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Do you use or even know other search engines than Google, Yahoo or MSN/Live Search? Do you know any new search engines? You should. Google is more and more a monopoly, the by now outdated PageRank algorithm based predominantly on links renders the results less relevant and last but not least Google censors more and more results. Just try searching for “sex” or “fuck”. Google treats you like a kid. Check out the new competitors of Google or simply try something other than the old triad of Google, Yahoo and MSN/Live Search.
If you search in English you have some good alternatives by now you can resort to.
I use search for ten years now, I use it daily for my work as search engine optimizer and I know how people manage to get on top of Google results. So I know what I am talking about. To measure the effectiveness and search results quality I took “SEO” as a query among others, as this one is difficult for search engines to keep clean as some people try to trick the search engines and call that SEO. My top 3 “other” search engines are:
- Lexxe: This completely new search engine is great from the start, even in it’s alpha version if you search in English. It has as relevant results as Google but the clustering feature we know from meta search engines like Dogpile makes it even more useful than Google.
- Ask.com: Ask is not new but it’s the best “other”. Like Lexxe it clusters relevant search term combinations. For many people outside of the US it might be new nonetheless. Ask has no big market shares beside the US as far as I know.
- Mahalo: Mahalo is new and it’s not really a search “engine”. I was extremely wary of Mahalo as initially the concept presented as “revolutionary” by controversial web entrepreneur Jason Calacanis is nothing new but a web directory like in 1995. They enhanced it now with a Firefox plugin and the results are not that bad. This kind of editor driven search can not compete with spiders and bots or even social bookmarking or browsing but it works for the most common search queries.
So to prove my point take a look at the results for SEO the three new search engines or services yield:
If you’re from the SEO industry yourself you will admit that the results of the three Google contestants are very helpful. The two new Google rivals Lexxe and Mahalo scored high with different methods.
Lexxe relies on “natural language technology” meaning it attempts to understand what you’re searching for instead of just comparing the word to it’s index. Mahalo lets paid staff write the “search results” and enhances them with some user generated content or data.
I also tested the search services with my own name, my blog name SEO 2.0. Here Lexxe surpasses the big other three Yahoo, MSN/Live Search and Ask. Mahalo resorts to Google search here.
You migh ask why these three, where are all the other new alternative search engines? I did not include engines that solely or mostly rely on other engines results, like meta search engines for instance. I tested Snap (which uses Yahoo results and mixes it with sponsored results so that you might mistake ads for results), I searched with Rollyo (also Yahoo with not much extra value), I used Quintura and Hakia that have different interfaces but use also Yahoo results. I took a look at SearchMash which is another way of Googling by Google itself…
They were not real alternatives offering better results. They might be new or “other” but they do not match my expectations. So they are not a real alternative. Lexxe is although it seemingly also uses Yahoo results. Unfortunately Lexxe not always works fine:
Your search “fuck” cannot find any matched documents. Please check your spelling or ask another way. Thank you.
For more on other, new and alternative search engines visit also those sites:
Did I overlook the best new alternative search engine? If I did tell me please.
This thing has 10 Comments
Oh! I never know this information before. It’s so nice to know that there is an alternative beside google.
If not, google will slave us entirely. I will try the links that you have mention above. Thanks a lot for the precious information.
Hmm, Google will enslave us?? HOw could that be? In what way does Google prevent us from searching others. Users use google instead of live or ask simply because it has something else. That does not make us users stupid. Let’s think in terms of usage and appropriation rather than considering us users passive!! What about Facebook: doesn’t it enslave us then? Simply, no because right there is an innovation taking place that helps us organise ourselves. That’s it. Simply. No monopoly, No slavery.
On an SEO point, in what way is Mahalo helpful for SEO? In what way is Mahalo interesting for me to help me discover new websites or topics? You Know what when I wanna know what the reaction to Pavarotti death is, I will still go on Yahoo, Google or go to my RSS Feed first which relates me to the news directly. That’s the best mediation we have. And a search on Google brings me a blog of an italian located in Vanuatu who talks about that death. Simply Glocal!
