Ask anyone which search engine they use to find information on the Internet and they will almost certainly reply: "Google." Look a little further, and market research shows that people actually use four main search engines for 99.99% of their searches: Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Ask.com (in that order). But in my travels as a Search Engine Optimizer (SEO), I have discovered that in that .01% lies a vast multitude of the most innovative and creative search engines you have never seen. So many, in fact, that I have had to limit my list of the very best ones to a mere 100.
But it's not just the sheer number of them that makes them worthy of attention; each one of these search engines has that standard "About Us" link at the bottom of the homepage. I call it the "why we're better than Google" page. And after reading dozens and dozens of these pages, I have come to the conclusion that, taken as a whole, they are right!
In order to address their claims systematically, it helps to group them into categories and then compare them to their Google counterparts. For example, let's look at the first thing that almost everyone sees when they go to search the Internet - the ubiquitous Google homepage. That famously sparse, clean sheet of paper with the colorful Google logo is the most popular Web page in the entire World Wide Web. For millions and millions of Internet users, that Spartan white page IS the Internet.
Google has successfully made their site the front door through which everyone passes in order to access the Internet. But staring at an almost blank sheet of paper has become, well, boring. Take Ms. Dewey for example. While some may object to her sultry demeanor, it's pretty hard to deny that interfacing with her is far more visually appealing than with an inert white screen.
]]> A second example comes from Simply Google. Instead of squeezing through the keyhole in order to reach Google's 37 search options, Simply Google places all of those choices and many, many more all on the very first page; neatly arranged in columns.A second arena is sometimes referred to as Natural Language Processing (NLP), or Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is the desire we all have of wanting to ask a search engine questions in everyday sentences, and receive a human-like answer (remember "Good Morning, HAL"?). Many of us remember Ask Jeeves, the famous butler, which was an early attempt in this direction - that unfortunately failed.
Google's approach, Google Answers, was to enlist a cadre of "experts." The concept was that you would pose a question to one of these experts, negotiate a price for an answer, and then pay up when it was found and delivered. It was such a failure, Google had to cancel the whole program. Enter ChaCha. With ChaCha, you can pose any question that you wish, click on the "Search With Guide" button, and a ChaCha Guide appears in a Chat box and dialogues with you until you find what you are looking for. There's no time limit, and no fee.
Perhaps Google's most glaring and egregious shortcoming is their insistence on displaying the outcome of a search in an impossibly long, one-dimensional list of results. We all intuitively know that the World Wide Web is just that, a three dimensional (or "3-D") web of interconnected Web pages. Several search engines, known as clustering engines, routinely present their search results on a two-dimensional map that one can navigate through in search of the best answer. Search engines like KartOO and Quintura are excellent examples.
Another promising category is the recommendation search engines. While Google essentially helps you to find what you already know (you just can't find it), recommendation engines show you a whole world of things that you didn't even know existed. Check out What to Rent, Music Map, or the stunning Live Plasma display. When you input a favorite movie, book, or artist, they recommend to you a world of titles or similar artists that you may never have heard of, but would most likely enjoy.
Next we come to the metasearch engines. When you perform a search on Google, the results that you get are all from, well, Google! But metasearch engines have been around for years. They allow you to search not only Google, but a variety of other search engines too - in one fell swoop. There are many search engines that can do this, Dogpile, for instance, searches all of the "big four" mentioned above (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Ask) simultaneously. You could also try Zuula or PlanetSearch - which plows through 16 search engines at a time for you. A very interesting site to watch is GoshMe. Instead of searching an incredible number of Web pages, like conventional search engines, GoshMe searches for search engines (or databases) that each tap into an incredible number of Web pages. As I perceive it, GoshMe is a meta-metasearch engine (still in Beta)!
