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Metasearch Engines Reel in Results

Metacrawlers query several search engines at once, but can they find what you're looking for?

By Dan Sullivan, NetworkWorld   

Of course, it's time-consuming to run your search at multiple places. That's where metasearch engines come in. Also called metacrawlers, metasearch engines route your query to several search engines at the same time, then provide you with a single results list. This gives you a comprehensive review of top listings at major search engines without having to visit them individually.

Seeing Results

One of the Web's first metasearch engines was MetaCrawler. It was purchased by Go2Net, which now uses MetaCrawler's technology to power its searches. When you search, Go2Net sends your request to places such as AltaVista, Excite, Google, LookSmart, and Lycos. Their answers are blended into a single page of results, and any sites listed at more than one search engine are bumped to the top of the list.

ProFusion lets you control which search engines to query right from its home page. You can also increase the number of results presented and have it check for dead links. An added feature is the capability to personalize your visit by having ProFusion remember which search engines you prefer to use. It can even memorize your favorite searches and automatically rerun them according to a schedule.

Unlike the services above, Dogpile doesn't blend results from different search engines into one list. Instead, it displays each engine's results separately. This is helpful if you prefer to see exactly how each search engine displayed its listings.

At InFind, results from various search engines are grouped into subjects. For instance, a search for "hubs" organizes relevant pages from Nortel Network together, while pages from Intel come under that company's heading.

From Your Desktop

Metasearch utilities run from your computer and offer extra features that are particularly useful to those doing regular research. They can sort results in various ways, such as by URL, page title, or search engine. You can also have your search utility download some or all of the pages that were found. Some will even highlight your search terms on the downloaded Web pages, which lets you quickly spot pertinent sections.

BullsEye, from Intelliseek, is a leading program for Windows; Copernic, another leading program, is available for Windows and Macintosh. Both utilities come in free and fee versions. If you shell out some money, you get additional advanced features and eliminate banner ads that the free versions display.

What's the Catch?

If metasearch is so great, why doesn't everyone use it? Well, there can be problems. Since metasearch engines depend on other search engines, it can take longer for them to retrieve results. They may even fail to retrieve results from all the places they check. Some people also prefer the greater control you may get when using a single search engine.

Despite these problems, it's worth exploring the world of metasearch--especially if you've queried one or two search engines and come up empty. Chances are, switching to metasearch--rather than trying another single search engine--will save you time and frustration.

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