Before I even attempt an explanation, let me tell you that search engine technology is one of the most well kept secrets of computer science. No company will give you complete details on how they index, search and sort the results. That being said, I shall try my best to convey as much as I know and as much that is possible within the constraints of an article.

What is a Meta Search Engine?

To understand what a meta search engine is, first you have to understand how a search engine works. The search engine visits billions of websites and creates a database or repository of sorts of the various sites. This is known as the index. Then whenever a user enters the search query, something magical happens (algorithms if you are a computer geek) and the pages that are deemed relevant to what you asked for are returned. Pretty simple, huh?  If only you could improve those magical algorithms you could create the next Google (although Google is smart enough to hire you instead!).

So now back to how a meta search engine works. Meta search engines don’t have a repository or index of their own, they take advantage of indices created by other search engines. In fact they present this as their strong point. A typical meta search engine pulls off the results from a number of search engines, say Google and Bing, and then apply their own algorithms in some cases to re-order the results.

Are Meta Search Engines Better?

The obvious thought that comes to mind is that meta search engines get their results from multiple search engines and since two is better than one the results must also be better. The truth however is different, in fact let me put it this way – it is a matter of personal preference.

Let me explain with an example. First off, you need to keep one thing in mind that no search engine can index the entire Internet. Yes, not even Google. Now, suppose you are looking for something that is on website ‘Z’ and say you search for the term in your favorite search engine and you get no results. So now the only way a meta search engine is going to be able to respond with a result is if any other search engine has indexed website ‘Z’. If other search engines have indexed website ‘Z’ then of course a meta search engine is better than the one you are using. But then are you using a good search engine in the first place that doesn’t index website ‘Z’?

I say so because the index of search engines are more or less the same. It’s the algorithms they use to create and search the index and the algorithms they use to order the results that make one search engine better than the other. So if something is missing from a search engine altogether than perhaps you need to switch. But hey, if it works for you, it is the best for you. So if a meta search engine gives you what you need then it is better. Viewed logically, you shouldn’t expect huge differences in results except for ups and downs in the ranks.

Example Of Meta Search Engines

There are probably thousands of them out there, some of the prominent ones are: Dogpile, Vivisimo, Mamma and Metacrawler.

A Different Meta Search Engine

As is often the case, the definition I presented above is only one of the many definitions of meta search engines. Till now we know that a meta search engine is one that searches databases of other search engines to give you the search results. As it turns out a search engine that searches multiple sites but not the entire web is also known as a meta search engine (although the definition is not very popular). Google Custom Search Engines (CSE’s) are an excellent example of such search engines. What’s better you can create one of your own and see how things work. Here is how:

Visit Google CSE , hit the big “Create a Custom Search Engine”

Fill in the required details and then enter the sites you want to search.

Test it out and see how things work. You can even make money with AdSense for search.

What are your opinions on the issue? Are meta search engines better than normal search engines?

But I would just like to sit on the ropes with all this because I am just an average user”¦more interested in getting the results I seek without getting into the algorithm of it all.

Although as an average user, I can say that both search engines deliver different kinds of results. You must have seen it with your search queries. Different query terms gave me different degrees of relevancy in both search engines.

For instance, using the query “makeuseof.com” gave me more pointed results in Google. You can do one of your own and find out.

But there have been results which have come out as more useful for me in Bing as well. It has given me a lot of pleasant vibes with its performance. That just goes to show that we are left to our own choice as far as these two search engines go. I can say that for a lot of us, our sixth sense in the Google vs Bing decision is not exactly working.

Even as the bouts go on, a lot of websites are cropping up around the Google vs Bing preoccupation. They are simple single-function website letting us compare Google and Bing results side by side.

This isn’t a Top to Bottom list but merely a listing of all the addresses that will allow you to do a comparison search of Google vs Bing.

1. Googawho

   Side by side searching with this plain Jane tool. Enter the search term and you get the search results from Google and a random search engine. The engines come from Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Ask, InfoSpace, AltaVista, Lycos and Dogpile. Click on any of the names to get the results in the dual pane. The Tabulizer button opens results from all search engines in individual tabs.

2. Bing & Google

   Simulataneous dual paned results from both Bing and Google helps you to compare search results easily.

3. Mixxr

   This search tool covers Google, Yahoo, Bing and Twitter on the same page. The number of frames on the page will depend on the search engines selected.

4. Stringy

   Along with the Bing and Google comparer, they have their own “˜version’ of Bing which promises to deliver optimized Bing results.

5. Search3 (beta)

   It starts with a nice interface and the premise that three search engines are better than one. The others include ““ Twitter, eBay and Yahoo. It also allows for browser integration (Firefox, IE7, Google Chrome, Flock, and Opera).

6. AskBoth (beta)

   The search tool comes with a neat interface and browser integration. AskBoth also gives you search and translate add-ons for supported browsers. Read our previous post on AskBoth.

7. Bing Vs Google

   We have covered it before in this post. It gives the same facility and browser integration with Firefox and IE to boot.

8. Ranks.nl

   In a rank departure from the clean-cut looks of the ones before, this web tool looks like a webmaster’s scalpel. It actually is, with its dropdown menus letting you compare search engines and their different language variants. You can compare Google vs Bing by choosing the engines from the dropdowns. Control the framesets between horizontal or vertical orientation.

