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Search engines: Viable alternatives to Google

search terms, site domain type, country and region, and by language.

Rollyo (www.rollyo.com) is powered by Yahoo, and at first glance is little more than a generic search engine with the unfortunate incorporation of ad banners running down the side of the page. In addition to this, many sponsored results are scattered throughout the search results. Despite these disadvantages, Rollyo produces a high number of matches. When weighing the number of results, Rollyo matched about 1,380,000,000 results to the search term 'books' against Google's estimated 726,000,000. Comparatively, for a search of the term 'trumpet' Rollyo found about 17,700,000, just under Google's 19,200,000. Aside from the competitive result listing, Rollyo has a single worthwhile tool: the searchroll. The searchroll allows its users to list the websites they desire to search, granting them access to sites they trust as well as those they know to be pertinent.

WebBrain (www.webbrain.com) produces a relatively small listing of results, but accounts for it in interface. WebBrain utilizes a web style diagram as a tool to link search ideas, an effective method in streamlining searches, especially when the search specifications are elusive. Navigation is simple, and with each connected idea you select, a new set of results appears. Alone, this engine may produce too few results, but it provides an excellent mechanism to narrow terms and connect ideas.

Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) is a more popular search engine with many similarities to Google. Unfortunately, sponsors show beside the results as well as both above and below them. More convenient than Google, however, related searches also appear both above and below the results. As with the Yahoo powered Rollyo, search results are very competitive to those of Google, but the search speed is usually about twice as fast at Yahoo.

With other search engines now identified, it is imperative to understand when it is best to use Google or best to use an alternative. Based on Google's popularity, it is easy to use Google for searches related to pop culture. Google is also an apt choice for common, uncomplicated searches, or searches in which the best search terms are known. For quick and dirty, casual searches, Google may very well be the best choice.

But Google's capabilities sometimes limit research. Many times the most popular results are the least pertinent; search refinement tools are extremely convenient. Google does occasionally provide a short list of related


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