Written by Charles S. Knight, SEO and edited by Richard MacManus. The original version of the Top 100 Alternative Search Engines List appeared here on Read/WriteWeb on January 29, 2007. Every month, we'll be updating the list and selecting a "Search Engine of the Month". At the end of the year, we'll also select an Alternative Search Engine of the Year.
In February's edition of the Top 100 Alternative Search Engines list, there are 32 new search engines (and of course 32 dropped out to accommodate them). You'll find the updated list, in HTML and Excel formats, at the bottom of this article. A lot can happen in a month in the ever-changing world of Search, so accompanying the list is my commentary on the changes during February.
Firstly, let's explain how we developed the list. When we say "The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines," we are referring to alternatives to Google. Many readers wrote in to ask what the criteria was for inclusion on the List, such as: is it the percentage of market share, or some other statistical measure? It is not. The criteria is twofold:
1) the Search Engine should exhibit superiority to Google - not as a whole, but in just one particular area. People have been talking about Wikipedia's search engine Wikiasari or even digg as potential "Google killers". That's fine, but we are not arguing that any one of the 100 list members is a "Google killer". Rather, that they should be matched against the appropriate corresponding part of Google. For example, TheFind is a shopping search engine and therefore should be compared to Google's shopping search engine, Froogle. blinkx, a video search engine, should be matched against Google's video search feature, and so forth. (See article #1 for a fuller explanation of these categories.)
2) Secondly, what ultimately gets a particular search engine into the Top 100 (as opposed to the hundreds and hundreds of "also rans") is my evaluation. It is a subjective, personal judgment from an SEO - not an independent, statistical measure. I liken it to a movie critic, who must be ready to defend his/her ratings, but the reader is by no means obligated to agree with them after having seen the movie.
Finally, there is no ranking within the Top 100, which is why it is displayed alphabetically from A-Z. However, starting this month, one of the 100 will be picked and featured as the "Search Engine of the Month."
It's time then to announce the first "Search Engine of the Month" for 2007. This award means that the Site will be the first of the Top 10 for 2007 - a permanent honor - and one of only 10 eligible for the #1 position at the end of the year.
May I have the envelope
please...and the winner is...GoshMe! In my opinion,
GoshMe is nothing short of amazing. When you go to Google and type in, for example,
"coffee," you get 197,000,000 results. When you go to one of the Metasearch engines on
the List (Dogpile, mamma, gnosh, PlanetSearch, et al) you still get millions of web
Pages, but they are collated from a number of different search engines. GoshMe searches
across a variety of specialized search engines and databases, and for the above "coffee"
example it returned about 1,200 search engine options - each one of which might have 197,000,000 results! GoshMe results are categorized and have the option to be
filtered further.
GoshMe is not a metasearch engine, but I like to think of it as a Meta-Meta-Search Engine - an entire magnitude of searching above what searchers are used to. If you are prompted to register for the Beta version, go right ahead - it's no big deal. Try a few searches to get the feel of the results. Then, click on the About Us link for a three page summary of how GoshMe works. Here is the brief version:
"Once the user sends us his/her query, we will check all Search Engines possibilities for him/her, and present it in the most comprehensive way, providing a list of all Search Engines and Databases appropriate to his/her query, ranked by relevance, divided by categories and sub-categories, and with a brief description about each Search Engine."
Note that CrossEngine, formerly mrSAPO, also searches across a wide variety of search engines individually - but I prefer the usability and the reach of GoshMe.
Finally, for the serious students of Search reading this article, scroll all the way down the About Us page and get a copy of the GoshMe white paper (21 .pdf pages) to really get to know what it's all about.
Goshme, our Search Engine of the Month
Now back to the rest of the Top 100. Without a doubt, the most persistent comment about the original Top 100 list was that too many of the choices were not bona fide search engines. And while my definition of a search engine may be slightly looser than some, it was in hindsight a bit too loose. Of the 32 sites that were dropped, many were in response to that feedback: e.g. del.icio.us, digg, digg labs swarm, Feeds 2.0, last.fm, and Rollyo. The Updated list comes much closer to meeting the goal of 100 true web search engines; but I'll watch the feedback just in case!
Also some engines, like Singing Fish (which was bought by AOL), just don't exist any more. And there are name changes - mrSAPO (www.mrsapo.com) is now known as CrossEngine - and one accidental omission, Dogpile, which has been restored (thank goodness, because there are a LOT of Dogpile fans out there!).
On the flip side, many of the 32 names that are new to the list presented features that are clever or fantastic, which merited their inclusion, and the Top 100 cannot be expanded. When a new search engine is added, one must be deleted - it's survival of the fittest, I'm afraid.
Here's an example: last month Ms. Dewey was in the Top 100 due to its unique User Interface, which demonstrated so well how far we have progressed from Google's white screen. This month, there is a new entrant, ASK VOX, which also has a talking female interface (screenshot below). I wanted both of them to stay, so another one had to be dropped.
Ask Vox, one of the new entrants to the list
Last month's list had no Mobile search engines, but after my second article on R/WW, The 55 Piece Mobile Search Tool Kit, it was clear that the Top 100 needed some Mobile search engines. So Ask Mobile, Yahoo! Mobile, and Windows Live Mobile were added to this version of the List. Look for greater competition within this category over the rest of the year (and ongoing!).
