After 'sex', perhaps the most searched items on any search engine are 'download' and 'freeware'. The topics of interest are mostly 'sex', 'girls', 'sex videos', 'free downloads', 'google', 'yahoo', 'chat', 'music', 'games' etc. There are those who search for an item and finding the search to be costly, prefix or suffix the word 'free'. Its a different matter that what appears to be prima facie 'free' is either a short-lived demo version or a labyrinth starting with submission of all details of your existence on this planet ( you begin to feel anytime the FBI is going to be on your trail).

Choosing the right website

Most often, I have found the searches annoying. What is promised in the title or description is seldom found after clicking. With due respects to SEO gurus, I have even found websites under construction on the first page of search i.e., in the top ten group! Some pages with javascript errors also get high page rank by Google. The best sites providing excellent content can be discovered only after an enormous amount of time spent on the net or if one happens to come across a good reference.

Ezine articles are an excellent source for content-rich sites. One need not been an expert writer to pen articles but one must make sure the article has no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. They are various resources on the net where writing skills can be learnt. In the worst case, one can hire a paid writer. There some ezines purely devoted to software. One can search for these and read reviews written by experts. Even joining forums is not a bad idea to understand what is being discussed.

Though Google claims its search engine ranks websites based on popularity and links and gives preference to content, its obvious no engine can decide upon the merits and demerits of a content without human involvement. It would be too optimistic to expect the Open Directory Project to scan and glance through the millions of websites and rate websites. They need editors but when you apply there is no response whatsoever!

Google Adwords and other similar ones are also good agents for mass advertisement for websites which otherwise would never be 'visible'. Of course, there is a method to beat the high minimum bids required by Adwords for common terms. Even some keyword phrases are too costly. One can choose less competitive keyword phrases but the 'count' would be lower. I would suggest website owners to use only popular keywords based on 'keyword selection tool', 'wordtracker' etc. in their ad campaigns and experimentally determine the 'position' in Adwords summary. Then one can go for very low bids and increase their ROI.

Care must be exercised when deciding to download any " free disk cleaner" or whatsoever! They leave a spy in the registry files to track your actions on the computer. Never ever trust any "free scan"! It is better to rely upon what comes with google or yahoo toolbar.

I have tried to cull out a few essential links for searchers seeking 'freeware' and 'downloads' in music, games, and general software.