This technique often works when you receive an error message as well. Follow the links Even if a site has limited relevance to your topic, read it over as background information. Look for links to other sites, both those mentioned in the text and those listed on links pages. These may be useful even if the site you found them on is not. To follow the previous example, the National Cancer Institute site would lead you to CancerNet, which has a wealth of information.
Many sites have pages devoted to links related to the topic.
These are called subject guides. They are often excellent resources for Internet information. Expect to look beyond the first ten hits. Although theoretically search engines display sites in order of their relevance to your search, this is rarely the actual result. The variety of kinds of sites and of their quality makes the order in which they are displayed an unreliable gauge of their usefulness to you.