’d never ask. The password site is www.bugmenot.com (I kid you not). The site that manages your various frequent flyer programs is www.mileagemanager.com. The site where you can save on your Hawaii vacation and escape the hordes at the same time is www.kauai-vacation-cottages.com – a darling web site with cottages featured in a New York Times article a couple years back. Finally, the site that finds all the jobs from all the sites is www.indeed.com.

Indeed, these are only four of hundreds, even thousands, of invisible web treasures that can enhance your career or transform your company. Just because they’re invisible doesn’t mean you can’t find them.

Indeed, stay tuned.