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Meta Search Engines
Advanced Information Retrieval
May 22, 2006

Ms. Cameron
Outline

 What is a meta search engine (MSE)?
 How meta searching works
 Advantages and disadvantages
 Seven rules for good MSEs
 Demonstration of our six favourite MSEs

2
What is a Meta Search Engine?

―Meta search engines are powerful tools that
search multiple search engines simultaneously.
Unlike crawler-based search engines such as
Google, AllTheWeb, AltaVista and others, meta
search engines generally do not build and
maintain their own web indexes. Instead, they
use the indexes built by others, aggregating and
often post-processing results in unique ways.‖

--Chris Sherman (SearchEngineWatch)

3
How Meta Searching Works

 You type in a query
 The MSE translates your query
 The MSE simultaneously searches the
indexes of other search engines
 The MSE compiles the results and
displays them in a variety of ways:
 Source
 Relevance (as one list with duplicates removed)
4
Advantages of MSEs

 Searches multiple search engines
simultaneously, saving time
 Ability to easily compare results from
different search engines
 Broader scope
 Searches broad and shallow, presenting an
overview of the query

5
Disadvantages of MSEs

 Difficult to conduct a complex search
because each search engine has its own
search features
 Sacrifice comprehensiveness for speed
 Search engines not always easy to identify
 Google not always used

6
―The rationale for using meta-search engines is to
save time…This idea seems to be better in theory
than in practice, however, since carefully constructed
searches of the major search engines often return
more relevant results than those delivered by many
meta-search engines.‖
--Holly Gunn

7
Interface

 ―If a site is designed and structured well,
folks trust it.‖ (Ibid.)
 Because Google is the unquestioned
leader in the search engine market, their
basic search interface has been adopted
many other companies.

8
Comprehensiveness

 Meta search engines search the indexes
of other search engines
 Their results are only as good as those
of the engines searched
 Meta search engines should send
queries to the most comprehensive
search engines, particularly Google.

9
Powerful Searching

Good meta search engines should support:
 Boolean searching
 Field searching (in title, in URL, etc.)
 Exact phrase matching (― ‖)
 Useful limits
 Last update
 Language
 File type

10
Value-Added Features
 Good Value-Added Features cont.:
 Suggestions for searching, such as
―Related Searches‖
 Search areas such as Shopping, Images,
News, etc.
 The ability to refine searches
 Directories
 Filtering
 Personalization/free registration

11
Meta Search Engines We Like

Dogpile* ProFusion
Fazzle SurfWax*
Ixquick Turbo10
Kartoo* Vivisimo*
Mamma* ZapMeta

* SearchEngineWatch 2003 Award Winner for Best Meta Search Engines

12
ZapMeta
www.zapmeta.com

 Very new; officially released September
19, 2003
 Searches: AOL, Yahoo!, AllTheWeb,
WiseNut, Ask Jeeves, Yahoo Web
 Developed by a team of college students
 Offers directories using the Open
Directory Project and a product search
powered by PriceGrabber.

13
ZapMeta features two comprehensive HELP menus; one instructs
users in search features, the other orients the user to ZapMeta and
Metasearching in general.

14
In addition to
Boolean operators,
Zapmeta also allows
users to use a
proximity operator,
wildcard, and
nesting.
These advanced
search functions are
rarely seen in either
conventional or
metasearch engines.

However…

15
Here is the
exact search
that is
demonstrated
in the Help
Menu

16
Unfortunately, the
Help Menu is out-of-
date or inaccurate,
because the
proximity operator
NEAR has been
searched as a
keyword.

17
One of the most
useful features
offered by ZapMeta
is the ―Results
Snapshot‖
The default for this
feature is ―Off‖, but
when turned on…

18
A small preview
window gives the
user an idea of
what they will see if
they click a link.
This is quicker and
easier than using
the ―Quick View‖,
although it does not
work for every link.

19
The results
page clearly
shows which
results are
sponsored
links.

20
Users may also
specify which
search engines to
use, and can even
select a ―timeout‖
The period of anywhere
Advanced from one to 20
search seconds. This
allows allows searchers
users to more control over
control whether their search
many is ―quick and dirty‖
aspects of or more in-depth.
their
search.
However, note that
Google is not one of
the search engines
used. 21
ZapMeta

Strengths
 Paid links are clearly labeled
 Users can select which search engines
are used
 Snapshot feature is useful
 Users may sort results a variety of ways

22
ZapMeta

Weaknesses
 Does not send queries to Google
 Claims to support proximity operators,
but does not
 Inaccurate Help
 Snapshots not available for every result