Another new category is "the search engine that keeps on searching." These engines should be compared to Google Alerts. For example, I have a Google Alert for "Alternative Search Engines", which daily sends any matching results to my Inbox, saving me the trouble of performing a search of my own every day. Now we have some alternatives to Google in this area - please check out Allth.at, Swamii and Searchbots.
Of the search engines that are not "live" yet - such as Dipsie, Mobot, Megaglobe, or Powerset - Hakia was one that went live recently and so was ready to be listed. Each month we will no doubt add more "stealth mode" search engines to the List, as they enter their Beta testing phase.
Several new search engines just plain impressed me, and I wanted you to see them. You should explore Find Forward, a new metasearch engine; and Pipl, a "search for people" site.
I also tossed in a couple that I would like you to explore with us: WASAlive and Twerq. Tell us what you think of these.
Plus check out these 'fun' search engines:
Since many search engines are still evolving, it is certainly possible for an "also ran" to move up into the List. Sproose is a good example of a search engine that is constantly adding new features.
And it's important to note that 68 of the original 100 search engines are still firmly in the top 100, either because they have continued to improve (see Zuula), or because they have yet to be challenged (amongst the "Answers" search engines, only ChaCha uses paid guides, not volunteers or "community members"). This block of 68 search engines forms a sort of "core" representation of the new breed of alternative search engines.
This list is also available in Excel format.
| AllTha.at | www.allth.at | The search engine that keeps on looking. |
| Ask Mobile | www.m.ask.com | Mobile search engine from Ask.com |
| ASK VOX | www.askvox.com | A second talking female user interface. |
| AnswerBus | www.answerbus.com | Ask in English, French, Spanish, German or Italian. |
| Blabline | www.blabline.com | Podcast / videocast search engine |
| blinkx | www.blinkx.com | Video Search |
| boing | www.boing.mobi | Search the Mobile web |
| bookmach.com | www.bookmach.com | Searches for posts related to your keywords. |
| ChaCha | www.chacha.com | Human Guides are available to aid in your search. |
| ClipBlast! | www.clipblast.com | Video Search |
| Clusty | www.clusty.com | Clustering search engine |
| collarity | www.collarity.com | Behavioral personalized search / Collarity Compass |
| CONGOO | www.congoo.com | Searches for Premium Content |
| crossEngine | www.crossengine.com | Searches Search Engines; formerly mrSAPO |
| d e c i p h o | www.decipho.com | Behavioral personalized search / Social Meter |
| Ditto | www.ditto.com | Visual search engine |
| Dogpile | www.dogpile.com | MetaSearch Engine |
| dumbfind | www.dumbfind.com | Featuring the Two-Box search method. |
| exalead | www.exalead.com/search | Web / Image search with a European flavor |
| factbites | www.factbites.com | Search Result snippets are complete sentences. |
| fazzle | www.fazzle.com | Search engine that emphasizes Boolean Search |
| filangy | www.filangy.com | Personalized Search Engine |
| FIND FORWARD | www.findforward.com | Multi-featured search engine; check this one out! |
| FindSounds | www.findsounds.com | Search for sound effects and musical samples. |
| FyberSearch | www.fybersearch.com | Parent site for some interesting new search engines. |
| GIGABLAST | www.gigablast.com | A multi-featured search engine. |
| girafa | www.girafa.com | Visual search engine - results are thumbnails |
| gnod | www.gnod.net | Oustanding recommendation search engines |
| gnosh | www.gnosh.org | Metasearch engine |
| GoLexa | www.golexa.com | "COMPLETE page analysis for each result." |
| goshme Beta 3.0 | www.goshme.com | A search engine for search engines. Top 10 pick. |
| GoYams | www.goyams.com | Metasearch engine where you select the mix. |
| grokker | www.grokker.com | A multi-featured meta-search engine. |
| GRUUVE | www.gruuve.com | Groovy music recommendation search engine. |
| hakia | www.hakia.com | "Meaning based" search engine |
| ICEROCKET | www.icerocket.com | Blog search engine |
| ixquick | www.ixquick.com | Metasearch engine |
| KartOO | www.kartoo.com | Visually appealling clustering search engine |
| Lexxe | www.lexxe.com | Natural language processing (NLP) search engine |
| like | www.like.com | Visual shopping engine; see also riya |
| liveplasma | www.liveplasma.com | Attractive music / movies clustering / recommendation engine |
| Local.com | www.local.com | Search for local businesses, products, and services |
| lurpo | www.lurpo.com | Searches for custom Google search engines |
| mamma | www.mamma.com | metasearch engine |
| MetaGlossary | www.metaglossary.com | Searches for definitions, phrases and acronyms. |
| mnemomap | www.mnemo.org | Clustering search engine |
| Mojeek | www.mojeek.com | Customize your own personal search engine. |
| Mooter | www.mooter.com | Clustering search engine |
| mrquery | www.mrquery.com | Metasearch engine / metasearch providers |
| MS. DEWEY | www.msdewey.com | Unique user interface - enough said. |
| Omgili | www.omgili.com | Social community search engine |
| onkosh | www.onkosh.com | Arabic / English Search Engine |
| Pagebull | www.pagebull.com | Visual results search engine |
| pipl | http://pipl.com | People search engine |
| PlanetSearch | www.planetsearch.com | Metasearch engine |
| PolyMeta | www.polymeta.com | Metasearch and clustering search engine |
| pronto.com | www.pronto.com | Metasearch engine |
