Tools To Compare Results From Different Search Engines

We don't like to admit it, but we all have a favourite search engine we use all the time, despite the fact that numerous studies show that the results from different search engines can be vastly different.

The site Search Engine Land recently published an article on 4 Comparison Search Tools You May Not Know About … But Should.

The article examines search tools that display results from different search engines side-by-side. It can be quite an eye opener to realize that not all search engines are the same. A good reminder to try more than one.

Earlier Library Boy posts about the uniqueness of search engines and their results include:

• Dogpile Metasearch Displays Results Overlap (March 16, 2005): "By comparing results side-by-side, it quickly becomes apparent that each search engine has its own unique view of the web. If you rely on a single source for search results, you're often missing a significant chunk of the web..."
• Search Engine Overlap Even Smaller Than Assumed (August 9, 2005): "The implications of these findings are significant for both searchers and marketers. Searchers relying on a single search engine are missing a vast swath of web content that they could easily find simply by trying their queries on other engines... Effectively, for more than two-thirds of all queries, each search engine is likely to give you completely different results."
• Search Engine Overlap Growing Smaller (June 4, 2007): "A new study has just come out to remind people why it is important not to put all their search eggs in one basket and use more than one Internet search engine."

[Source: Internet News]