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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
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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.
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