| qksearch | www.qksearch.com | Multi-featured "3-in-1" multi-search engine |
| Quintura | www.quintura.com | Clustering search engine with a new interface |
| Quintura for kids | http://kids.quintura.com/ | Search engine for kids by Quintura |
| RedZee | www.redzee.com | Search Engine with nice preview results |
| retrievr | http://labs.systemone.at/retrievr/ | Visual search engine |
| riya | www.riya.com | Visual search engine; see also Like |
| scirus | http://scirus.com | Scientific information only search engine |
| searchbots | www.searchbots.net | Have a little fun, create your own searchbot. |
| SearchTheWeb2 | www.searchtheweb2.com | Search The Popular Head and The Long Tail |
| sidekiq | www.sidekiq.com | Multi-category search engine. Very nice. |
| Slideshow | http://slideshow.zmpgroup.com/ | Displays search results as a moving slideshow. |
| Slifter | www.slifter.com | A mobile shopping search engine. |
| soople | www.soople.com | A simplified version of Google's search options. |
| Speegle | www.speegle.com | The speeglebot talks to you. |
| Sphere | www.sphere.com | A blog search engine. |
| Sproose | www.sproose.com | Social search engine |
| S R C H R | www.srchr.com | Metasearch engine |
| SurfWax | www.surfwax.com | Meaning-based search engine |
| Swamii | www.swamii.com | Search engine that keeps on searching for you. |
| Swoogle | http://swoogle.umbc.edu | Semantic Web search engine |
| thefind.com | www.thefind.com | Shopping search engine |
| Trexy | www.trexy.com | Follow "trails" and "trailblazers" with Trexy. |
| turboscout | www.turboscout.com | Metasearch engine |
| TWERQ | www.twerq.com | Multi-category search engine with tabbed results. |
| UJIKO | www.ujiko.com | A fun interface where you can vote on the results. |
| url.com | www.url.com | "Search with many" community metasearch engine. |
| VMGO.com | www.vmgo.com | Vote on the search results with emoticons. |
| WASALive | www.wasalive.com | A new member of the list. |
| Web 2.0 | www.web20searchengine.com | Web 2.0 search engines |
| WEBBRAIN | www.webbrain.com | Clustering "see the web" search engine. |
| whonu? | www.whonu.com | Deluxe metasearch engine. |
| WIKIO | www.wikio.com | "Live information from 33981 media and blogs" |
| Windows Live Mobile | www.wls.live.com | Windows Live Mobile search engine |
| WiseNut | www.wisenut.com | Clustering search engine |
| Yahoo! Mobile | http://m.yahoo.com | Yahoo! Mobile search engine |
| Yahoo! MINDSET | www.mindset.research.yahoo.com | Intention-driven search; commercial versus research |
| yoono | www.yoono.com | People-rated community web search |
| yoople | www.yoople.net | Yoople! = Yahoo! + Google + People |
| yubnub | www.yubnub.org | Use command lines to search the web. |
| ZABASEARCH | www.zabasearch.com | People and Public Information Search Engine. |
| zapmeta | www.zapmeta.com | Metasearch engine |
| Zippy | www.zippy.co.uk | Search engine for webmasters |
| ZUULA | www.zuula.com | Multi-category, multi-search engine, with good tabs. |
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Top 100 Alternative Search Engines, February 2007.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2000
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Great works. Very good to have this list.
Posted by: PohEe.com | February 27, 2007 6:57 PMAnyway, any search engine submission program linking to these engine? if yes, I would like to submit my website into it.
Great idea, commenter #1, we will work on an 'alt search engine submission form' for the list.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | February 27, 2007 7:02 PMWe at Quintura just launched a new user interface with an interactive tag cloud and other unique features.
Posted by: Yakov | February 27, 2007 8:42 PMCharles & Richard--
I'm stunned that you didn't include Snap.com, the biggest, fastest-growing Web 2.0 search engine (higher Alexa than anyone except Dogpile). Certainly, we pass your "better-than-Google" test with our unique visual interface that lets users preview websites, bypass the spammy ones, and get to the right page faster. We're also a viable business with that processes millions of searches, has thousands of paying advertisers and a committed user base, and distributes Snap Preview Anywhere, the most popular and innovative new website enhancement on the Net.
Paul D. Angles
Posted by: Paul D. Angles, Marketing Director, Snap.com | February 27, 2007 9:17 PMMarketing Director
Snap.com
Great job! This is a fun list to watch and I like where you're going with it. This is turning out to be an impressive resource. I have a few humble suggestions:
1) Easy - A little "new" icon to indicate the engines that have been added since the last list. Perhaps also a second list to indicate those that were removed.
2) Medium - I like the descriptions next to each engine, but how about going back to the categories? Categories are difficult since you don't want to pigeonhole anyone, but broad things like vertical, social, recommendation, visualization, etc. Perhaps a table since some might fall into multiple categories.
3) Hard - Enable a comment blog for each engine so people can hash it out. By the way, I like Snap. Any Bill Gross engine should be included by default.
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Mark | February 27, 2007 9:50 PMTake it easy there Paul, snap aint that good
Posted by: Ryan | February 27, 2007 10:04 PMI have to say that a few of the metasearch engines you've included in your list aren't as impressive as a metasearch engine I've known for quite sometime - Gokita.com.
