SEARCH FOR INTERNET WEBSITES

Library Internet Use Policies	Link to First Search Databases	Search Tips
SEARCH ENGINES	DIRECTORIES	METAS
	More about directories
	DIRECTORIES WITH ACADEMIC FOCUS & SOME OTHERS
		More about metas
		OTHER META-ENGINES
	CYBERSTACKS(sm)
More information about these search engines
SOME SPECIALIZED ENGINES
DIRECT SEARCH	Links to a Better Education
	Price's List of Lists
	Suggested Web Sites from Santa Fe Community College
	WWW Virtual Library
Big List of Blog Search Engines
	More about these "academic" directories
Singingfish: Find audio and video.
More about these specialized engines

Search engines use robots to automatically search the Internet and harvest sites for inclusion into their database. We use the search engine's interface to search this database using keywords or phrases. Because they use robot programs rather than human input a search engine will have a larger data base than a directory.

• Google: + 4.2 billion files and over 300 million images. Uses analysis of links to try to find "most relevant" sites. Advanced search option using templates and drop down menu is available. Over 70 languages, image search, Open Directory, Government sites, and newsgroup options. Cached links feature for viewing "dead websites". Under the "more" option the Open Directory content can be accessed and searched with Google's relevancy sorting results.
• Ask: Orinally called Ask Jeeves, Ask began as a "question service" that supported natural language searches and maintained a bank of previously asked questions. It now operates primarily as a crawler based search engine using the Teoma database. Offers advance search features and tabless "smart search".
• ALLtheWeb/Fast: Now owned by Yahoo and uses the Yahoo crawler index of +3.2 billion, Yahoo News, keyword search using + - and " " signs is easy. Offers options to search for specific file types (image, video, FTP, and audio), 36 languages, and an advanced search option with drop down menu. Also offers a unit conversion tool for various measurements.
• AOL Results provided by the Google index, with a different interface. An AOL user version is available that will search AOL online content is also available, but only to AOL subscribers.
• Lycos: Uses the Yahoo database with its own interface. Yellow pages and people search. Top 50 searches feature is a guide to pop culture. Advanced search option with drop-down menu. Will search for media files. Also uses Open Directory.
• MSN: Curently searches the Yahoo database. Working on revisions for the end of 2004.
• Alta Vista: Now owned by Yahoo and searches the Yahoo data base. Offers advanced, anguages translation possibilities using Babelfish, field searching and Boolean search possibilities, uses Open Directory.
• WISEnut: + 1.4 billion, accepts "search math", presents results in a list with an option to view a grouping of folders. Owned by Looksmart. Simple user interface.
• Alexa: uses the Google data base with its own interface. Presents thumbnail shots of first three results, information about site traffic.
• Netscape: Searches the Google database using its own interface.
• Exalead: Exalead is a newer search engine that appeared in the Fall of 2004. Developed in France, it offers a unique and different approach to presenting results. It searches a database of crawled Web pages and an image database and directory results from the Open Directory. Truncation, proximity search, and many other advanced search operators are available. Results includes thumbnails of pages. Narrowing options are available right side of the page. As a bew search engine it suffers from having a small database.

Directories are hierarchical subject trees compiled by human editors. For purposes of searching the Internet they perform a role similar to indexes in books. Directories arrange links to information sources topically, moving from general to more specific topics. An example would be: science/biology/micro-biology/bacteria/phages. Directories generally offer some limited keyword search options. The need for human input in their compilation means that a directory will necessarily have a smaller data-base than a "search engine".

• Yahoo: Yahoo, the oldest directory on the Internet, shifted emphasis to a crawler based search engine in 2002. Recent acquisitions of Inktomi, Alltheweb, Alta Vista, and Overture have provided it with a major crawler based index. Tabs can be used for image and news search. Advanced search features are also available. Yahoo retains its directory of +3 million links.
• Looksmart: +2.3 million links, +250 categories,directory. Directory results are a mix of paid inclusions and contributions from volunteer editors. Also p rovides a "Find Articles" database with 5.5 million articles from 900 publications. Owns Wisenut search engine and offer results from there.
• About: Index created by topical experts formerly called the Mining Company.
• Open Directory Project: +3.8 million links, +310,000 categories. The directory is the work of volunteer human editors. There is no back up datbase of results if there is no match with a category. Key Search results are alphabetized. This directory's content may also be searched using the Google Directory utilizing Google's relevancy in result listings.