23
Fazzle
www.fazzle.com

 A relative newcomer; used to be
SearchOnline
 Searches: Altavista, Teoma, WiseNut,
LookSmart, Yahoo, Thunderstone, MSN,
Dmoz, and Netscape
 A little rough around the edges, but it
has potential

24
Fazzle‘s home page
provides quick links in
the upper left corner,
links to your top
favourites, two
different help links,
and a news link.
25
Users can select what
kind of search they
want by selecting
options from the drop-
down menu
Users can use the first drop-down
menu to choose where they want
to search, then select a sub-
category for that selection in the
second drop-down menu

26
Fazzle‘s help section is very Windows-like,
with Contents, Index, and Search tabs on the
left, and the content window on right. While
the content is fairly comprehensive, much of
it is out of date.

27
Search results are automatically ranked by
popularity, with rankings clearly displayed. The
engines that were searched are listed along the
top and are linked so you can view just the results
from that search engine. For each search result,
Fazzle displays which engine retrieved the result,
and what its ranking in that engine was. 28
This corner is where you can manipulate the
results. Using the drop-down menus, you can
choose how you want your results grouped
and sorted. You can use the checkboxes next
to each result, then click the Save link to put
them in your Fazzle Favorites. You can click
the Results link to e-mail your selected results,
or e-mail all results.

29
By clicking the preview link
next to each result, you can
open a preview pane to take
a quick look at the page. You
can maximize the preview
pane to make it larger, or you
can choose to open the page
into the full browser window.
30
In the Search Options
window, you can choose
which search engines
you want Fazzle to
search. You can also
change the default
settings for search
results display. Because
Fazzle encourages you
to create an account and
log in, these settings can
be accessed from any
computer.
31
Fazzle provides you with
a favourites folder in
which you can also create
subfolders. When you log
in to Fazzle, these
favourites are available
from any computer.

32
Fazzle

Strengths
 Allows you to log in and access your saved
settings and favourites from any computer
 Multiple ways to manipulate search results

Weaknesses
 Doesn‘t search Google
 Out-of-date help file
33
Dogpile
www.dogpile.com

 2003 first place winner for Best Meta
Search Engine at SearchEngineWatch
 Most popular meta search engine
 Searches: Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves,
About, LookSmart, Overture, FindWhat
 Ability to search five different areas: web,
images, audio, video, news

34
Dogpile‘s main page is ad-free and is
fairly simple with a good layout, yet it still
provides all the important links a user will
need, such as Advanced Search and
About Dogpile. 35
The Advanced Search
page provides separate
fields to break up different
parts of your search.
Dogpile doesn‘t support
Boolean searching. It treats
Boolean words as
keywords.

36
The Advanced Search
page also provides
options for manipulating
your search, such as
date limiting and domain
filtering.

37
Dogpile only
provides a list of
results and does
not include extra
information.
There are two
sorting options:
relevance and
search engine.
Sorting by
search engine is
the only way to
see which
results came
from which
engine.
38
Sponsored results aren‘t
separated from the rest of the
Dogpile provides a list of results, but they are labeled.
alternative search terms and/or
phrases to help you revise
39
your search
The Tools & Tips page
provides links to helpful
and interesting resources.
You can learn about meta
searching, learn searching
tricks, and see what people
are searching for on
Dogpile.

40
SearchSpy lets
you view a
scrolling list of
real-time
searches being
conducted on
Dogpile. The
searches are
hyperlinked so
that you can
view the results
for yourself.

41
Dogpile is the only meta search
engine we encountered that has its
own mascot. His name is Arfie and
he has his own bio on the site. 42
Dogpile

Strengths
 Easy to use because it doesn‘t have a lot of bells
and whistles
 Clean, streamlined, ad-free interface

Weaknesses
 Can‘t pick and choose which search engines to
search
 Doesn‘t support Boolean, truncation or wildcards

43
Kartoo
www.kartoo.com

 Meta Search Engine from France
 Created by a man called Laurent
Baleydier
 It uses Flash Player to display search
results in interactive maps.

44
Kartoo Features

 Truncation: *
 Phrase Searching using quotes
 Natural Language: ?
 Boolean: AND, OR, NOT, NEAR
 Limits: Domain, Site, Title, Text, Link and
Like, Host and URL.

45
Kartoo Features, cont.

 Exporting options
 Searches and maps can be saved, printed,
and e-mailed
 Searching preferences can be saved
 Parental filters are optional

46
Kartoo‘s Transparency

 Very transparent. All of user‘s questions
can be easily answered with a little digging
 A list of the search engines are provided
from the options menu above the map
 Paid sponsors are clearly marked

47
How does Kartoo work?

 User enters search terms
 Kartoo sends queries to several search
engines
 Kartoo classifies the results by theme
and relevance and then displays them
cartographically

48
How do you read these interactive
maps?
 The maps are created in such a way that
a user can quickly learn how to use them
by simply moving the mouse around the
map and watching the different changes
that occur.

