| Search engine is the
most important tool for finding information from Internet. All of
us use it in varying degrees. Usually, we search for information
using one or two search engines (e.g. AltaVista, Google) or directories
(e.g. Yahoo). But these search tools have their limitations:
-
None of them cover all pages on the Web.
-
There is a long lead time (often weeks) to index
new pages.
-
They generally cover the Web only, excluding
other important information sources on the Internet.
-
They usually index only "static" Web pages, excluding
the large body of information stored in databases on Web sites
and retrieved on demand.
-
They employ limited "intelligence" in their search
- mostly relying on occurrence or non-occurrence of search word.
However, even within its limitations - search engines
can provide far more useful information provided you invest some
time and effort in understanding how they work and learn tips on
getting the most out of them. The problem is few people take the
time to read and understand the directions. Consequently, some Internet
users wind up with thousands of irrelevant matches simply because
they don't know how to conduct an accurate search.
While we shall discuss how to refine your searches
and extract more from search engines in future issues - here is
one technique to quickly get more from your search - by using meta
search engine.
Meta search engines query multiple search engines on
the Web simultaneously and compile the results for you. Most meta
search engines allow you to search web-pages, files, music, images
etc.
So, instead of going through each search engine - use
meta search and get results from multiple search engines at one
place.
Some of the better known Meta Search Engines are:
Dogpile: http://www.dogpile.com
It searches a broad varieties of information like:
Web Search Engines: About, Ah-ha, Ask Jeeves,
Dogpile Web Catalog, ePilot,
FindWhat, Kanoodle, LookSmart,
Open Directory, Overture,
SearchHippo, Sprinks and Yahoo!
Images: Same as Web Search Engine
Audio/MP3: Astraweb, Audio Galaxy and MP3Board
Files: Yaga
News: Dogpile Web Catalog
Multimedia: VastVideo
Metacrawler: http://www.metacrawler.com
Very powerful meta search engine
Mamma: http://www.mamma.com/
Called Mother of all search engines !
search.com : http://search.cnet.com/
Online forms for most major and minor search
engines from CNET
Jayde Online Directory : http://www.jayde.com/
Surfwax: http://www.surfwax.com/
Helps focus searches and provides real-time page
summaries
ProFusion : http://www.profusion.com
Metor : http://www.metor.com/
SearchBug : http://www.searchbug.com/
Go ahead and use them and feel free to share your experience
with us.
Related Links:
Source: FAIDA
- Newsletter on Business Opportunties from India and Abroad
Vol: 3, Issue 8
June 13' 2002
Author :
Dr. Amit K. Chatterjee
(Amit worked in blue-chip Indian and MNCs for 15 years in various
capacities like Research and Information Analysis, Market Development,
MIS, R&D Information Systems etc. before starting his e-commerce
venture in 1997. The views expressed in this columns are of
his own. He may be reached at amit@infobanc.com
) |
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