There is a significant difference between directories and
search engines. Depending on your search needs, a search engine
might be a much more useful and efficient tool.
Directories
Directories are created, cataloged, and organized by humans.
Each Web site included in a directory has been viewed, evaluated,
and categorized, at least once, by a human. Because each included
web site must be at least visited by a human, directories usually
contain a small portion of the Web. Directories are most useful
for finding information on popular or scholarly subjects. If
you are looking for something specific, use a search engine.
Some examples of directories:
Yahoo!
Librarian's Index>to the Internet
Open Directory Project (AKA DMOZ)
Internet Public Library
Search Engines
Unlike subject directories, search engines do not rely on humans
to organize and catalog included Web sites. Instead of humans,
search engines use robots or spiders (computer programs) to
scour the Web and index the words on Web sites. Search engines
are powered by computer programs; subject directories by humans.
Because search engines use computer programs to crawl the Web,
search engines can index vast numbers of Web sites in a short
period of time. Futher, search engines are not neatly categorized
like subject directories. Thus, when using search engines, it
is imperative to have a search plan. Search engines are most
useful for finding specific information about a topic, but in
order to avoid the "needle in a haystack syndrome", users
must have a search plan and strategy using specific search tips
and tools.
Some examples of engines:
Google
AltaVista
AlltheWeb |
| Rank |
Site |
URL |
| 1. |
Google |
www.google.com |
| 2. |
Yahoo |
search.yahoo.com |
| 3. |
MSN Search |
search.msn.com |
| 4. |
Google Images |
images.google.com |
| 5. |
Ask.com |
www.askjeeves.com |
| 6. |
Yahoo! Images |
images.search.yahoo.com |
| 7. |
My Web Search |
www.mywebsearch.com |
| 8. |
Dogpile |
www.dogpile.com |
| 9. |
Yahoo! Directory |
dir.yahoo.com |
| 10. |
AltaVista |
www.altavista |
Search Engine
|
% of Search
Engine Traffic
|
| Google |
36.8 |
| Yahoo |
26.6 |
| MSN |
14.5 |
| AOL |
12.8 |
| Excite |
4.3 |
| AskJeeves |
1.8 |
| Infospace |
1.3 |
| Lycos |
0.8 |
|