49
Navigating the Map

 Results are displayed with open book icons.
 Relevant results are closest to the middle and
are larger books.
 Less relevant results take up the perimeter and
are smaller. Open pages in a book means there
are more web pages from the same site.
 The user can view results and simultaneously
refine their search by simply maneuvering the
mouse over the map. Nothing is changed until
the user clicks the mouse.
50
Previewing results using the
mouse
 User can read a small description of
each result by guiding the mouse over it.
 To the left of the map is a list of the top
web sites for that search, moving the
mouse over these results causes the
corresponding sites to light up on the
map and a brief description of the site
appears below the list.

51
Refining the search as you go

 As the user clicks on different results, the
search terms in the search box located above
the map change accordingly
 This allows a user to easily narrow their search
according to the search engine‘s suggestions
 Under the list of sites is list of subject areas in
quotes which are more suggested topics for
your particular search

52
Thematic Display

 Results are clustered by themes or
subject areas.
 Relationships are shown through
connecting lines between results.
 Mousing over a result highlights the
relationship and turns the line green

53
What does Kartoo do best?

 Kartoo meets the seven criteria outlined
previously, but its unique interface and
ability to display results both visually and
thematically is its most outstanding and
unique feature.

54
Why a map instead of a list?

 A list of results can only portray relevance
linearly, usually from most to least.
 A map allows a user to visually compare
the relevance of results (spatially and
through the use of large and small icons).
 The relationships between results can be
visually portrayed to the user.

55
Themes are represented

 The classification process and visual
display allows the themes within a
search to be articulated to the user in a
visual format.

56
Marketing Manager of Kartoo
rationalizes the approach
 ―Instead of pages of results listing sites, Dos
Santos says his company pictured more of a
road map so they could help users navigate the
results. ‗We imagined cities instead of Web
sites and instead of roads, common words
linking destination sites. The user can zoom
into thematic areas to improve the search…the
search engine divides the results into logical
categories, making it easier for users to zoom
into the categories which make the most
sense‘‖ (Miller 2004, 34).
57
Problems/Weaknesses

 Commercial/Business oriented
 Takes some time for the user to orient
themselves to the map format

www.kartoo.com

58
SurfWax
www.surfwax.com

 Flexible search tool that features a
number of unique search and display
options
 Some options only available to registered
users (basic registration is free)
 California-based company founded in
1994
 Honorable mention for Best Meta Search
Engine by Search Engine Watch in 2002
59
SurfWax  Registered users can
also select from
hundreds of search
 Primary information engines, databases, and
sources: websites to create
 Yahoo personalized
 WiseNut ―SearchSets‖
 Yahoo News
 CNN  Power searching:
 AOL  Basic prefix operators
 LookSmart (+ or – )
 MSN  Exact phrase matches
(―. . .‖)

60
Home page
provides pull-down
menu options for
selecting the
number of results to
display as well as
the sorting method
(i.e. by relevance,
alphabetic order, or
source).
61
Search results
displayed on left
side of screen
(sources clearly
indicated).
Sponsored links
displayed on right
side. ―FocusWords‖
are noted above
results display.

62
By clicking on a FocusWord, users are directed to SurfWax‘s online
thesaurus. Broader and narrower categories of related terms are listed as
active links.

63
Back on the results page, users can
click on the magnifying glass icons
next to result titles to display
―SiteSnap‖ information (content
analysis and highlighted keywords).

64
SiteSnaps also highlight page
elements (Key Points as well as
FocusWords). Registered users
can save results to their
personalized ―InfoCubbies.‖

65
Registered
users also
have the
option to
select their
search
preferences
(number of
results,
display
format,
etc.).

66
Surfwax
Strengths
 Excellent value-added features available to
registered users
 Good tool for ongoing research
Weaknesses
 Field searches and other common limiters not
available
 Information overload?
 Cluttered display screen
 Learning how to take advantage of numerous
search features may be time-consuming
67
Vivisimo
www.vivisimo.com

 ―Clustering‖ search technology developed by
researchers at the Computer Science
Department of the Carnegie Mellon University
 Search results instantly organized into
hierarchical subject categories
 Company founded in 2000
 Won Best Meta Search Engine award from
Search Engine Watch in 2002; second place in
2003

68
Vivisimo

 Primary information  Search features:
sources:  Boolean operators
 Looksmart (AND/+, OR, NOT/-)
 Lycos  Exact phrase
 MSN matches (―. . .‖)
 Overture  Limiters (image:,
title:, domain:, host:,
 Wisenut
etc.)

