What are "meta search engines"?
A meta search engine looks a lot like a regular search engine when you arrive at the main search page.
But there is a BIG difference below the surface.
A meta engine typically does not have its own database of indexed web sites. It takes your search query, runs off to a number of "real" search engines and displays a list of results from all of them. That could be great - more search results from more sources - great for finding obscure information, right?
Wrong.
The problem with meta search engines
They are a commendable effort, but very seldom does a search on a meta engine provide better results.
Apart from major limitations like the absence of advanced search and the real possibility of timeouts, they often retrieve only to top 10, top 50 or top 100 results from each search engine. You end up with fewer results than you would if you searched directly at one of the engines it queries.
Phrase and Boolean searching are rarely processed correctly, because the search engines being queried implement it differently.
Some of the more popular meta search engines
Dogpile searches an impressive list of sources:
LookSmart, Overture, Thunderstone, Yahoo, Open Directory, About.com, Lycos' Top 5%, Direct Hit, and AltaVista. It offers other searches for Usenet, FTP, News Wires, Business News, Stock Quotes, Weather, Yellow Pages, White Pages, and maps.
The wide reach and ability to customize results makes Dogpile one of the most popular meta search engines.
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