The last two enable columns showed you how to use the Internet to get
market and industry research and information. In doing so, we provided you with
the relevant sites ourselves. Today, we will do the opposite – we will provide
you with several excellent and diverse search engines for you to use to find
answers to your business needs via the Internet.
There are dozens of search engines for you to choose from. We will cover
three that I use - Ask Jeeves, SavvySearch, and Copernic 99 - depending on what
kind of information I am looking for. Each has its own distinct advantages.
Ask Jeeves – Direct Answers To Specific Questions
Ask Jeeves (www.ask.com) was developed to
provide users with a simple way of cutting through the disorganized mass of
information on the Internet. With Ask Jeeves, you search by asking Jeeves (a
British Butler) a question in plain English. Jeeves provides you with a concise
list of answers with their exact location – not an exhaustive list of matches.
For example, if you need to hire management for your new US operations, you
simply ask Jeeves "Where can I find headhunters in the United States?" Jeeves
provides you with answers that are right on point.
The main advantage to Ask Jeeves is its unique question and answer system.
You do not have to provide keywords or Boolean search strings. Instead, you type
a simple question in basic English and Jeeves provides the answers. The
simplicity comes with a price – Ask Jeeves sometimes misses the point of the
search and provides answers that are not relevant.
To sum up, Ask Jeeves is great for users that are new to the Internet, for
those who need answers to simple questions, and or for users who are not that
comfortable with the English language.
SavvySearch – Customization Is The Key
SavvySearch (www.savvysearch.com) is
a leading provider of meta-search services. Meta-search engines search several
other search engines simultaneously, and present results in some sort of
integrated format. This lets you see at a glance which particular search engine
returned the best results for a query without having to search each one
individually.
SavvySearch serves as a single point of access to over 200 search engines,
guides, auctions, storefronts, Usenet archives, news archives and software
libraries. You submit a keyword query which is then immediately and
simultaneously sent out to all of the appropriate Internet search engines. The
results are gathered and displayed in an intelligent and relevant manner.
The biggest advantage to SavvySearch is the fact that it can be customized to
suit the specific needs of the searcher. The SavvySearch customization center
lets users design, customize and control their own personal search engine. The
customized engine will then be powered by the metasearch capabilities of
SavvySearch.
For example, you can create a personal metasearch that only queries specific
geographical areas. Alternatively, you can create a personal metasearch for
Usenet, newsfeeds and newspapers. You can also specify which engines to use (or
not use) in order to narrow or expand a search depending on what you need. It
took me around 10 minutes to customize SavvySearch and I highly recommend doing
so – especially if you do a lot of detailed searching.
In short, SavvySearch is a bit complicated – but an excellent search tool.
Copernic 99 – Saves and Organizes Results on Your Hard Disk
Copernic 99 (www.copernic.com) bills
itself as a search assistant that knows which search engines are best for you.
Copernic is different from all other search engines in that users must download
software in order to use it. The basic version is free; more advanced versions
must be bought.
After downloading, you choose your field of interest and then enter the
keywords for your search. Copernic 99 chooses the search engine that it believes
is best for that search. Copernic 99 eliminates duplicates and displays the
results in order of relevance. It also highlights your keywords in the search
results.
What is special about Copernic is the way it manages your results. Because it
is software stored on your hard disk, Copernic lets you to manage results simply
and efficiently. It lets you download search results onto your computer for
offline browsing and consultation any time - saving on Internet connection time.
Copernic also automatically updates its list of search engines, and produces a
search report in Web page format. You can also e-mail your results to
co-workers, clients, etc.
Copernic is an excellent tool if you need to store and constantly reuse your
search results.
The three search engines described today will enable you to find answers to
certain of your business needs on the Internet. Anyone who wants a more complete
list of search engines should feel free to contact enable directly. We would
also like to know which search engines are your favorites and why. Please let us
know.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on May 25, 1999