Articles > Search Engines > Meta Searching
META
SEARCHING: THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY
by: Derek Taylor
First, a definition. Meta Search - A search tool that queries several search
engines and/or web directories simultaneously and returning the results in a
single merged list without the duplicate links.
Confused? Let me give you an example. Let's say there is a meta search engine
you have recently found that searchs two engines, say Google and Yahoo. It
searches both of these search engines and then returns the combined results to
you, without any duplicates (results that appear on both engines). Sounds neat ,
huh? Well, there are pros and cons with meta searching that the user should be
aware of in order to make his searching as productive as possible.
THE PROS
Meta searching is fast, and saves considerable time for the user since you may
query several engines and directories simultaneously rather than typing in a
single query in every search engine that you wish to get results. Webmasters
will find meta searching extremely valuable in checking their site's page
listings, backlinks, keyword ranking, etc. Any other profession that is
research-oriented would also find meta searching a must-have.
THE CONS
Most, not all, meta searchers do not allow site submissions. This is because
most do not maintain their own database of page listings. They simply get
results from other search engines. Because most meta searchers query anywhere
from 4 to 12 engines and directories simultaneously, and not all of them will
allow Boolean searching, many meta searchers therefore will not allow Boolean
searching. (Boolean seaching is the use of operators such as AND, OR, quotation
marks, and plus/minus symbols.)
THE META SEARCH ENGINES
Meta search engines come in a variety of forms. The standard meta searcher
simply queries several engines and returns the results on a single page. Others
return results from each engine queried separately, either dividing them on a
single page or opening multiple
browser windows, each containing the results from a different engine. And
another type, generally known as all-in-one search, also allows you to query
many different engines, but just one engine at a time.
STANDARD META SEARCHERS: OLD SCHOOL
These are some "oldies but goodies." These engines have been around for years
and are quite popular.
http://www.dogpile.com - DogPile
http://www.mammma.com - Mamma
http://www.metacrawler.com - MetaCrawler
http://www.metasearch.com - MetaSearch
http://www.metaeureka.com - MetaEureka
http://www.multimeta.com - MultiMeta
http://www.search.com - Search.com
http://www.supercrawler.com - SuperCrawler
http://www.webcrawler.com - WebCrawler
http://www.vivissimo.com - Vivissimo
http://www.zapmeta.com - ZapMeta
STANDARD META SEARCHERS: NEW SCHOOL
Below you will find some excellent examples of newer meta search engines. Many
include nifty features for advanced searching.
http://www.clusty.com - Clusty
http://www.ez2find.com - ez2find
http://www.huntitout.com - Hunt It Out
http://www.iboogie.com - IBoogie
http://www.intelibuzz.com - Intelibuzz
http://www.ithaki.net - Ithaki
http://www.ixquick.com - IxQuick
http://www.killerinfo.com - KillerInfo
http://www.myprowler.com - MyProwler
http://www.turbo10.com - Turbo10
http://www.webclust.com - WebClust
http://www.windseek.com - WindSeek
ALL-IN-ONE SEARCH PAGES
Below you will find some excellent examples of what I call all-in-one search
pages.
http://www.allsearches.net - AllSearches
http://www.multi-search-engine.com - Multi-Search-Engine
http://www.queryster.com - Queryster
http://www.search22.com - Search22
http://www.searchalot.com - Searchalot
http://www.searchezee.com - SearchEzee
http://www.portprophecy.com - Port Prophecy
About the author:
Derek Taylor is the owner and web designer of Port Prophecy (http://www.portprophecy.com),
an all-in-one meta search site that allows the user to choose from hundreds of
search engines and directories to query. Mr. Taylor also is a frequent
contributor to many forums and bulletin boards on the Internet and donates time
editing for human-edited directories. This article you have read may be
reprinted by anyone as long as credit is given to the author.