9. Bingle

   Bingle gives you a single window (but dual framed) access to both Google and Bing. You can also easily add it to your browser (IE and Firefox) as its default search engine with a single click.

10. Furia
    If a webpage can be called as artless, then this is it. Just a search query box and nothing else. Type in your query and the page splits in two to display results from Google and Bing.

In this list we have seen tools that swing from the Web 2.0 look to those that resemble a weekend project done in a jiffy. Does it look like too many cooks for a single broth? But then having options never harmed anybody.

In the end it’s about getting results that are on the button. Using two popular search engines does help to cancel out the inaccuracies of both. Somebody did mention that two heads are better than one.

Which is your preferred search engine among Google and Bing? When it comes to search, do you have the patience to sift through the results from multiple search engines or would you rather use just one?

I guess you would have to be under a rock not to. Bing really wants to steal the search engine market away from the big G and they realized that the only way to do this would be to build an awesome search engine. And guess what, they did!

Google is already a pretty awesome search engine and all Microsoft really did was get its results on par with Google and add some new features like making decisions for you.

Let’s use a little utility I found called Google-Bing Search. I like to call it Google Vs. Bing (as this is what the “search” button says). It was created by Blackdog SEO. What it does is compare search results from both engines side by side. Let’s take a look at how it works.

We can type in our search terms and hit the button that says Google Versus Bing. It will compare the results side by side in your browser.

Editor’s note: The screenshots below have been separated. You will have to visit the site to get the proper representation of how this app works.

VS.

Well, while we are here, I guess we should test out some searches and see what we get. Let’s start with a simple search for MakeUseOf.com + Karl Gechlik and have a look at the results.

The results returned by Google are as follows:

And here are Bing’s results:

I am pretty impressed. They both returned valid results and in this case, very different results. And this means that I have another resource for searching now. How about one more search? I decided to search for AskTheAdmin and see what I get:

From Google:

And From Bing:

I am really digging this tool and I will be doing a bunch more tests. It will definitely come in handy when comparing these two search engines to have a different set of results every time. Feel free to surf on over do your own comparisons and let us know your findings in the comments!

However, please allow me to present some multi-engine search engines which you should consider to take the place of your current home page.

Search Hacker (NSFW!)

SearchHacker hosts 15 different custom search engines from its homepage: Real Estate, Baby Names, Webcams, Audio Files, Jobs, Video, Wallpaper, Free Stuff, Questions & Answers, Product Prices, File Search (with filetype filter), Passwords, and BitTorrent.

Unfortunately, the first of the engines listed is an adult image search, featured prominently on the homepage alongside a troubling image of a Disney Princess character (!), so I cannot suggest using this site from work, unless your IT department as well as your coworkers are liberally tolerant of such things (Hint: Most are not).

Yahoo! Glue

Yahoo’s Glue returns multiple types of search results, such as videos, news, images, and biography, on one page. The odd thing is that many of these results come from non-Yahoo sites like YouTube and Last.FM. There’s no plain-vanilla Web search with Glue, but there is a handy Yahoo search box in the upper right.

Serchilo

Serchilo can be thought of as a command-line interface for Web search. For example, type “g keyword” for a Google search, or “g! keyword” for an “I’m Feeling Lucky” search. If you’re shopping, try “a keyword” for Amazon or “e keyword” for eBay.

Once you’ve memorized the commands, a search plugin is available for your browser. If you register, you can create your own commands.

Katapulco

Katapulco wins the multi-search game hands-down because of its quick and simple interface and availabilty of over 90 search engines from a single command line. It uses a shortcut system much like Serchilo, but allows for its users to create custom commands without signing up for an account. Use of more than one shortcut at a time is possible, and such results appear in a tabbed interface.

Katapulco will be my new home page for a while, but I’m sure that I’ve missed some great ones, so please share your favorites in the comments.

Honorable Mentions: The original multi-search, Dogpile, Dogpile’s cousins, as well as Twingine (Google + Yahoo).

Fortunately we will never have that problem, because if we did, the American recession, along with every other recession across the world would be double what it is today.

The problem is that although Google is essentially the answer to every website’s search difficulties, it’s not perfect for individual sites. You’re forced to browse to whatever particular site that you are looking for, type in your search term(s), and browse through your results. Although this typically isn’t a big deal to most people, it would be nice if you could collectively have all of the engines in one central depot. This is what Sputtr does for you.

Sputtr brings together a majority of the top websites across the web, and links quick access to each of their respective search engines. The screenshot below gives you a better idea of what I’m talking about.

After entering any particular search term, you simply select whichever search engine you would like to use and it redirects you to that site’s engine automatically. It takes a different approach at meta-searching.

It’s free, but not required, to sign-up for an account, and once you do you can customize your Sputtr page, however you like. There are 48 default engines, and hundreds of additional options to add yourself.

If your particular site isn’t listed already, you can even manually add your own. I’ve done this for MakeUseOf here.

In the end, this search engine tool is just another in the large collection for the ‘web lazy’. It eliminates browsing to an individual site search, and does so with a very clean, very fast and very easy-to-use interface.

Check it out, and see if it can become your new alternative to searching your favorite and most popular web sites.

Know of any similar alternatives to Sputtr? Is something like this worth switching over to?