Search Tools

Search Engines

1. Google — Powerful search service, but became unreliable in May, 2006.
2. FreeFind — Supports subsite search, what's new, and sitemap functions for a site.
3. PicoSearch — Supports local search only.
4. Atomz — Supports local search only.
5. Altavista Advanced — Can be used to limit search to a site, but URL must be entered manually.
6. Yahoo! Advanced — Supports local search with entry of the domain name.
7. Webcrawler Advanced — Supports local search with entry of the domain name.
8. Ask.com Advanced — Supports local search with entry of the domain name.
9. Gigablast Advanced — Supports local search with entry of the domain name.
10. MSN search — Provide forms to support local search but no obvious way to do it from their site.
11. LookSeek — Does not support local search.
12. Open Directory: Advanced — Does not support local search.
13. Snap! — Another search engine organized by subject.
14. Overture — Much publicized search engine, but advantages unclear.
15. LookSmart — Charges to support local domain searches for more than 1000 pages.
16. Findhow — The How-To Search Engine.
17. HotBot — This one no longer supports local or subsite search.
18. WhatUSeek — Another search engine, no longer with local search option. Clone of LookSmart.
19. Excite — A once popular search engine.
20. Lycos — And yet another once popular search engine.
21. GoTo — Claim to cover more web sites.
22. Raging Search — Many search methods, such as search within a domain or host, search for HTML tags and their contents, graphics files, and pages on other sites linked to a given site.
23. DogPile — Launches several of the major search engines simultaneously.
24. FAST Search — Claim they search 80% of the web sites.
25. Find FAST — Claim they get results faster. Pick any one or several search engines to search simultaneously.
26. Northern Light — No longer supports subsite searches.
27. InfoSeek — Used to be good search engine, that used to support subsite search, but they seem to have faded.
28. Copernic 99 — Free software you run on your computer to launch an agent to query the search engines.
29. Turn it in — Find out whether a term paper has plagiarized material, or just find relevant material for your research. A favorite tool of teachers and students everywhere.

Also see our Local Seach Engines page.

Directories

• WhoWhere — National directory of people and companies, including their email addresses, by name, city, state, company name, and type of business.
• AnyWho — Can find phone numbers and addresses, or reverse search given the phone number.
• Switchboard — Nationwide U.S. directory of residential and business phones and addresses.
• BigBook — A searchable directory of phone numbers and addresses.
• Four11 — Another popular telephone directory.
• Piple — Collection of links to other search tools.
• Internet 800 Directory — Find 800 numbers in the U.S. and Canada.
• Informus — Obtain all known public background information on anyone. Fee required. See what is on record about you.
• USPS ZIP+4 Directory — Allows you to verify ZIP codes and save money on bulk mailings.
• The List — National directory of Internet providers. Find the providers near you.
• The ISP Guide — Directory of internet service providers, search by area code or by city.
• Gale — Databases and directories, including Encyclopedia of Associations and the Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media. Fees required.
• Starting Point — Internet directory service.
• World Yellow Pages NETwork — Discontinued, but the explanation why is worth reading at this site.

Concept Map Software

• Cmap Concept Map Software — Freeware in Java from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition of The University of West Florida .
• Inspiration Software, Inc. — Have commerical product.
• Banxia Decision Explorer — Another commerical product.
• MindManager — Visual Thinking software from Mindjet.
• VisiMap — Product from CoCo Systems Ltd.