Software that searches for data based on some criteria. Although search engines have been around for decades, they were brought to the forefront after the Web exploded onto the scene. Every Web search engine site uses a search engine that it has either developed itself or has purchased from a third party. Search engines can differ dramatically in the way they find and index the material on the Web, and the way they search the indexes from the user's query.
Although a search engine is technically the software and algorithms used to perform a search, the term has become synonymous with the Web site itself. For example, Google is a major search site on the Web, but rather than being called the "Google search site," it is commonly known as the "Google search engine." See Web search engines, vertical search engine, organic search results, search engine optimization and social search engine.
Although a search engine is technically the software and algorithms used to perform a search, the term has become synonymous with the Web site itself. For example, Google is a major search site on the Web, but rather than being called the "Google search site," it is commonly known as the "Google search engine." See Web search engines, vertical search engine, organic search results, search engine optimization and social search engine.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Mozilla: Still too dependent on Google for revenue; Can it diversify?
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- 3D Issue Lite 1.3 (Mac)
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- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- 3D Issue Professional 1.1 (Mac)
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- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- Salesforce Chatter: Facebook for the Enterprise
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- Blog posts 2009-11-18
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Yahoo's dwindling search share: Time to panic?
- Typical MicrosoftThis is normal business practice for MS. Partner up with someone, take what they need, then discard them.Ask anyone from RealNetworks how their partnership went.It's about search.Wow, it looks like the volume of search users use the search engine that delivers better results.Google search is better than Bing...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Yahoo's dwindling search share: Time to panic?
- Microsoft's Bing search engine continues to grab market share from Yahoo in a perverse dance before these two companies partner to conquer Google. Is it time for Yahoo to panic about its search share? by Larry Dignan
- Blog posts 2009-11-18
- Poshier 3.0.10 (Mac)
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- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- Dig Deep 1.0.0.1 (Windows)
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- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- Google Image Swirl: Looks neat, but useless
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Google Image Swirl: Looks neat, but useless
- I have a problem with things like Google Image Swirl. Not the offering itself, just the strange notion that somehow cool design equals usefulness. There are tons of examples floating around that have the exact same problem -- things like Bing's "Visual Search". I'm the...
- Blog posts 2009-11-17
- The most successful Web scam ever?
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Thousands of web sites compromised, redirect to scareware
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- Blog posts 2009-11-17
- Microsoft to share some details on IE 9 at PDC show this week
- Tabs that dont hang and,1. HTML 5 standards compliance ahead of Chrome and FF2. Better plugins3. CSS 3 compliance4. FASTER!Trying to develop for IE8 is still a pain!Addon supportFor things like AdBlock Plus.Also, an x64 version of silverlight.Grow upso do not read this blog - OK? Prefer Firefox but...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Open Search Server 1.1.2r662 (Mac)
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- Software downloads 2009-11-17
- Fantasy Football Command Center for iPhone 1.1 (Mobile)
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- Software downloads 2009-11-17
- Microsoft search share continues its slow upward crawl
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-16
- Microsoft search share continues its slow upward crawl
- The October comScore numbers are in and Microsoft has inched upward for another month with its Bing search engine. Bing's growth came at Yahoo's -- not Google's -- expense, however. by Mary Jo Foley
- Blog posts 2009-11-16
- Instant Document Search 1.11 (Windows)
- Instant Document Search is a powerful Google-like search engine that finds local documents the ones stored in your PC in a blink of an eye. Unlike other search utilities for Windows, this program maintains and updates its own document index. Rather than having to browse through thousands of files to...
- Software downloads 2009-11-16
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