DO not get me wrong, using searches on the various database and archive websites is invaluable tool and extremly useful, however do not assume that if the search results return nothing, then the person or record you are after does not exist. I come across an ever increasing number of people who basically give up after 20 minutes because they find nothing at all. Not quite how the adverts portray family history research.
I hope you are aware of the issues over transcription errors, one of the main reasons why certain records are never found, there are number of other reasons why you can not find what you are looking for which i will not go into now.
Therefore the old tried and tested methods of research are still important and necessary to progress, in other words, get your self down to an archive and look through documents yourself.
Fortunately in this day and age, with every month which passes, archives and records are continually being scanned and photographed and made available to view on internet, which can often mean a saved trip to the archive. Travelling a few hundred miles to simply see if someone name is actually recorded in a parish register can be very costly and time consuming.
So next time you get stuck, make a cup of tea, sit down and physically go through the original documents and read them yourself, you maybe surprised as to what information you can gain from this process, instead of relying on a basic search return