How to Choose a Search Engine or Directory

New Searching Tips

If you want to search for... Choose...
Audio/Music akoo.com | AllTheWeb | AltaVista | CNET MP3 Search | Dogpile | FindSounds.com | FtpFind | Genie Knows | HotBot SuperSearch | Ithaki | Ixquick | Lycos Music Downloads | Mamma | Lycos Multimedia Search | MSN Search Advanced Search | Researchville: Audio | SearchTurtle.com | Singingfish
Date last modified AllTheWeb Advanced Search | AltaVista Advanced Search | AltaVista Search Assistant | Google Advanced Search | HotBot | MSN Search Advanced Search
Domain/Site/URL AllTheWeb Advanced Search | AltaVista Search Assistant | Google Advanced Search | HotBot SuperSearch | MSN Search Advanced Search | Namedroppers.com | SearchEdu.com | Virtual Learning Resources Center
Geographic location AltaVista Search Assistant | Clickey | Fossick | HotBot SuperSearch | Mama Power Search | MetaCrawler Power Search | MSN Search Advanced Search | Northern Light Geosearch
Images AllTheWeb | AltaVista | The Amazing Picture Machine | Ditto | Dogpile | FtpFind | Genie Knows | Google Image Search | HotBot | Ithaki | Ixquick | Lycos Multimedia Search | Mamma | MSN Search Advanced Search | Picsearch | Researchville: Images | Search Online | SearchTurtle.com | Visoo | Yahoo! News Image Gallery
Language AllTheWeb | AltaVista | Google Language Tools | HotBot | MSN Search Advanced Search
Multimedia & video akoo.com | All TheWeb | AltaVista | Dogpile | FtpFind | Genie Knows | HotBot | Lycos Multimedia Search | Mamma | Researchville: Video | Search Online | SearchTurtle.com | Singingfish
Programming Language HotBot SuperSearch | MSN Search Advanced Search
Proper name AltaVista | HotBot
Title AllTheWeb Advanced Search | AltaVista | AltaVista Search Assistant | Google Advanced Search | HotBot | iLOR | Mamma | Virtual Learning Resources Center
Search logic
If you want to use... Choose...
Boolean operators AltaVista Advanced Search | Dogpile | HotBot | Ixquick | metaEUREKA | ProFusion
Full Boolean logic with parentheses
e.g., behavior and (cats or felines)
AltaVista Advanced Search | HotBot | Ixquick | MSN Search Advanced Search
Implied Boolean +/- Most search engines offer this option
Boolean logic by template terminology AllTheWeb Advanced Search | AltaVista Search Assistant | AOL Search Options | Google Advanced Search | HotBot | iLOR Advanced Search | Lycos Advanced Search | Metor | MonkeySweat | MSN Search Advanced Search
Proximity searching AltaVista Advanced Search | Google [by default] | Ixquick
Search options
If you want.. Choose...
Alternative search terms SurfWax | Turbo10
A user fill-in template AltaVista Search Assitant | Google Advanced Search | HotBot | Lycos Advanced Search | metaEUREKA | Metor | MSN Search Advanced Search | ProFusion Advanced | Virtual Learning Resources Center
Case sensitivity AltaVista
Search within existing results AltaVista | HotBot | Lycos
Search for documents similar to those in existing results AltaVista | Google | iLOR | ProFusion
Retrieve results on related searches HotBot | Ixquick | Lycos | Teoma
Truncation AltaVista | Ixquick
Automatic truncation HotBot | Lycos
Your search stated in plain English AltaVista | Ask Jeeves | Ithaki | Ixquick
Translation of pages retrieved as search results, or any text or Web page, to and from selected languages Babel Fish
An exact phrase within quotations Most search engines offer this option
An exact phrase from a template choice Many search templates offer this. For example: AllTheWeb Advanced Search | Fazzle | Fossick | Google Advanced Search | HotBot | MonkeySweat | MSN Search Advanced Search
Multiple search tools searched simultaneously with duplicate records removed C4 | Chubba | Copernic | Fazzle | Fossick | Ithaki | Ixquick | Mamma | MetaCrawler | ProFusion | Search Online | Query Server | SearchTurtle.com | SurfWax | more...
Search Results
If you want... Choose...
Results based on linking, i.e., number of links from highly rated Web pages Alexa Web Search | Google | Google Web Directory | Teoma
Results based on popularity, i.e., selections by other searchers or rankings by engines/directories Alexa Web Search | AOL Search | Ixquick | Search Online | Teoma | ZapMeta
Concept processing applied to your search AllThe Web | Ask Jeeves | Atomica | Guidbeam | Infonetware | Kartoo | Query Server | SurfWax | Teoma | Vivisimo
Results grouped by concept and/or type of site (a "horizontal" rather than a single vertical list of results) AllThe Web | Guidbeam | iBoogie | Infonetware | Kartoo | Query Server | Teoma | Turbo10 | Vivisimo
Clustering of results into one hit per site with the option to see all AllTheWeb | AltaVista | HotBot | WISEnut
Queries stored at the site and notification of new results Karnak | TracerLock
Queries stored by the search service for repeat searches Copernic
Specialty Searches
If you want to search... Choose...
The Deep Web (not covered by search spiders) Atomica | Complete Planet | Direct Search | Fazzle | Google | iBoogie | The InvisibleWeb | Invisible-web.net | Lycos Directory: Searchable Databases | MetaIQ | ProFusion | Search.Com | Search Engines and News | Subject Directory of Search Engines

 

[Many search engine sites offer deep Web searches. For example, see Ixquick]
Files in FTP sites (text, multimedia, software, etc.) FtpFind | Ftpsearchengines.com | Oth Net
News (multiple sources searched simultaneously) AlltheWeb: News | AltaVista - News | FindNews.org | InfoGrid | News Is Free | NewsNow | NewsTrove.com | Pandia Newsfinder | RocketInfo | The WorldNews Network
Usenet newsgroup postings Chubba | Gripe.com | Ithaki | MetaCrawler | metaEUREKA | Google Groups | Yahoo! Search Options
Reference sources (dictionaries, encyclopedias, e-mail and address lookups, calculators, quotations, news, government info, statistics etc.) Reference Collection (U Albany Libraries)
Professionally maintained directories About | Academic Info | BUBL LINK | INFOMINE | Librarians' Index to the Internet | Resource Discovery Network | Scout Report Archives | Virtual Learning Resources Center | WWW Virtual Library | more...
Directories maintained by volunteers JoeAnt | Open Directory Project (DMOZ)

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