Multi-Searching

Hello, and welcome to the new year!

Here’s a statistic that ought to blow you away: Every single second, 25 new web pages are added to the 1.4 billion already on the Net (NEC Research/PC World). If you think this Internet space thing is cluttered, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

Finding sites at all is not going to get any easier, either, so if you’re looking for some shortcuts that might help reduce your searching time and more powerfully steer you to the results you’re seeking, this week’s marketing tip might find a little relief.

There are several search vehicles out there that, through one query, scan multiple search engines at a time and serve you those results. The process is called “meta searching,” and believe me, once you get used to searching this way, you may never want to go back.

For example, one of my favorites is Dogpile. Dogpile searches 12 different search engines and directories (LookSmart, GoTo, Dogpile Catalog, About.com, Google, Open Directory, Infoseek, Direct Hit, Lycos, Real Names, Yahoo, and Alta Vista), and you’d be amazed at the variety of results they get - not a lot of duplicates at all.

Another meta search engine is MetaCrawler. MetaCrawler can search by keyword or keyphrase like Dogpile does, but it also has a LookSmart-style directory organized by category.

Two other meta search engines engines are Savvy Search and Profusion. Savvy Search is somewhat similar to MetaCrawler, but it offers a specialty of multiple languages as well. Profusion can let you search up to nine search vehicles at one time, but it also allows you to filter your search from the get go. Filters include “Best 3,” “Fastest 3,” “Show Summaries,” “Check Links,” and more.

Finally, there’s SurfWax . SurfWax is more than just a meta search engine. It serves up powerful results and allows you to custom-tailor your preferences and focus in your search results if at first the selection seems too broad. The site has two frames, left and right. On the left, your search query titles are served, which if you click on one, it will open up a new browser window and take you there. If one of the titles has a green button for “Site Snap,” you can click on it and it your right-hand frame, a summary of the page will appear including keywords, abstract, word count, etc.

As marketers, we’re constantly looking for ways to help us find sites through which to market. Using these more comprehensive search tools can certainly give you an edge.

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