I have to say that Gokita is a very comprehensive metasearch engine (previewable results, clustered results, and well ranked results) and the fact that it's 100% ad-free makes it even better. I can be rest assured that when I click a link in my search results that it's not going to be an affiliate link or sponsored link. That's very assuring to day as many search engines are trying many ways to earn from their users.
How come Gokita wasn't mentioned in this list? Probably it would be mentioned in the near future!
Posted by: Nabil Feisal | February 27, 2007 10:45 PMI'd also like to suggest the TRIP Database (www.tripdatabase.com) which is a meta-search engine for clinicians, focussed on evidence-based medicine - so quality not quantity!
Posted by: jon | February 28, 2007 12:01 AMI'm disappointed not to see Bessed on this list. We're new and fairly small, but we're the only engine trying to create results completely discovered, ranked and described by human editors. No offense to any other site on here, but how many metasearch engines do you need? Bessed is a different animal that we feel deserves a look.
Posted by: Adam Jusko | February 28, 2007 4:39 AMSnap.com is excellent.
Posted by: Arnaud Fischer | February 28, 2007 6:56 AMSince you're planning on a monthly and annual award, may I suggest removing some of the subjectivity by creating a list of search queries to run against each engine and if necessary a list for each "type" of engine. As an SEO, I imagine Charles knows which search terms are most common, most difficult for engines to "get right", and which most accurately reflect the business opportunity for any of these companies. (it might be impressive to be the best at finding queries for "pink nudibranchs," but is there a business in it?) As subjective as that list of queries might be, it would provide everyone with some common ground when discussing the merits and weaknesses of the list. Another suggestion would be to list the pool of sites reviewed in the process, so that we might learn about more and decide for ourselves. In the true spirit of the R/WW, we the users would be invited to rank those we found most useful.
Posted by: Matthew Stotts | February 28, 2007 9:50 AMAnyone else notice the #1 hit for "coffee" on the GoshMe screenshot? VacationHomes.com. Nice.
Posted by: Ron Hornbaker | February 28, 2007 10:16 AMNice list. I'm not sure what qualifies as a "web search engine," since some on your list are specialized search engines (blogs, video, etc.) that only index a particular type of content. Since you haven't included any article search engines, I'll recommend MagPortal.com, which indexes online magazine articles. Each article is categorized into a set of topics by human editors, so you can restrict your search to a particular topic if you want to. For example, you can click into the "health" section, enter "green tea" and select "this category" to find articles on the health effects of green tea. You can also search on a particular publication, or order search results by date instead of relevance.
Posted by: Bill Dimm | February 28, 2007 11:23 AMI am bit disappointed that wabbadabba is not there. It has such a different business model that its worth noting IMHO - http://www.wabbadabba.com
Posted by: Janusz | February 28, 2007 11:42 AMVery interesting! Thanks for posting.
Posted by: smart | February 28, 2007 11:43 AMFFS People stfu with the, "I'm disapointed that isn't on this list" If its not on the list it obviously hasn't made the list YET, bugging Richard will not get you on the list!
Posted by: Sam | February 28, 2007 12:10 PMWow! I didn't realize there were so many. I'll have to try some of these. Thanks for putting that up!
Posted by: PookNSaav | February 28, 2007 12:20 PMI'm writing a book, and doing research, and so this list will be a big help.
Good job.
PookNSaav
Sam, I hope I am not buggin Richard when I write a comment. I just enjoy reading his blog. I just think search and win concept is different and I think some readers will find it interesting. I think everyone can express their opinion and does not deserve STFU.
Posted by: Janusz | February 28, 2007 12:21 PMwow, I actually use http://boing.mobi on my phone!
Posted by: search bro | February 28, 2007 12:29 PMSorry
Our Server is being Updated ...
We'll be back in a few minutes
Posted by: Hugh G Rection | February 28, 2007 12:33 PMdigg a search
Posted by: search bro | February 28, 2007 12:34 PMso many new and unique search engines, but they'll ultimately fail because people want instant results not animated avatars and google's stranglehold on search ensures no innovation prevails, unless it's owned by Google.
Posted by: Bublegum | February 28, 2007 12:36 PMJust to note that Charles and I appreciate all the "hey why isn't [insert your startup] on the list" comments :-)
Also all the suggestions for improvement are being noted - first on our To Do list is to introduce categories into the March edition. Also ways to submit search engines and (in time) maybe even enable readers to vote on them.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | February 28, 2007 1:51 PMRon, #12 -- nice catch! I hadn't noticed that. I guess it is a sponsored listing.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | February 28, 2007 1:53 PMWell, thats nice list, but i think most of this resources useless, google rules for sure!
Posted by: Tim | February 28, 2007 1:59 PMshokolada.com is exactly the website for those who want to escape search engines.
Posted by: gil | February 28, 2007 2:56 PMoihoi.com anyone?
Posted by: Jeff | February 28, 2007 3:20 PMhttp://www.2x3.cu/
Posted by: Eduardo | February 28, 2007 3:29 PMThe big question is will most of these be here for next year's poll.
