The internet is the most useful tool around for finding any information, products, or useless piece of knowledge you'll ever need. The problem is, it tends to be a double-edged sword. For example, say you're trying to find a decent Washington zipcode map online. Do a search, and you'll probably get millions of results – but which ones are quality and which are simply spam?
For one, without any kind of filter you can run into all kinds of obscene and crazy websites. Sites better left unmentioned by this article. And yes, even with as innocuous term as Washington zipcode map, you may still see some results that are nowhere NEAR what you're looking for.
Another problem with the prolificacy of the Internet is the fact that anyone with half a brain and no ethics whatsoever can build a commercial website. And many of them are GOOD at it, which makes it hard to tell the difference between a scam site and a legitimate one. For example, say you're a real estate agent trying to get an idea of your service area so you search for a Washington zipcode map and want to make sure you're buying a quality one.
What you DON'T want is some tiny outline of your zipcode with the words "Washington" across it that looks suspiciously hand-drawn. A Washington zipcode map can be a useful tool, but only if it has the kind of detail you need that will clearly outline the areas you wish to service. Most good zipcode maps will include major roads, landmarks and clear outlines of each individual zip code.
A Washington zipcode map also makes a great addition to client presentations, allowing a visual representation of the area the client may want to buy in. You can outline school districts and which homes fall within which district, as that is often an important factor for buyers. You can even use it to plan your route ahead of time when showing buyers different houses. Of course, that can only happen if you get yourself a quality map.
Thanks to the stringent rules of the Google search engine and how they rank sites, it's a good bet that the first ten results you see for 'Washington zipcode map' are going to be quality sites that you can trust. It's very rare that a site can get away with spamming Google for long. The spot to really watch out for however, is the sponsored listings area.
The sponsored listings section of Google are simply paid advertisements. For example, several different map sites may want to advertise for the term Washington zipcode map. They run an adwords campaign and start getting people to their site to buy maps. The only catch is it's possible they are simply trying to scam people out of money without giving anything in return. But again, Google's technology is cutting edge enough that they're usually able to quickly identify and rid their results of any spam sites.
There are pretty easy ways to determine whether a site is selling a quality Washington zipcode map, or just trying to get your money. For one, just trust your judgment and examine the site. A site that looks thrown together probably was, while a site that is professional looking with a check out program like Pay Pal is most likely what you want to look for. Also, if they're showing up in the top 10 in Google for that term, it's a good bet that you found yourself a quality map.
