Cunningham Memorial Library: .ISU LIBRARY BASICS: Search Engines

Search Engines

About Search Engines

For more about search engines:

Search Engine Features Chart
Compare Boolean, ranking, etc. across search engines.
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SearchEngineShowdown.com
Search Features Chart
Summarizes key search commands and search assistance features.
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SearchEngineWatch.com/
Thumbshots.com
Thumbshots.com allows you to enter a search and then it searches two different search engines and compares the results. Each dot represents a Web page (hold your mouse over the dot). The lines show which results appeared in results sets of both search engines and where they were ranked.
Search Engine Watch
This site about search engines targets marketers interested in raising their ranking in search engine results
Search Engine Showdown
Greg R.Notess publishes about searching and the Internet.
Google's Webmaster Guidelines
Best Search Tools Chart
Infopeople.org compares popular search engines.
Search Engine Relationships
Some search engines provide the results for the others. View thei chart showing the relationships between several commonly used search engines.

What are Search Engines?

Search engines are software programs that are designed to search and retrieve records from a database, index, or the Internet.

What is a Search Engine
from About.com
How Search Engines Work
SearchEngineWatch.com
Web Searching Tips
SearchEngineWatch.com

Internet Search Engines

The search engines on this page are divided into five types: Single Search Engines, Meta Search Engines, Specialty Search Engines, Directories, and Images.

Single Search Engines
A single search engine is basically software that searches for information and returns sites which provide that information. Examples of single search engines are AltaVista, Google, Excite, etc.
Meta Search Engine
A meta search engine is software that uses a number of search engines at the same time and compiles results for you in a single list.
Specialty Search Engine
A specialty search engine is also called a topical search engine. It will search through specific types of listings in specified areas or topics.
21 Web Directories That Still Have Value (Search Engine Journal)
Directories such as Yahoo! and About.com have real people who review and index their links. They also require web sites to adhere to rigid guidelines in order to be included in their indexes.
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Directories' indexes tend to contain a comparatively small number of high-quality links. The factors that influence search engine rankings simply don't apply to directory rankings. Instead, directory editors look at the quality of a site: its functionality, content and design.
Image Search Engines
Search engines or collections that specialize in images.

Evaluating Web Sites

Evaluating Web Sites Tutorial

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