Posted by: sewdough | February 28, 2007 3:38 PMChacha.com is an interesting search engine where humans help you find useful search results for free. You can also join chacha and get paid $5-$10 an hour. I wrote a post about in in my blog if your intersted in checking it out: http://thenewweb20.blogspot.com/2007/02/chachacom-search-engine-with.html
Posted by: Ryan Lawson | February 28, 2007 4:53 PMyou guys should absoutely try this:
www.answers.com. This is my 1st search engine, it's based on google, but much much better
Posted by: TryThisOut | February 28, 2007 9:22 PMAre the list entries confined to the US only ?
Posted by: Mosfet | February 28, 2007 10:42 PMWonderful Info....
Posted by: John | February 28, 2007 11:06 PMWhy ask jeeves is not in the list ???
Great list.
Technorati? Also a blog searchengine.
Posted by: Tobbi | March 1, 2007 5:27 AMThanks for all of the comments!(1-34) I have printed them all out and will try to address them by the end of the day.
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 1, 2007 11:30 AMHey,
We have developed a new type of meta search service(agent55 . com), and your article really helped us find new and exciting engines!
Thanks a bunch!
Posted by: gjohansson | March 1, 2007 1:24 PMI've been using GoshMe for specific scientific research and it has always come up with extensive lists of relevant results. When I want to find an URL or the coffee place closer to home, I just use Google, but when we're talking about real deep search, GoshMe is unbeatable...
Posted by: Breno Costa | March 1, 2007 6:16 PMHi think mrquery is the best, because it enables you to search many search providers without changing their interface or using annoying iframes...
Posted by: chen | March 2, 2007 1:11 AMIt’s interesting to watch where this search innovation is and isn’t happening. None of the entries this month came from India or China which I think would surprise some people. That’s not to say there aren’t some exotic destinations! Here’s a breakdown of countries where the top 100 search engines originate.
Posted by: Scott Eblen | March 2, 2007 3:32 AMMy apologies to YubNub! their correct URL is http://yubnub.org please take a minute to check them out!
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 3:33 AMApologies for double posting but the link I included for where the top 100 search engines originate appears broken. Try below:
http://www.libraryhouse.net/blog/2007/03/02/search-engines-emerge-from-googles-shadow/?=r
Posted by: Scott Eblen | March 2, 2007 3:38 AMThree key benefits of these comments:
1) They give me names of new sites like MagPortal.com
2) They point out typos like YubNub (http://yubnub.org)
3) They suggest improvements like categories or submissions.
Thank you for your comments!
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 6:11 AM#4, #5, #6, #10 re: Snap (www.snap.com) When there are multiple posts about one search engine, it tells me that I should go back and take a second look, so I will for Snap.
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 6:15 AM#11 The picks in my Top 100 list are a result of my subjective evaluations, just like the movie critic example. There is nothing wrong with an objective list, but you would have to go to another list like this one: http://searchtheweb2.blogspot.com/2007/02/rankings-top-100-alternative-search.html
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 6:46 AM#22 and #25 Be patient. Google will fall. I have forseen it. Never underestimate the power of a startup. As for GoshMe - the Force is strong in this one...
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 6:52 AM#32 Q: Are the list entries confined to the US only?
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 7:01 AMA:By no means. See onkosh the Arabic/English search enine on the list, or Quintura, which is Russion based. Exalead is part French...
#33 Ask Jeeves is not on the list because the butler retired a year ago. Ask Jeeves is now just Ask.com.
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 7:03 AMRe: My comment #46 a)I meant "search engine", not enine!
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 7:08 AMb) I should have pointed you to the excellent post #39.
It is rare for me to mention a new site inbetween Updates, but I am trying to find out more information about shokolada (www.shokolada.com). It has been mentioned that the List has too many metasearch engines, so this one has the potential to bump off more than one!
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 2, 2007 8:34 AMCharles, Richard: I'm the founder of CrossEngine.com
(former MrSapo). I wanted to share with you a couple thoughts regarding your article's note about CrossEngine in contrast with goshme.
1. I understand your preference for goshme in terms of reach, but usability? IMHO, opening different browser windows for search results and having to make 3 or 4 clicks before you see actual results is not the best scenario in terms of usability and user experience.
2. There's no question about goshme's larger depth in terms of number of search providers, which leads me to wonder how will they keep up with the relevance, availability and quality of 2700+ search engines (and growing). Are they willing to guarantee an acceptable level of search quality with that overwhelming number of third party applications?
3. Our approach is different. They (goshme) provide a ranking of search engine results based (I guess) on user's search terms, filters set and (I'm guessing here) an algorithm. Our approach is more straightforward: we let the users choose the search provider (from those available) and instantly they get the original results, just one click involved, compared to three or more clicks (and opening windows) in goshme.
4. We are currently in the neighborhood of 300 search providers at CrossEngine.com
, and we plan to maintain it under 500. Our focus is not the quantity of search tools but their quality, availability and relevance. We think the search world is not just Google but not 3000+ engines neither. That's why your list is only about the first 100 engines, not 3000, isn't it?
Above all, congrats and thanks for your great job putting together this valuable (and becoming very popular) monthly list, look forward to keep hearing from you.
Posted by: Juan C. Sosa | March 2, 2007 11:29 AM:: #37 Your Point Noted "When I want ...".
Posted by: Dhruba Baishya | March 3, 2007 2:49 AM:: Clusty, Collarity, Congoo & Lexxe are really good. (Yep SNAP is cool).
