Full-text Search Engines

Google,  MSN Search,  AllTheWeb,   AltaVista,   Ask    Full-text search engines provide a powerful set of tools to search and find resources on the open web. Full-text search engines can be used to 'find needles in the haystack.' The text of billions of pages are included in a search, every word except for the most common words such as the, an, a, and. Search engines like Google are built by computer programs called "web bots" or "bots." These programs crawl like spiders collecting information from every web page they find.  No editor, meaning a thinking human being, reviews the picks and selects the best. Results in Google are determined by relevance and popularity. Relevance is determined by matches in the text of a page to the words used in a search. Popularity is determined by the number of times other sites link to a page. Google was the first to sort its results using both relevance and popularity. Other full-text search engines have followed. Advantages of Full-text Search Engines Searches large chunks of the Internet Pinpoints unique content, 'finds needles in a haystack' Full texts of pages are searched, words and phrases Disadvantages No one search engine includes it all Limited editorial oversight Web bots gather indiscriminately, good sites and bad Many dead links, many sites no longer available.         Learn more about search engines? Search Engine Showdown Search Engine Watch