The BIG
Top Search Sites

For each of the Top Seven Search Sites,
here is the inside story~
links to the best resources about each engine and directory,
including how to get started, advanced techniques,
tips and tricks.
Get to know two or three of these top choices well,
and most of your Web search needs will be covered.

in alphabetical order:

  1. ALTAVISTA: For a couple of years, it was the biggest and fastest of the crawlers, a title it has given up to Google. It transformed itself as a portal, and now seeks to re-assert its role as an all-powerful search service.

  2. Excite!: Excite is a general-purpose portal, and at the core there is a very powerful engine. The search box interface lets you direct your search to specific indexes for news, photos, MP3/audio, and video instead of Web sites.

  3. Google: This is currently the one to beat: bigger, deeper, faster, more relevant and richer in features than all the other search engines. Google is a Web crawler, with an index that encompasses the full text of 1.4 billion HTML pages and PDF files. If you don't already use Google, get to know it soon!

  4. HotBot: Although HotBot is now owned by Lycos (it began in 1996 as part of Wired's online services), it remains an independent search engine with unique power search capabilities. From the main page, you can define the style, date range, language, category, and results options for your search. Results come from Direct Hit, Inktomi and Open Directory.

  5. LookSmart: LookSmart is a key Web directory. It began as a specialized venture funded by Reader's Digest, and it has grown to a position of dominance by providing its annotated listings to major portals such as MSN.com, AltaVista and Excite, as well as to nearly 400 ISPs. LookSmart also operates the Zeal.com search community.

  6. Open Directory (ODP): Netscape's Open Directory Project is an open-access, open-source, democratically-operated directory. More than 20,000 volunteer editors contribute to the directory, and thousands of search sites use ODP as a data source, including Google and Netscape Search.

  7. Yahoo!: Yahoo! was the first Web directory, it's still the most popular search site on the Internet, and for some purposes it remains the best of the best. More than any other directory or engine, Yahoo! has become a true portal and content site. Its personalization features lead the pack.