Ken: I guess in Indonesia you do not use anything much besides Google? In Germany or Poland none of the other “big” search engines count.
newssweb: Google, like every monopoly, is dangerous. In Germany Google has 90% market share. Those who do not rank on Google do not exist on the web. There is not much choice left when searching now. People tend to forget that Google results are not God given, they substitute “thanks God” with “Thanks Google”. Basically I do not quite understand your point. Do you think monopolies are good? Do you want search and many other aspects of the Internet to be controlled by just one company? A company that works together with the Chinese dictatorship?
Did you check the Mahalo results? Even I as SEO “expert” did find some information that was new to me. That was surprising as I did not like the whole idea of Mahalo before that.
No Tadeusz, Im not supporting a monopoly or think that monopolies are good. I just said that Google is been used because people find their info. But from there to say that Google is enslaving us is wrong also. Users appropriate and use a given technology: Altavista, Yahoo, Google, Xing, Friendster, Facebook. Google will disappear cause there would be a new search that will help us cognitively to get our info and organise to mediate information in the future, for sure. If in Germany it is 90% and number 1, in Quatar it isn’t, for example. What does that show us: that it again depends how we are appropriating and using the search.
Since Mahalo launched, I have been on it. And Jason Calacanis is doing a great job there. I’ve studied journalism and communication and it pleases me to see Calacanis believing in the editorial function more than ever. Remember how editors and writers were destined to disappear when Google news came up. And here we see Calacanis believing in quality of information with editorial function.
But this does not guarantee transparent information? Does it?
And Tadeusz, the usccess of google is based on us users, same as with facebook or any other portal. Tomorrow Mahalo gets 60% of search, we will rank it as a monopoly. That’s why I see sad a bit. I’m pretty sure about that.And been a big Fan of Mahalo, I can only wait for that. But everybody will fail to see that because it is innovative and that it’s innovativeness has been accepted and appropriated that it is been used.
Whatever, I do believe that just saying “we are been enslaved by one company” reduces our role as users to mere passive actors. On the contrary, Google Bomb, Spam, the noise in the online sphere show that users are more than just passive. They are active players, manipulating technology. And the simple fact of removing noise in the online communication process is for me just a Utopia.
In the coming years, who ever succeeds, will want to gain more market, and the Asian market - china - is important. I wonder which company won’t go to china for financial gain.
What Google Yahoo Microsoft did in China is for sure to be condemned. We need to say it high and loud. I do not want a company that works with the chiness dictatorship. But this is a different thread and another topic. I was commenting only about the use and non use. There will be a lot worse to say about Google in relation to it’s practice in China.
I have been really impressed with Ask’s features, but unfortunately, their results haven’t been as good as Google’s. If Google had Ask’s feature set, I would be happy. I would also be happy if Google would quite lying about not being evil.
I think Mahalo has promise for the average user but probably not for nerds who practically live on the internet. In some cases, it makes a good research tool, because it cuts through a lot of crap, but only for well-known terms.
Back in the day I used to use AltaVista and Lycos a lot. Of course, that quickly went to the wayside when everyone else adopted Google. I checked out those other two recently because I was trying to get my Data Governance site ranked everywhere, but it looks like all the data on those sites are paid listings. Lame.
I honestly cannot see myself living without Google. Live, Ask, and to a lesser extent Yahoo hardly rank in my blog stats for referrals compared to Google. Mahalo is interesting and I think it will work for a bunch of people, but not someone like me who can find anything I’m looking for on Google.
I think giving Cha-cha (the social search engine) the Pepsi challenge vs. Google is worth a shot. I think Mahalo is getting alot of love because Calicanis is a loud, funny guy. I think Cha-cha may have him beat.
Also, a friend of mine that words in tech for the Library of Congress used delicious’s search capabilities for his search and was very, very pleased.
I use del.icio.us a lot but not for targeted search, there it fails.
I do not like Cha Cha as it mixes real with sponsored results which are very difficult to discern.
Hi,
Its a useful post.Mostly i use google only for my searching.Some times i will use yahoo and MSN.But i didn’t try in other search engines.Even i didn’t heard about Mahalo and Lexxe.Somewhat i know about ask.But after reading your post, i tried in Maholo and lexxe.I found great links that they’d never discovered with Google, despite many searches. The comprehensive result pages also offer great related links that you may not have thought to look for.Thanks for sharing information with us!
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