I'm with AOL and would like to submit AOL Video Search (http://video.aol.com) and SearchVideo.com for consideration on the list, which are powered by the Truveo video search engine that AOL acquired in December 2005. Both sites provide high-quality video search results from across the Web, including many of the tops sites on the Internet. The difference between the two sites is that SearchVideo.com is a model/example for all of the functionality that any developer can incorporate into a third-party site by using AOL's free video search APIs.
Posted by: Tim Tuttle | March 3, 2007 7:21 PMLet me suggest one more!!
Xooda - The Smart Metasearch
http://www.xooda.com
It covers upto 16 major search engines and provide the most localized results.
It is helpful to users from different country to find the most relevent things.
You must love it!
Posted by: Mazzle Yu | March 4, 2007 4:05 AMHave a try!
Hey, I think that Agent 55 (http://agent55.com) should be listed in the list above. It is as far as I know the worlds biggest meta-search engine with over 350 search engines! You can search The Web, Answers, Torrents, Blogs, Directories, Images, Jobs, Kidsearch, Movies, Mp3, News, Recipes, Shopping, Social News, Subtitles and Videos!
Posted by: Lars Amer | March 5, 2007 2:33 AMHas visto gennio.com ?
Posted by: Jhon | March 5, 2007 5:45 AMwhy do you make a monthly list of top 100? Why not just make a list of top engines that you have not reviewed before or have not had on your TOP lists?
Posted by: paul | March 5, 2007 7:22 AMGoshMe needs to improve their spelling
"Computer Maganizes", under Informatics & Internet
"Adictions" , under health
their may be others, but i didn't check
Posted by: paul | March 5, 2007 7:23 AMHere are my responses to the very latest posts (and yes, please keep them coming!)
#50 CrossEngine vs. GoshMe. Mr. Sosa is rightfully proud of CrossEngine. And his point about quantity vs. quality is well taken. While some have said that the Top 100 has too many metasearch Search Engines in it, there is no doubt that this is a highly competitive Category. In the March Update of the Top 100, I will take a hard look at the Metasearch Engines. (Note, please see #53 - Xooda - The Smart Metasearch engine and #54 - AGENT 55; two new entrants.)
#52 Likewise, Categories (or subcategories) such as Video Search will be addressed. AOL Video Search and SearchVideo.com (and also www.PureVideo.com) will be mixed in with the current Video Search contenders like blinkx.
#55, Si, gennio.com es un search engine muy bueno!
#56 A list of "newcomers" is an excellent idea and one being
considered. The "Top 100 Alternative Search Engines" is the flagship list that is my personal attempt to tell the search
community: "Of the zillions of search engines out there, here are the Best of the Best."
Note: I am ten minutes away from talking with KoolTorch (www.kooltorch.com) Kool is right! Take a look! -Charles
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 5, 2007 10:53 AMYou should take a look at Krugle, for source codes. Great search engine.
Posted by: Nilo | March 5, 2007 11:35 AMJuan, let me comment your comparison between GoshMe and CrossEngine:
First of all I think we’re not in the same front line.
GoshMe deliveries Searchable Databases, including General Engines, but its main focus is on the Specialized Databases from reliable sources and with content you can't find in other places (hard-to-find information).
Differently, it seems to me that CrossEngine is more directed to the day-to-day, less specialized information. For this, GoshMe clearly takes more time and requires more steps than CrossEngine/Google.
But if you’re looking for deeper / specialized information, you have to make use of the millions of Specialized Databases out there and many of them are part of the Deep Web, meaning that they contain information not indexed by Conventional Engines as Google. One quick example:
Go to MCEER, an earthquake specialized database, and submit the query ‚Äútsunami‚Ä?. You‚Äôll get the following: 747 high-quality and full-text results.
Searching Google for the same query (tsunami) but limiting results only to MCEER you get this: only 197 results, and very few of them are from the MCEER’s database, but from the links found on its home page.
Thus, there are several high-quality results Google ignores. GoshMe aims to point you directly to the results page of relevant specialized databases, like MCEER for tsunami.
As a matter of fact, MCEER and other estimated 20 million Deep Web databases are not in GoshMe's index yet; that’s why we need to keep adding them. And yes, we’re going to keep up with the relevance, availability and quality of 2700+ search engines (and growing).
Regarding usability, let me compare the two engines for one search that fits GoshMe’s proposal (deeper / specialized information).
If you search GoshMe for ‚Äúhalothane‚Ä?, an anesthetic, for example, it returns the following high-quality and reliable databases (check it out, results are real good, better than Google):
1 - Canadian Journal of Anesthesia;
2 - PubMed Central;
3 - MDchoice.com;
4 - HighWire Press;
5 - Scirus - Pharmacology;
6 - BioHunt - Molecular Biology Finder
7 - Scirus - Neuroscience
+ three General Engines:
8 - Ask.com;
9 - Google;
10 - Yahoo!.
Databases come with description and categorization; the user just needs to click on them to find the final results. So, it’s a three (3) steps process: 1 – search GoshMe, 2 – click on GoshMe’s result; 3 – click on the Database result.
If you search CrossEngine for "halothane" you get Google results. For different / deeper / specialized information, maybe one could go to CrossEngine's Reference tab, but then it comes with a list of names which most users don’t know and, even if they knew, they wouldn’t know which are the best for halothane. Anyway, it’s a four (4) steps process: 1 – one click to search Google (the default engine); 2 – another click on the Reference tab; 3 – another on the database of the Reference tab; 4 – a final click on the results of the database chosen.