Meta-search engines will search more than one search engine at the same time. This may seem like a good idea at face value but search engines do not all "speak the same language". Metas may not be able to "translate" complex searches across various search engines. Hence, Metas are mainly useful for "quick and dirty" searches, over multiple search engines using simple search strategies. Here are some links to Meta-search Engines.

• Dogpile: Searches Google, Yahoo, AltaVista, Ask Jeeves and a number of others customizable by user selection. Uses Vivisimo's result clustering technology. 2003 chice of Search Engine Watch as best meta-search tool.
• Vivisimo: Presents results in topical folders, selected as best meta for 2001 and 2002 by Search Engine Watch. Offers an advanced search menu. Recognizes "search math" and Boolean Operators (AND, OR, and NOT) in upper case. Web search sources include MSN, Lysos, Overture, Looksmart, Wisenut, and Open Directory.
• Hotbot: Powered by an Inktomi search engine also Offers a chance to search Google or Ask Jeeves (Teoma) from a single location. Advanced search option for a variety of file type choices, Boolean search, domain and date limiting options, some languages as well as content filtering.
• Surfwax: 2002 honorable mention as best meta from Search Engine Watch. Searches major engines or allows users who open free accounts an option of selecting their own. Page preview is avialable using a feature called side snaps.
• Kartoo: Received an honorable mention in 2002 from Search Engine Watch. Provides visual web search results.
• Mamma: A 2003 honorable mention as best meta from Search Engine Watch.

Some Other Metas

• CurryGuide: Meta that searches the U.S. and Europe and subject areas.
• Excite: An information portal powered by InfoSpace meta search engines.
• Fazzle: Formerly called SearchOnline Fazzle offers a customizable search interface.
• InfoGrid: Offers topical and meta search.
• Infonetware RealTerm Search: Meta search tool that provides topical selection of results and allows the user to select and search multiple topics.
• Ithaki: A meta available in 14 languages, 35 categories to limit searches, and also allows users to limit results by country.
• Ixquick: Meta that ranks results based on "top ten results" from other search engines.
• Mozbot: Meta that allows users to block results from particular sites.
• Metacrawler: Dating back to 1995 it is the oldest meta on the web and now owned by Infospace.
• MetaEureka: Searches multile engines and offers users a chance to also view Alexa results about site information.
• Query Server: A Meta that will search web engines, news, health, and government sources.
• Search.com: Meta with some specialized options.
• Turbo10: Meta that also searches the gray areas of the Internet known as the "Invisible Web".
• WebCrawler: Like Excite it is powered by InfoSpace meta search engines but offers users a cleaner interface.
• Zapmeta: Meta with result sorting options: domain, popularity, title and source. Various viewing options include a quick view, Alexa site info, and the Internet Archive.

• Beaucoup: An annotated directory with search feature powered by Mamma.
• BIOTN: Best Information On The Net produced by librarians at St. Ambrose University.
• BUBL: Catalog of websites compiled by librarians at U. of Strathclyde, can be searched using Dewey Decimal classification.
• CYBERSTACKS: WWW resources searchable using LC classification.
• Galaxy: An Internet directory search tool, with access to over 300 specialized search engines.
• Infomine: +14,000 scholarly Internet resources for student, faculty, and administrative interests.
• Lii.org: Librarians Index to the Internet.
• Links to Better Education: Resources from Wilton high School of Wilton Connecticut, with numerous links to study skills and test-taking tips.
• Pinakes: A subject launch pad.
• Price's List of Lists: An Index of Internet Lists and Indexes.
• Suggested Web Sites from Santa Fe Community College: From the Lawrence W. Tyree Library of Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, FL.
• Thunderstone: A directory providied by Thunderstone, a document retrieval and management company.
• WWW Virtual Library: originating in 1994, a pioneer in electronic reference.

• Direct Search: A Reference Compilation and guide to searching the "invisible Internet" by Gary Price, of Free Pint.
• Factbites: Internet Search tool covering 8,000 topics.
• Gigablast: A new search engine with a small data base and some experimental search features.
• Infonetware: Offers the concept RealTerm Search to users.
• Internet Archive: Offers access to the Internet "Way Back Machine", an archive of websites.
• Profusion: Search gray areas of the Internet.
• Lsoft: Lsoft search engine for over 33,000 Listserv mailing lists.
• Scirus: Science-specific search engine.

The series of links listed provide short descriptions of each search tool as an aid in selecting an appropriate one. If you need some help selecting a search engine appropriate to your informational needs Debbie Abilock’s Informational Literacy Tutorial and Grill's dimly apt might offer some help. Back to top.

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