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Search Engines

Search engines have two components: collection and search. A search engine uses a "robot" to survey the Internet and collect resources. Then the resources are sorted and indexed by keywords, creating a database. When a user initiates a search, the engine searches its database, ranks the resources in the database against the specified search term, and then returns a list of possible "matches." Additionally, each search engine uses its own conventions for searching, indexing and ranking; some engines search just the title of documents while others search the content of entire pages or sites. Therefore, search results will differ from engine to engine. Search engines perform more effectively when you use a structured search strategy.

Google:

Google is one of the best search engines that have over 1300 million Web pages indexed - easily making it the largest and most efficient search engine. Google uses sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. For instance, when Google analyzes a page, it looks at those pages linking to that page have to say about it. Google also assigns higher relevance to pages in which your query terms appear near each other.

For information on how to use this engine please visit - http://www.google.com/help/basics.html

Alta Vista
AltaVista is a super-search engine that has 150 million Web pages indexed. It is fast and very popular among dedicated web-surfers. Excellent online help is available to construct both simple and advanced searches. The AskJeeves question technology allows users to post their questions in plain English.
For information on how to use this engine please visit - http://doc.altavista.com/help/search/search_help.html

HotBot
HotBot is a search engine with first-rate speed and some unusual features, including the ability to limit searches to Web pages that contain specific technologies such as JavaScript or Shockwave. Use it when you want to find sites with a particular technology, or when you need to find the most recent information.

For information on how to use this engine please visit -
 http://hotbot.lycos.com/help

Lycos
Lycos is an excellent source for finding both sounds and pictures. Its main flaw is a limited ability to refine a search. Lycos is gradually becoming more like Yahoo, acting as a Web directory as well as a search engine. Both Lycos and Hotbot are owned by the Lycos Network, a network of sites that offer a variety of services.

For information on how to use this engine please visit -
http://www.lycos.com/help/ 

WebCrawler
WebCrawler is excellent for quick searching for a top level webpage. It searches an index of the Web rather than the Web itself. Search results are displayed in a hierarchical list. If you don't object to link hopping to check out your results, WebCrawler returns useful and relevant hits on simple queries.

For information on how to use this engine please visit -
http://www.webcrawler.com/Help/Basics.html