But the most important aspect is: if you don’t find your answer in the first results even Google can require 10, 20 or more clicks (passing pages, clicking on results) until you find the answer, if so.
I used this ideal health related example because I'm pretty sure GoshMe is still far from its concept of delivering the best databases. So far there are very few databases indexed (health is the best covered category, with 100 DBs) and yet some critical ranking problems we're solving. But once we have the concept working smoothly, I can assure we’ll have a top search tool with high usability, enormous reach and utility.
We’re working hard towards it and great improvements are coming in 2007. We're also looking for partners to speed up the process.
I think Charles has perceived GoshMe’s concept and final goals. Being elected the engine of the month was much more than we expected and we’re now even more motivated to make GoshMe happen.
Sorry for the oversized post.
Regards,
Rafael Costa
Posted by: Rafael Costa | March 5, 2007 2:08 PMCo-founder
Charles,
Great work. I also didn't know there were so many engines.
One that has come to my attention is SearchBigDaddy (http://www.searchbigdaddy.com). It has a following of over 25,000 people who get credits for using it. Have you heard of it? What is your opinion, or anyone else's for that matter?
Posted by: Josh | March 6, 2007 5:45 AMSince its a nice counter view from you Charles. Charles I would love to see a new post mentioning a 'best mix' to cater the specific needs. That may mention 10 or so search engines. The search engine space is becoming very crowded and for long time we haven't seen something path breaking, what do you think will be the future of search???
Posted by: Kartik Trivedi | March 6, 2007 8:56 AMKartik,
The Future of Search? No problem! :-)
Of course it depends on who you ask, and since you asked me, I would suggest looking up the articles of Kevin Ryan, e.g., "What Will It Take To Unseat Google?" (01/10/07) on iMedia (www.imediaconnection.com) along with his colleague Jason Prescott, "Why Google Will Lose Dominance." (02/12/07) or Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing
(http://dondodge.typepad.com)or my January commentary on the Top 100 List (Read/WriteWeb Archives January 29, 2007).
Have you read John Battelle's The Search? (October 2006)
It's so easy to look at all of these colorful, interesting, fluid, interactive creations and think of them as just novelties compared to a "serious" behemoth like Google.
But I hope that just by reading this one column of comments from CrossEngine, goshme, Agent 55, KoolTorch, Xooda, et al, you get that sense that these people are Serious; if you have the time, they can show you things that will make Google look like an 8-track cassette player!
I'll leave you with a little hint: Look up and read President George H. W. Bush's Inaugural Address (It's alright, you can Goolge it!) and see if the proverbial light bulb flashes on!
Let me know. Charles Knight Charles@CharlesKnightSEO.com
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 6, 2007 12:03 PMCharles,
Impressive list! Hoping you will take a look at our new metasearch engine http://www.crawl.com that entered into beta testing yesterday, 3/5/07 . There is a link describing the methodology we used as well as many statistics to back it up to be added soon. Hope you like it.
Posted by: John Quigley | March 6, 2007 12:19 PMRafael, thanks for further describing goshme's research capabilities. I personally like goshme and admire your evident efforts to deliver hard to find search results.
Like you, I also feel we're not in the same front line. I think we're trying to solve different current internet search shortcomings and address different markets, being goshme more oriented (as I see it) to the hardcore web researcher and CrossEngine to mainstream web surfers.
I honestly wish you luck and encourage you and your team to keep up with what it seems to be a one of a kind research tool.
Moreover, we're willing to consider adding goshme to CrossEngine's search dashboard once you're out of your current private beta testing, only if you agree, of course. Let me know what you think: juan@crossengine.com
Posted by: Juan C. Sosa | March 6, 2007 2:46 PMwww.krugle.com got it!
www.searcbigdaddy.com got it!
www.crawl.com got it!
anybody else??
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 6, 2007 2:50 PMwww.krugle.com got it!
www.searchbigdaddy.com got it!
www.crawl.com got it!
anybody else??
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 6, 2007 2:50 PMA tip of my hat to Mr. Sosa (CrossEngine) and Mr. Costa (goshme) for their enlightening descriptions of their search engines, and for their mutually respectful attitudes. One thing that I have come to truly value when ranking some search engines above or below others is the professional and courteous manner in which these search engine CEOs address me and each other.
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 7, 2007 2:56 AMneed info on used tractors for sale in the triad area of north carolina and southern virginia
Posted by: sandy brown | March 13, 2007 6:52 AMGreat job, Charles.
If you submit to these search engines, will they follow the links on the submitted page and include them, just like the Google bot??
I'm asking because I'm developing a mini hub of inter-linked
sites, and I do not want to have to submit all of them.
Thanks for your response.
Robert
Posted by: Robert A. Kearse | March 13, 2007 5:40 PMI occasionally like to use www.vivisimo.com, a great clustering search engine. When I was a newbie and didn't know how to "open page in a new window," or to set preferences, it was nice that Vivisimo has that option built-in. (Sorry if it was mentioned elsewhere and I missed it - my eyes are very tired right now. I'm a researcher, of all things!)
Posted by: Mary Lee | March 15, 2007 10:59 AMAfter seeing the 100 SEs of the list, I think Sidekiq's the best idea for current standards. I agree with some posts above, the future of search does not include Google. As time goes by, we all get sick and tired of reaching billions of results for a simple search. I'm sure time will bring some toher alternatives.
