Are All Search Engines Created Equal

There around thousands of search engine availeble in the market. The best can be determine by need of the hour as follows:-

Information need                                                              Search strategy                      

I need a few good hits fast.                                                                        Google - largest index1 results ranked by general popularity with "blind spots."2  with cached copy when site unavailable. Yahoo!Search - new search engine design, improved quality

I need to compare results quickly before I investigate them further.  ZapMeta metasearch Quick View previews each page within your results; turn on "Result Snapshots" (set preferences) to preview thumbnails of sites. 

I have a broad academic subject and need pointers to quality sites.  Librarians' Index to the Internet - "thinking person's Yahoo"3 with weekly updates.

Infomine - librarian-selected directory with flexible search options.

I want to search on confusable (e.g. bush v. Bush) or ignored words (e.g. there v. There - a company) in a phrase (e.g., "Vitamin A" or "to be or not to be").

                                                                                                                        Alta Vista Advanced - use capital letter

                                                                                                                        Google - use quotes around phrase, or +word

                                                                                                                        Teaching Google? Use Soople to display and explain features.

I can't spell something (e.g. "Ku Klux Klan" or "Klu Klux Klan").      Use a dictionary for the correct spelling. If an alternative spelling will  generate better results Google asks you, "Did you mean: (more common spelling)?"

I need a template to focus my search.                                                      AlltheWeb Advanced or AltaVista Advanced (full Boolean) template prompts you to include or exclude words and phrases, domain, format, date, etc. 

I need to organize and refine my results.                                                 Combined major engine results (metasearch) clustered by topics.  Select keywords to pinpoint your search further.

                                                                                                                        Vivisimo - automatic clustering, hierarchical folders

                                                                                                                        Surf Wax - identify promising results using preview summary ("SiteSnap"); see context of key words on the page ("ContextZooming"), add "Focus Words" to narrow next search.

                                                                                                                        Ez2Find - gathers results from top engines (results include some invisible web information)

                                                                                                                        Dogpile - "fetch" and clustered results (Vivisimo) attracts younger students.

                                                                                                                        Altavista - displays the most common words from your results which you can add to your query for more focused results.

I need to see relationships among ideas.                                                 KartOO - intuitive interface visually "maps" relationships and refines ideas

                                                                                                                        Web Brain - visual view of related subjects.  Click on term to search dmoz database, a directory compiled by volunteer editors

I need a subject hub prepared by an expert.                                            Teoma - excellent relevancy of results due to ranking by subject-expert popularity (links from authority pages), suggests expert hub-sites

                                                                                                                        Virtual LRC - searches high-quality educational directories

                                                                                                                        Pinakes - a subject launchpad to major academic gateways.

                                                                                                                        WWW Virtual Library - worldwide volunteers maintain oldest academic subject-organized catalog of links to full-text, databases, and gateways.

                                                                                                                        BUBL LINK / 5:15 - directory of 5-15 academic sites (European focus) also organized by Dewey number and subject terms.

                                                                                                                        About.com - screened and trained volunteers create general-interest subject guides. 

I need balanced information from verified sources for a school

research project to take home                                                                    For certain types of research, useful books and magazines may only be available in print.  Ask your local librarian.

I need biographical information.                                                                Infoplease Biography - search 30,000 people (encyclopedia, almanac, dictionary), or browse categories.

                                                                                                                        Biography.com - search 25,000 popular figures

                                                                                                                        Lives - alphabetical directory of dead people only

I need US government information.                                                          First Gov - search official site for U.S. government, state and local, or drill down topics in a directory.

I need the current buzz or breaking news.                                               NewsNow - UK, fast and wide net, refreshes every 5 min.

                                                                                                                        Daypop - receives daily feeds from 1000 news sources, online magazines, and 19,000 weblogs (subjective, personal) - can use +, -, ""

                                                                                                                        Newsblaster - get a sense of day's major stories and images - automatically collects, categorizes, and summarizes news events, reflecting the media from a particular country.

                                                                                                                        Hotbot (Inktomi) - freshest database4

I need more complete news coverage.                                                      Yahoo News - unique depth and breadth

                                                                                                                          +continuously updated, categorized news (7-30 days archive)

                                                                                                                           +editor-selected "Full Coverage" provides background

                                                                                                                           +"Op-Ed," "News Photos," "Video" (political) and "Local."

                                                                                                                        Google News - 4500 news sources, automatically grouped, includes articles' leading sentences, 30 day archive.

                                                                                                                        World News Network - world news organized by region, topic, industry.  Country or regional hot-spots in "Special Reports." 

I need to get a overview of the media in a region or industry.             Headline Spot - directory of established media by subject, industry or area (large cities, states, countries, regions). 

I need fuller news coverage to develop background to

understand an issue.                                                                                   Behind the Headlines - key resources related to the latest headlines; resources are carefully selected, indexed and described by specialists in 60+ British educational and research organizations.