Almost everyone who conducts internet searches and many who do not search the internet is familiar with the phrase, “I’ll Google it!”. While Google is without a doubt the most popular internet search engine in the world, there are others that may actually provide better results in certain situations.

Since the popularity of Google cannot be disputed, it is probably the best place to start a discussion of different search engines. Google is available in many languages and has been localized for many countries. Google offers image searches, map searches, video searches, scholarly searches for educational research and their advanced search option allows the searcher to search for certain types of files such as PowerPoint files, and files only in certain languages. The vast range of options that Google offers is one of the reasons users prefer Google to other search engines.

Yahoo is another popular general information search engine. It uses a subject directory which means it categorizes its information by subject. It also offers the ability to search for images, video, and shopping information.

There are also many other general search engines. A few of these are Altavista, SearchHippo, HotBot, and Teoma. Most of these will yield similar results.

If you have a younger person who needs to search the internet, there are some search engines that have a reputation for being student friendly. These are designed to list sites that are known to be kid friendly. These include AOL Net Search for Kids, Ask Jeeves for Kids, KidsClick!, and Yahooligans. In addition to producing kid friendly results, these engines also provide sites for kids that are more scholarly making them very popular for students working on homework.

There are also search engines that are specialized academic and directories. These are very useful for college students and others who may need academic sources. Examples of this type of search engine include Infomine, Librarian’s Index, Library Spot, and the Michigan Electronic Library.

Some miscellaneous directories which may be useful include 1st headlines which provides current event coverage for the US and foreign countries. Since this site is dedicated to current events, it may be much quicker than using Google or one of the other previously mentioned sites. Fact Monster allows students to access information about a variety of topics. It includes a homework center, word of the day and other academic information in a fun format. Information Please Almanac provides information from various almanacs.

Another classification of web search engines includes meta search engines. These search engines access files from different search engines all at one time. This can save the user much time and sometimes provides a larger number of hits. Popular meta search engines include Dogpile, Mamma, Metacrawler, and SurfWax.

There are also search engines that provide information regarding pricing for items you may be considering purchasing. These sites find the item for which you are searching and compare the prices from a variety of sources. This could be very handy for the holiday season. Some of these sites include BizRate, mySimon, NexTag, and PriceGrabber.

As you can see, there are many types of search engines. While Google may be a very reliable source for information, there are times when another search engine may be more appropriate. Familiarizing yourself with the various types of search engines may save you a great deal of time and frustration.

Tags: Yahooligans