And so it goes, feature after feature after feature. TheFind is a better shopping experience than Google's Froogle, IMHO. Like is a true visual search engine, unlike Google's Images, which just matches your keywords into images that have been tagged with those same keywords. Coming soon is Mobot (see the Demo at www.mobot.com). Google Mobile does let you perform a search on your mobile phone, but check out the Slifter Mobile Demo when you get a chance!
Finally, almost prophetically, Google is silent. Silent! At least Speeglebot talks to you, and Nayio listens! But of course, why should Google worry about these upstarts (all 100 of them)? Aren't they just like flies buzzing around an elephant? Can't Google just ignore them, as their share of the search market continues to creep upwards towards 100%, or perhaps just buy them? Perhaps.
Issac Asimov, the preeminent science fiction writer of our time, once said that his favorite story, by far, was The Last Question. The question, for those who have not read it, is "Can Entropy Be Reversed?" That is, can the ultimate running down of all things, the burning out of all stars (or their collapse) be stopped - or is it hopelessly inevitable?
The question for this age, I submit, is… "Can Google Be Defeated"? Or is Google's mission "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" a fait accompli?
Perhaps the place to start is by reading (or re-reading) Asimov's "The Last Question." I won't give it away, but it does suggest The Answer….
Charles Knight is the Principal of Charles Knight SEO, a Search Engine Optimization company in Charlottesville, VA.
For an Excel spreadsheet of the entire Top 100 Alternative Search Engines, go to: http://charlesknightseo.com/list.aspx or email the author at Charles@CharlesKnightSEO.com.
This list is in alphabetical order. Feel free to share this list, but please retain Charles' name and email.
Update: Thanks Sanjeev Narang for providing a hyperlinked version of the list.
Update, 5 February 2007: Charles Knight has left a detailed comment (#94) in response to all the great feedback in the comments to this post. He also notes:
"...while it looks like a very simple, almost crude list of 100 names, it has taken countless hours to try and do it properly and fairly. The list will be updated all year long, and the Top 100 can only get better and better until the Best of 2007 are announced on 12/31/07."
I've tried clusty, funny I don't see www.alltheweb.com there?
]]>Look at all the channel and sub channels...ive never seen this anywhere.
]]>Webwag goes further than any other service by allowing users to search among feeds directly on their personalized page. Webwag has partnered with Yahoo Search Marketing in Europe and the US for keyword-based sponsorlinks. Webwag is thus unique in covering search in both the personal wide web and the world wide web.
]]>If every SE provides a Webservice, it would be nice to have a new SE that search in all of these SEs
Nice work,
JP
Yoople! Collaborative Web Search
]]>The problem here is that you have such dominant players especially Google that I can't see how they will make up ground. Also Google is developing, improving and acquiring all the time...it's really a difficult ask...
]]>Look here
]]>Everybody here uses it - maybe its just us Australians ;)
]]>just searches porno images and sites - i heard this on the howard stern show, making me slightly less of a pervert -
but it is different nonetheless.
]]>I made a custom search engine (mapshark.com) that indexes mapping sites and mashups. The search results return links to maps and mashups only. The index includes over 700 sites. My goal is to see Google link to this custom search engine on their Google Maps page. We'll see.
]]>Check it out!
]]>The frenchies are jealous of the American search engines and success and lately the exalead ceo critized Google and all the other major search engines at the french search engine strategies.
I can't stand them, so use everything but exalead, they are way too pathetic. Using them will be an insult to my intelligence.
]]>We've only been live since October---have we been demoted already?
]]>The only true revolution on the web horizon is the new Wiki search. This will not be a Google killer, but it will generate significant traffic on its own and be a great compliment to Google search.
]]>I have a client that has a specialized search engine that only searches for low-priced prescription drugs. If you don't have insurance that covers your prescriptions, it's a pretty useful tool.
]]>Also re #36, apologies for the non-hyperlinks on the top 100 list. I had a lot of difficulty copying and pasting from Excel without the formatting going haywire. I'll see if I can fix that so it has links....
