Search Services

Most people just want to find information contained in an average web site. Fortunately there are many resources to turn to. Let’s review the more popular types of choices.

Originally there were two types of search services for the web; engines and directories.

Search Engines

This has become a generic term to refer to all searches, but in reality has a more limited definition. A search engine uses software called a robot that spiders a web site’s content. Spidering is basically cataloging the important words on a site. When people search for these words, the web site will appear in the results.

The larger search engines are Alta Vista, AlltheWeb, Google, Ask Jeeves and Inktomi.

Inktomi is not a search site in its own right, but feeds data to Hotbot, MSN and others. There are a number of companies such as Inktomi that collect data for resale. They do not have a web site for searches, but still do collect data using robots. (This is where it gets tricky when you are trying to promote your own web site.)

Search engines are perfect when you have a very specific search term you wish to use. Because of the large bulk of information in an engine, only specific searches are of value.

Directories

Search directories are hierarchical databases where web sites are placed into a category typically after being reviewed by a person (rather than an automated robot). Some directories are very specific, accepting only certain sites, while other directories accept all sites that meet some very broad rules. The Open Directory is a classic example of a directory. Directories are useful when you have a broad sense on what you are looking for. Just click on the categories until you are specific enough to narrow down your topic.

A Bit Mixed Up?

Yahoo! is also a directory, but it also uses Goggle's search engine. The results from a default Yahoo! search may contain results from both a directory and a search engine. This combination has made Yahoo! a number one choice for searching for years.