Toolkit Addition

ToolKit: Changing Results From Search Engines

Site Flipping (using the link: command to see the traffic infrastructure of a site) produces significantly different results in each of the search engines. This is caused by a number of things.

First of all, the search engine business models are in rapid flux. AltaVista, as we've mentioned before, is now a part of the Compaq empire and trying to rationalize its existence. HotBot is now a part of a free standing company (since its parent, Wired magazine was sold). NorthernLight is coming into its own. Each of these changes force the search engines to place differing emphases on their results.

A search for link:http://www.gm.com (all of the pages with a link to the General Motors home page) produces the following results:

• AltaVista - 6771
• HotBot - 3110
• NorthernLight - 165

Search Tips

HotBot Forms and Tools

Do you find yourself searching through a single domain on a regular basis? Are you tired of having to construct the same search parameters over and over again? HotBot offers an interesting solution. Using the forms described on their "tools page", you can make a page of your own that does the repeated work. This is where learning the rudiments of HTML begins to pay off.

If you are repeatedly searching the archives at both IBM and the Silicon Graphics Inc, site, you might want to build a page that includes the following form:

Doing so will enable you to quickly and effectively focus your search without repetitious setups. HotBot Offers the following forms that you can easily tailor:

If you'd like to search....	Use this form:
a single domain (such as "www.webmonkey.com"), or a whole bunch of domains at once (for instance, five of your favorite news sites.)	Form #1
the entire Web	Form #2
the entire Web & Usenet, and you'd also like to support older browsers that can't read tables.	Form #3
a certain directory or subdirectory of a domain (i.e. members.aol.com/~JohnDoe)	Form #4

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