]]>eg. http://www.goodsearch.com (Yahoo powered) and http://www.jikolp.com (Google powered)
]]>Sproose /ceo
]]>Revise your list, post links to their spider info pages, and list their useragent and you might gain a shred of credibility with those who know what they're talking about.
]]>The file you receive will be a little more helpful as it includes: Search Engines not reviewed yet, some mobile search engines, Search Engines in Stealth Mode-not yet released, and the list of the Search Engines that did not make the Top 100.
]]>I don't really suppose you can cover them in a list of just 100, but I think some of the most useful search engines out there are the niche-specific ones.
eg.
Aardvark Business for business searches
Aardvark Sport for sports searches
Aardvark Travel for travel searches
Paul
]]>You missed us as well:-) www.hakia.com
]]>I really like the smaller search engines. One that has been around for awhile is IntelSeek.com, and a newer one is http://www.searchbigdaddy.com/cohwill .
]]>Hopefully we'll be up there in the future :) ..
http://www.Voysage.com/ is a travel recommendation engine based in Australia. We're working on some hyperlocal stuff at the moment, but should be alive and kicking sometime mid-year.
]]>In the custom section you can add 3300+ search engine from mycroft archives, and save the customization with a bookmarklet, without registration!
]]>There is a new international search engine coming up, it will it will be available in 45 languages.
I am talking about Megaglobe, they have a new patent pending technology on their sponsor results, it's called "Pay per valid click" and it is designed to eradicate click fraud.
They are members of the IAB.
I believe Megaglobe is a serious threat to Google and Yahoo because they have so many patent like the "Placement frequency program", "Search rewards" ect...
There are few press releases about them and the Beta testing should start in just few days.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=megaglobe&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wn&filter=0
]]>Hakia wasn't missed: It's under Search Engines in Stealth Mode - not yet launched! Isn't that correct?
AlltheWeb? You can only have so many Metasearch engines.
MySpace? (Searching Social Networking sites? - maybe.)
Quintura for Kids, Zoo.com, SuperKids, et al are missing because my audience-adults-are just not "wow"-ed by them.
Vivisimo = Clusty, which is on the list.
Yes, the list does not have Yahoo!, MSN, or Ask.com
Specialty verticals: Real Estate (Zillow) Health (Helia)et al are not listed; they could/should be their own "Top 100 Vertical Search Engines."
A Search Engine that searches Search Engines? Try GoshMe (www.goshme.com)GoshMe is one to watch this year, IMHO.
GoodSearch is an also ran. Nice idea, but not much more.
Answerbag, Askville, Yahoo! Answers, Live QnA, all have one flaw, the quality of the answers are all over the map.
http://www.ihound.com will have to be checked out!
www.yoople.com is really www.yoople.net . My bad!
majestic12 will be checked out, also.
Re: Google is developing all of the time. Yes, and they
developed Google (Expert) Answers - a tremendous flop. Surely this shows that Google is not infallible.
Will check out www.swamii.com and peekyou.com; maybe mapshark should be revisited...
AltaVista? Cutting edge? The best choices are entirely new in 2006, or at least have a cool new feature in 2006.
www.mamma.com - again, only so many metasearch engines...
http://dmoz.org? got to think about that one!
The Carrot is known, just not on the Top 100 list (yet?)
Bessed has come and gone, but I will check it again!
Technorati? Will check www.boardreader.com and TallStreet
and www.eluta.ca, and also www.vdoogle.com.
Ah! go2 - see the Top 100 Mobile Search Engines! ;-)
Re: The comment from Sproose, #53, is well taken, as are all 93 comments. All feedback serves the common good by making the list more complete, accurate and refined.
Blog search: www.blogsaic.com?
For Mr. Biliki (#56) - Rather than use a stricter definition of what is a Search Engine, I would much rather
expand upon the title of the list to something like:
"The Top 100 Search Engines and/or Search Related Applications": would that be better?
Mobile search www.411Sync.com; mobile deserves it's own list.