69
Vivisimo

 ―Vivisimo is a good choice if you want to
use a meta search engine, but a little
digging beneath the surface reveals
some absolute gems for searching
specialized information sources‖
(Sherman, ―Power Searching with
Vivisimo,‖ 2003)

70
Home page features a drop-
down menu that provides a
variety of search options
(including a number of
specialized news categories
and sites).
71
Advanced search
page also allows
users to select
specific
language, filter,
and display
options. Easy-to-
use ―Help‖
feature is always
available.

72
Results are
―clustered‖ into
related subject
groups.
Information
sources (paid
sponsors or
other search
engines) are
clearly identified.
73
Users can
search within
results
(keywords
highlighted
in yellow).
The results
page also
offers a
number of
viewing
options (new
window,
frame, or
preview)

74
Vivisimo

Strengths
 Easy-to-use basic and advanced search
interfaces
 Excellent search and display options
 ―Clustering‖ technology provides broad
overview of relevant results (from most general
to most specific)
Weaknesses
 Commercial ―feel‖?
 Originally launched as a product demo

75
Vivisimo introduces Clusty
http://clusty.com

 In September 2004, Vivisimo launched Clusty
 ―Despite the awkward name . . . Clusty is an
elegant new search tool that takes underground
favorite Vivisimo to a new level. In addition to
presenting both standard web search results
and Vivisimo's dynamic clusters that
automatically categorize results, Clusty draws
on several new sources of information.‖
(Sherman and Price, ―Reducing Information
Overkill, 2004)
 Additional search categories include News,
Images, Shopping, Encyclopedia, and Blogs
76
Conclusion

 Some meta search engines are better
than others
 Features and technology change rapidly;
check back often!
 It is a matter of preference and choice
 You have to experiment to determine
which features work best for you

77
References
Arnold, Stephen E. ―Vivisimo: Clustering Delivers Information Overlook.‖ (5 May 2003).
http://www.arnoldit.com/articles/iwr_vivisMay2003.html

Bazak, Daniel. ―The Meta Search Engines: A Web Searcher‘s Best Friend.‖ (10 October 2002).
http://evolt.org/article/rdf/12/41694/index.html

Carty, Susan. ―Search Engines and Meta Search Engines.‖ Information Searcher 14, no. 1 (2003): 4-9.

Fifield, Craig. ―Effective Search Engine Design.‖ (7 November 2002).
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2161151

Glover, Eric J. et. al. ―Web Search—Your Way.‖ Communications of the ACM 44, no. 12 (2001): 97-102.

Gunn, Holly. ―Searching with Meta-Search Engines.‖ Teacher Librarian 31, no. 3 (February 2004): 50.

Gunn, Holly. ―Searching the Web with Free Visual Search Engines.‖ Teacher Librarian 31, no. 5 (2004): 51.

Luther, Judy. ―Trumping Google? Metasearching‘s Promise.‖ Library Journal 128, no. 16 (1 October 2003): 36-39.

Miller, Ron. ―Get the Picture: visualizing the future of search.‖ EContent 24, no. 4 (2004): 30-32.

Ojala, Marydee. ―Search, Navigate, Find, Personalize.‖ Information Today (January 2004): 33.

Repmen, Judi and Randal D. Carlson. ―Surviving the Storm: Using Metasearch Engines Effectively.‖ Computers in
Libraries (May 1999): 50-55.
78
References, cont.
Sherman, Chris. ―Dogpile Sports a Fetching New Look.‖ (2 September 2003).
http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/3070811

_____. ―Hang Ten with Surfwax Metasearch.‖ (10 July 2001).
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2157271

______. ―Meta Search Engine Week.‖ (16 September 2002).
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2160771

_____. ―Metacrawlers and Metasearch Engines.‖ (15 March 2004)
http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156241

_____. ―Power Searching with Vivisimo.‖ (8 July 2003).
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2226841

_____. ―ZapMeta: A Promising New Meta Search Engine.‖ (26 February 2004).
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3317991

Sherman, Chris, and Gary Price. ―Reducing Information Overkill.‖ (30 September 2004).
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3415071

Sullivan, Danny. ―Meta Search or Meta Ads?‖ (23 May 2001).
http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/2163821

Sullivan, Danny, and Chris Sherman. ―4th Annual Search Engine Watch Awards.‖ (6 February 2004).
http://searchenginewatch.com/awards/article.php/3309841#meta

Zhang, Jin. ―Meta-search-engine feature analysis.‖ Online Information Review 27, no. 6 (2003): 433-41. 79