Search Engines

To improve your search results

• Search more than one search engine because different search engines produce different results. The "best" search engine is the one that works, so be flexible about trying a different search engine when your favorite search engines fail.

• Use search techniques - search techniques for periodical indexes also apply to search engines. The theory is the same, but the techniques are a little different. Search technique for search engines table

• Read any search tips, help, or instructions because techniques for searching vary from search engine to search engine.

• Also, most search engines provide an Advance Search (e.g. Google). This gives you more options. For example, you many want to limit you search by domain, by file type, by language, by date, etc.

Examples of Search Engines

Google - Crawler-based & comprehensive (large) database. Ranking of results by popularity helps find good sites when searching broad topics. Offers a variety of advanced and other search options; for example, image search or U.S. government search
All the Web - Crawler-based, comprehensive (large) database with a variety of search options.
Teoma - Crawler-based, smaller index than Google, Alta Vista, & AlltheWeb, but smaller can be better for popular topics. Teoma method for ranking is intended to incorporate page authority into popularity ranking. It uses "Subject-Specific Popularity" to rank a site based on the number of same-subject pages that reference it, not just general popularity.

To read more about search engines check out Search Engine Watch.