Every month on AltSearchEngines, we update our list of the Top 100 Alternative Search Engines (ASE). Out of the 100 finalists, we select one above all the others to be the Search Engine of the Month (SEM). We also name ten honorable mentions (hm) randomly because we know that no one can check out all 100 - so we encourage you to visit the SEM and the 10 hm. And if you don’t see a search engine that you like, please leave us a comment, but do remember that there are 900+ search engines that we know about that did not make the cut.

There was very little change in the list from September. There are several possible reasons for this:

1) As 2007 progresses, the very best search engines tend to solidify their positions as others shake out. It’s not inertia, but rather a confirmation that success usually breeds success.

2) In that same vein, good ASE often come up with new features which keep them in the mix. This month’s SEM is an excellent example of this. ASE that are the same month after month tend to eventually drop off.

3) It may just be a lull in the Alternative space. There are many interesting projects in Stealth mode, and we still have all of October, November, and December to hear from them.

4) One trend that I am beginning to see is this: We have always said that there are 4-5 major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Ask) and 100 Top ASE. But we may have to revisit that. Some ASE (maybe - blinkx, GigaBlast, Exalead, picsearch, Answers.com, Eurekster, Quintura - this is a new concept) seem to be growing larger than a typical ASE, but are not “major” yet either.

So I wonder, should there be a second tier? Should it just be based on market share - or some other measurement? What do you think?

5) Finally, the apparent stability of the Top 100 can, in the unique perspective of AltSearchEngines, be seen as a negative. It means that there are still “too many choices.” How many people will check out all 100 of these excellent ASE when 10 minutes a piece will take you 16 hours to complete? Have you looked at all 100? Have your friends, your spouse, or your boss? “Collaborate or Perish” (Not Merger) is still our battle cry, and we’ll continue to shout it from the rooftops until our voices are hoarse.

The Top 100 is not static, after all, it has its ebb and flow. But at the end of each month, what is the combined market share of the entire List - 2%? 4.5%? The sun goes down, the sun comes up, and another 100 ASE fight the good fight against (relative) obscurity.

Well, that’s enough pontificating for this blog. This is a time for celebration after all! For the month of October 2007, we are pleased as punch to name Exalead the Search Engine of the Month for October!

Exalead offers new tools that allow you to find the information you seek on the Web quicker and better, with many helpful options.
The Exalead search engine currently offers two types of search:
Web search, they search the entire Web for information in different formats (web sites, Word documents, .pdf files, etc.) and Image search, search for photographs, illustrations and icons from all over the Web. Exalead also offers several advanced search functionality.

You can find out about Exalead’s newest product BAAGZ on the exablog.
Exalead is proud to present the first semantic search service that lets people find, organize, share and enhance content online. Along with the introduction of the new BAAGZ search service, Exalead has launched a special by-invitation-only beta session. BAAGZ is a new form of social network that can be described as a live network of shared interests. It allows users (they like to call them “baagerz”) to easily organize their favorite things and topics online into individual “baagz.” While BAAGZ offers a simple way for users to organize their favorite online content, it also helps to educate BAAGZ about what is of interest to its users, or baagerz, and connect them with related content or other baagerz who are experts on a given topic.

Below are the functions available on the Exalead search home page:
A) Click on the Exalead logo from any page to return to the search engine home page.
B) Click on “Sign in” in order to log in to your account.
C) Search all the Web or search for images only.
D) To launch your search, enter keywords describing the information you are seeking, then click on the “Web Search” button (or the “Image Search” button if you’ve selected an image search).
E) Click on the “Web Search” button and you’ll see your search results in less than a second!
F) Add shortcuts to your personalized search home page for fast access to your favorite sites.
G) Select “Advanced search” to better target your search. Choose from numerous options such as searching by exact phrases, searching for specific file formats, and filtering results by modification date.
H) Click on “Preferences” to specify or modify preferences to create a personalized search page: number of results per page, interface language, etc.

Here are the features available on the search results pages:
A) For Web searches, choose among three different result displays: text only, thumbnail preview images with short descriptions, or thumbnails with extended descriptions. The choice is yours! Simply click on the desired View icon to change the display.
B) A title and description is displayed for each result. Click the title to visit the page or view the file.
C) Add a shortcut on your personalized search home page to the resulting web page or file by clicking “Add to shortcuts”.
D) Click on a thumbnail image to preview a web page or file without leaving the Exalead search engine.
E) Select an option from this box to refine your search using related terms, file type preferences, language options and more. See the section “Refine your search.”

Here’s my customized Exalead homepage, note the excellent selection of blogs!

Exalead also powers other projects, such as the newly launched Arabic language search engine tayait.com.
For excellence in Search, constant improvement and innovation, we feel that Exalead has demonstrated why it belongs in the SEM club on ASE! That means we have 9 SEM so far, as noted on the Top 100 List, with room for one more on November 1st. Then, in December, we will select one of the SEM to be the Search Engine of the Year for 2007! (ChaCha was SEY for 2006).

Here are the links to the whole Top 100 Alternative Search Engines List.

Top 100 Alternative Search Engines, Oct 07 - PDF

Top 100 Alternative Search Engine, Oct 07 - Excel

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 6:07 pm and is filed under Top 100. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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