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 searches
two engines, let's 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 of Meta Searching
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, and other site statistics in several search
engines. Other professions that are research-oriented
would also benefit greatly from meta searching.
Professions such as educators, scientists, legal
professionals, college students to name just a few.
The Cons of Meta Searching
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 searching 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." The
following list includes some notable examples of standard
meta search engines, many of these having been around for
years and have remained quite popular with the searching
public.
http://www.dogpile.com
- Dogpile
http://www.excite.com
- Excite
http://www.huntitout.com
- Hunt It Out
http://www.ixquick.com
- IxQuick
http://www.mammma.com
- Mamma
http://www.metacrawler.com
- MetaCrawler
http://www.metasearch.com
- MetaSearch
http://www.metaeureka.com
- MetaEureka
http://www.search.com
- Search.com
http://www.webcrawler.com
- WebCrawler
http://www.windseek.com
- WindSeek
http://www.vivissimo.com
- Vivissimo
http://www.zapmeta.com
- ZapMeta
Meta Searchers: New School
Below you will find some excellent examples of newer meta
search engines. Many include nifty features for advanced
searching, such as clustering. Clustering search engines
gather results into groups around a certain theme, or in
some cases just provide you with related keywords that
perhaps will aid the user to zero in on your goal. Others
offer the user the ability to set the bias of each search
engine the meta searcher pulls results from. For example,
telling it to weigh results more from Yahoo than from Ask
Jeeves.
http://www.clusty.com
- Clusty
http://www.ez2find.com
- ez2find
http://www.ithaki.net
- Ithaki
http://www.izito.com -
Izito
http://www.kartoo.com
- Kartoo
http://www.killerinfo.com
- KillerInfo
http://www.mooter.com
- Mooter
http://www.turbo10.com
- Turbo10
http://www.nuah.com -
Nuah
http://www.ujiko.com -
Ujiko
http://www.webclust.com
- WebClust
All-In-One Search Pages
Below you will find some excellent examples of what I call
all-in-one search pages. These are not technically meta
search engines as they only allow the user to search one
engine at a time, but they certainly provide a valuable
service to the web searcher.
http://www.allsearches.net
- AllSearches
http://www.itools.com
- iTools
http://www.multi-search-engine.com
- Multi-Search-Engine
http://www.portprophecy.com
- Port Prophecy
http://www.queryster.com/searchx/
- Queryster's SearchX
http://www.search22.com
- Search22
http://www.searchalot.com
- Searchalot
Conclusion There are several advantages to using meta
search engines, the most obvious advantage being the
ability to get results from multiple search engines
without having to visit each in turn. Meta searchers in
general are fast ways of getting information on things
broad in scope. And finally they are important in allowing
the user to see how the various search engines return
results on the same query.
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
 |
Translate
Page!
    |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Newsletter |
|
Sign-Up for The Business
Junction Newsletter and Get "FREE" Newsletter Sign-Up Software, Specials Updates, Product
Updates and MUCH MORE!  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