Suggested: www.keotag.com and www.gnoos.com.au Thanks!
Accoona? Maybe. www.wasalive.com to be evaluated
Thanks for http://bleebot.com
International sites should get their own list I think.
Ask Vox needs to be looked up - and LuckyButton - and
IntelSeek.com and Searchbigdaddy.com/cohwill
People Search? www.people2meet.com. See also ZabaSearch
Travel site: www.Voysage.com see: Specific Industries list
(when there is one)
Search tool www.trovando.com? Must take a look at that one.
http://yourhotsearch.com? http://webring.com?
Author's note: Technically I did not "forget" to include many of these - in so many cases I did not know about them until I had the benefit of these comments! Thanks!
www.360view4U.co.uk is another. FTP search? Code Search?
www.gotuit.com for Video search? That's another one.
Megaglobe is already on my list as one to be watched.
Extate - see comments on industry-specific search engines, or comments on "foreign" search engines like www.ggimmo.com
Finally, just for the record; any faults in this list are mine alone. All comments are welcome, even if all sites cannot be included. And while it looks like a very simple, almost crude list of 100 names, it has taken countless hours to try and do it properly and fairly. The list will be updated all year long, and the Top 100 can only get better and better until the Best of 2007 are announced on 12/31/07.
You can always request the latest version by sending me an email at: Charles@CharlesKnightSEO.com Thanks to all!
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Well off the bat, thank you Charles for the article and thank you Richard for this blog.
If you guys plan to continue the search research, I have a 1000+ search engines that I have noted and I am sure you guys have more. I would actually like to see someone create a Search Engine Database similar to the functionality of Alexa. It would be a search marketers dream and it would be useful for those who are powersearching. The only form of revenue I could conceive would be ad revenue. I am sure you guys have thought of this already and if I had time I would work on it, but who has the time. I just thought I mention it because it seems like you guys have a bigger passion for search engines and to encourage because if you build it they will come ....
As far as the most creative search engines on that list, I definitely like the one were you point a device and search, the search engine where you hum to find a song, and the search engine that talks back to you. They are very creative.
As far as the comments go, the award goes to BOOBLE.com, just on the name alone. I actually did not check out the website, but the description of the commenter makes the name very creative and funny.
I am definelty a powersearcher and as far as search engines go Google by far is the dominator for me.
Believe it or not the second search engine I use the most is IMDB.com.
But of all the recent search engines that are not only creative but useful, Delicious.com takes the award and I hope Yahoo is smart enough to integrate that service as is without screwing it up like it has with flickr. Delicious is just awesome.
This is probably the best search engine blog out there, because it provides good analysis. Keep up the good work.
Oh ya, and answers.com. That makes my top four list.
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Our site’s database currently includes more than 35,000 drug listings, with plans to grow to more than 100,000 listings by Spring 2007 — making it by far the most comprehensive resource of its kind. eDrugSearch.com advocates licensed online pharmacies as a safe and widely accepted alternative for those seeking the cost benefits, enhanced privacy, relative convenience, and increased access to generic drugs made possible by ordering prescription drugs online.
By the way I really like the Talkr.com audio link...I think I'm going to add it to our blog @ www.edrugsearch.com/edsblog.
Thanks for the info!
-Cary Byrd
]]>multi search is available by 2try4.com ;
Its simple for beginners, allowing advanced users to manage complex multiple searches such as;
Notice the !web tag in every search! change it for one of these;
!images
!video
!meta
Then click PASS and see what happens! There's lots of other features too.
So guess how I fond this post?
]]>I wonder how many of these alternative search engines are here to stay. I'm certainly looking forward to the updates.
]]>I just discovered CrossEngine too. It Rocks. I combined it with Netvibes: that makes an excellent personalised page.
Screenshot on http://zbdigitaal.blogspot.com/2007/02/zoekmachine-crossengine-maakt.html
(Dutch)