Search Engines

Navigating the Web, even if you're an experienced surfer, can be maddeningly difficult and time consuming. Not only must one master search techniques and word queries correctly to avoid getting astronomical numbers of sites for a particular category, but a widely-reprinted article from Associated Press, published in several American newspapers (July 8, 1999) says that most search engines are not keeping up with the number of sites available on the Web. Here is the pertinent information from the Wall Street Journal version of this article, "Search Engines Trail Web's Growth, Study Says."

• Internet search engines aren't keeping pace with the explosive growth of the Web.
• A study found that search engines--which enable a computer user to find information by typing in a word or combination of words--cover a diminishing fraction of Web pages and take a long time to list new sights.
• The most comprehensive search site, Northern Light, covers only about one-sixth of the Internet pages that search engines can reach, the study found. That is down from one-third for the best engine a year and a half ago. Northern Light is closely followed by Snap and Alta Vista.

To make the most of your search time, most Internet devotees suggest that you use a variety of search engines. Since they all work differently, each engine will turn up different sites. Be sure, too, to take a moment to look at each sites's "Search Tips" and "Power Search" information. The following list of search engines was published in the San Francisco Chronicle (July 8, 1999). The data, compiled by the NEC Research Institute, indicates how much of today's searchable Web each engine covers.

Also try meta search engines like this one: http://www.metacrawler.com.