Good work, here... Thank you for the list.
Posted by: Tedel | March 15, 2007 11:35 AMGoodtree.com -- Half of their revenue goes to charities YOU select as you search. It's an awesome search engine and a painless way to give to charity!
This search engine should be on the list!
Posted by: Stephanie | March 17, 2007 11:17 PMGoodtree.com - got it. As I work on Search Engine categories for the next Top 100 update, "Charity Search Engines" (there are several)is a definite sub-category and possibly even it's own category.
As for Robert's question, #70, how does one submit to all of these alt search engines? First off, I wouldn't spend a nickel on any service that wants your money and promises to submit your site to 1,500+ Search Engines (yes, that's a real claim) Oh, BTW, that includes submission to www.myporn.com (don't worry, Richard, it's closed!)
As an SEO, I optimize websites for Google. As an enthusiast, I speak and write about the Top 100 Alternatives to Google, but not for their search traffic (see "Related Articles" in my About page). They have to replace Google *first* before they can inherit Google's market share of all that web searching traffic.
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 19, 2007 4:05 PMThanks for the article, very enlightening!
I'm the VP Marketing for a vertical engine currently in early Beta...it targets media buyers and planners, finding advertising opportunties across any medium.
Take a look www.balihoo.com
We're currently in Beta with 3 of the top 5 media buying companies in the US. We would love some early opinions from Charles or Richard if you're interested.
You can contact me at svaughanatbalihoodotcom
Shane Vaughan
Posted by: Shane Vaughan | March 20, 2007 3:37 PMBalihoo.com
A new form of search/browse (akin to shopping) is emerging and companies like GlooMedia are leading the way. GlooTV (www.glootv.com) is a new product for finding the products and services you see and hear on TV, movies, music videos, magazines, online media, etc. A site like GlooTV will help consumers find those products they have seen in some context - a kitchen scene, a magazine article, etc. Pretty exciting we hope - more news coming soon! The site is in alpha now and will go beta in a couple months. Pretty exciting!
Posted by: Jim King | March 21, 2007 5:48 AMWorldWebWar.com - social search engine.
Check out: Top 100 Alternative Search Engines
Click "-3" To dump a Atom Bomb "+3" I love this
Posted by: Neola | March 22, 2007 10:42 AMIt is funny
#78 I want to thank Neola, Jim, and Shane for their suggestions. I have printed and added each one to
Posted by: Charles Knight | March 22, 2007 4:46 PMmy ever-growing binder(s)! All "alts" are welcome!
With the existence of the major search engines Google, Yahoo and Live focusing on conventional search, only the 'niche' or 'vertical' search engines will make it to the next stage of search.
Obviously there are some very unique search engines in your top 100 list.
Posted by: Gordon Choi | April 4, 2007 6:21 AMCan I recommend my own multi-search-engine ( http://multiz.com )? It's very fast, and I've just added a live dictionary search ( http://multiz.com/dictionary.php ).
Posted by: MultiZ | April 5, 2007 9:11 AMMultiz - got it!
Posted by: Charles Knight | April 18, 2007 6:09 AMHi Charles
First I would like to say that this is a very interesting list of web sites, I do agree that you should set categories for the different web sites.
I think the importance of a search engine is measured by the added value it provides over the traditional search engines (Google, Yahoo) .
I would like to introduce My web site www.sportsevents365.com, this is a new location based search engine for sports events world wide.
If an Internet user is trying to find sports events in a specific location he has to look in 2-5 web sites in order to get the full picture.
We provide the user a search by Country and City. the results refer to a various of sports branches in the specific requested city and for nearby cities up to a distance of 150 Km ( also in a nearby countries )
All The Best
Posted by: Nir Bar-Sade | April 19, 2007 1:26 AMBarsa
Hi Charles
First I would like to say that this is a very interesting list of web sites, I do agree that you should set categories for the different web sites.
I think the importance of a search engine is measured by the added value it provides over the traditional search engines (Google, Yahoo) .
I would like to introduce My web site www.sportsevents365.com, this is a new location based search engine for sports events world wide.
If an Internet user is trying to find sports events in a specific location he has to look in 2-5 web sites in order to get the full picture.
We provide the user a search by Country and City. the results refer to a various of sports branches in the specific requested city and for nearby cities up to a distance of 150 Km ( also in a nearby countries )
All The Best
Posted by: Nir Bar-Sade | April 19, 2007 1:26 AMBarsa
That is an impressive list of specialty search engines. I agree that you need to be a niche search engine to survive, but it will be interesting to see which of these search engines fly and which ones die.
Posted by: People Search | April 26, 2007 8:50 PMplease provide the deatiled infromation
Posted by: mallikarjuna | May 4, 2007 7:23 AMAs I saw your website i felt very happy. and one more thing i want to suggest you is please provide the information which is to be very useful for the customers.
Posted by: mallikarjuna | May 4, 2007 7:29 AMFirst of all I would like thank you for a interesting and useful article!
I would also like to suggest a site, MsFreckles.com. It provides an easy way to make professional searches for the ordinary internet user.
And it´s available in English, Swedish and Chinese(simplified).
http://www.msfreckles.com
Posted by: Marcus | May 8, 2007 9:49 AMMarcus
MsFreckles.com