Let's say, for example, that you're doing a search for people, such as members of your graduating class. A straight search using a search engine might work for class members with unusual names, but what if you're trying to locate John Smith or Mary Brown? You can forget about it.

The same holds true for finding a place to live. It doesn't matter if you're looking to rent an apartment or to buy real estate, it's hard to do an Internet search and come up with any meaningful results.

When it comes to Internet purchases, the statistics say that over half of all people who shop on the Internet to a Web search before they buy. But whether you're in the market for a new play list of songs or for used cars, you can get lost in a morass of websites that may or may not be relevant to your needs.

What's the solution? Well, one way to conduct an effective search is to go through a Web directory. A Web directory contains a list of popular searches, broken down by category. So, for example, it might have a finance category, under which there are subcategories for loans, credit cards, debt consolidation, and stocks appear. There may be a shopping category, with subcategories for video, flowers, gifts, apparel, and books. If you don't see a category or subcategory that fits your needs, you can always do a text search, also known as a keyword search.

When you click on a category in a Web directory, sponsored search results appear. What are sponsored search results? They're paid search engine marketing ads. Many people are quick to say that sponsored search results aren't meaningful results, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, businesses listed in sponsored search results have paid to be there, but their ranking is only partly dependent upon the amount of money they pay. The other pieces of the equation are how well their ads perform and how much traffic their sites receive. The reality is that links from search engine marketing campaigns are highly targeted, since companies will only pay for ads that will bring them their desired customers - people like you.

One of the best features about a Web directory is that, when you click on a category or subcategory, it not only brings up relevant sponsored search results, but it also brings up a list of related searches. This is especially helpful when you're not sure exactly what you're looking for, since it gives you the chance to narrow your search and find what you need.

Another way to think of a Web directory is as a matchmaker. You need something - a hotel accommodation, a phone number, a job, someone's email address - and the sponsored search results deliver exactly what you need. Why bother with the hassle of spending hours in front of your computer, browsing and searching, when you can find exactly what you need with just a few clicks of your mouse?