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Hybrid Search Engines

Introduction to Hybrid Search Engines

Hybrid search engines are actually a combination of a true search engine and a web directory. These hybrid search engines will review both their directory listings and their search databases to determine the most relevant web pages for a keyword query. Usually, favoring one type of listing over another.

Almost every search engine will supplement it's own database with a directory. The search services listed on this page are search engines that maintain their own databases and directories. Some may also display in the results third party directories like the Open Directory.

Listed on this page are the most popular hydrid search services. Popular by number of unique visitors, members and number of searches performed. Most of these services use cookies to track statistics and aid members (Start page— My Lycos, e-mail — you@lycos.com and free web pages — www.angelfire.com/group/yourpage/).

Google now uses the Open Directory as a secondary search alternative and is by definition a hybrid, but it remains on the Search Engines page.

Alta Vista, run by Digital, has gained wide-spread name recognition. Starting in 1995, it partnered with Yahoo in June 1996, becoming the "preferred" search engine at that time. Alta Vista now maintains its own index.

Excite grew quickly and has been eating its competitors. Launched in late 1995, Excite also runs a directory, Excite Reviews. Excite Reviews is not the default that appears when visitors reach Excite.

In In 1996, Excite purchased the Magellan search engine and directory and also acquired WebCrawler. Magellan has continued running as a separate service, and WebCrawler is supposed to do the same.

Launched in May 1996, HotBot is Wired's entry into the search engine market. The site is powered by the Inktomi search engine. That doesn't mean it is the same as the UC Berkeley Inktomi catalog, only that it uses the same technology that created that catalog.

A "hybrid" search engine that combines a terrific search index with a directory called the "Lycos A2Z Catalog." It offers news, site reviews, popular links and a people-finder.

Customize your searches and specify if you want your key word matches to be loose, fair, good, close or strong.

You can use the - sign to exclude a word from your search. You can use the $ sign as a wildcard indicator (just as you use the asterisk (*) in DOS or Windows). And if you put a period (.) after a word, it forces Lycos to do an exact match.

WebCrawler opened to the public on April 20, 1994. It was started as a research project at the University of Washington. America Online purchased it in March 1995 and was the online service's preferred search engine until Nov. 1996. That was when Excite, a WebCrawler competitor, acquired the service. Excite currently runs WebCrawler as an independent search engine and showed signs of supporting it by listing it on the Netscape Net Search page in January 1996. WebCrawler has an associated directory of reviewed sites, WebCrawler Select.