---

Browsing Google to find the references of your college essay or searching Yahoo to find the answer of a common query is something quite common these days. The introduction of portable devices like smartphones and tablets has made browsing a lot easier these days.

Though millions of users browse the web every day, not all are aware of the term search engines. If you are also among them, you need to get a basic idea of search engines and their benefits.

What are Search Engines?

Search engine, also known as an Internet search engine or web search engine refers to a software system that has been designed technically for carrying out web searches. It is the web search engines that help you get access to the World Wide Web and find the answer of any particular query.

Once you enter the query to the search engine, it scans the information on the web and presents a line of possible results. The page on which the search results are displayed is called the SERPs or the search engine results page. Depending on the availability of data on the web, the results that you obtain can be only articles or a mix of articles, infographics, videos, images as well as research papers. The search engines try to offer you the most relevant information for your queries.

While the web directories are loaded with information on various topics, unlike search engines, the directories are edited by human editors and may not be updated. Internet search engines are updated with real-time information with the help of an internal algorithm and seldom. It is only the information present in the deep web that the search engine browsers cannot crawl.

List of Top Search Engines

1. Google

When it comes to the list of search engines, it is undoubtedly the global search engine giant Google that tops the list. Launched in the year 1998, this US-based multinational technology company has received immense popularity among the users. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the founder of the company, who were still Ph.D. students gave a tough competition to the other search engines and soon became the most popular across the globe.

It is the popularity of their search engines that helped them in expanding their online presence in other fields. Yet, they did not stop improvising and in August 2015, they reorganized their interests and became a conglomerate named Alphabet Inc. Till date, Google is the leading subsidiary of Alphabet and is helmed by Sundar Pichai.

2. Yahoo

Headquartered in California, Yahoo is one of the most popular search engines across the globe. Being one of the pioneers of the field, the company was originally founded by David Filo and Jerry Yang. Though Yahoo came into operation way back in 1994 it was on March 2, 1995, that it became incorporated.

Apart from being a prominent search engine in the market, Yahoo also offers mail, directory, news, online mapping, advertising, social media activities, fantasy sports, and many other activities for the users. Yahoo search engines, as well as other services, grew rapidly in the 90s and its popularity is yet to fade away any time soon.

3. Bing

Owned by none other than Microsoft and developed with ASP.NET, the online search engine Bing is a popular choice among many internet users. Bing offers a wide range of search services, viz. web search, video search, image search as well as map search.

Even though Google dominates the industry when it comes to information searching on the web, Bing is preferred by millions for its excellent video search feature. The statistics indicate that users for Bing have increased by 30% in the United States. Also, statistics and data indicate Bing to be a widely used search engine in the United Kingdom.

4. Ask

For all your queries, you can resort to Ask.com. This one of a kind question-answer based search engine portal came into existence in the year 1996 and have millions of users across the globe. Originally named as AskJeeves, the search engine service was founded by David Warthen and Garrett Gruener in Berkeley, California.

The search engine result page of Ask is uniquely designed in a question-answer format, making it easier to find the answers. Ask also has a browser toolbar so that users can easily type their queries without opening the search engine.

5. Baidu

Based in the Haidian District of Beijing, Baiju is a prominent search engine used in China. Apart from having a prominent presence on the internet- related services, Baidu Inc. plays a dominating role in the field of artificial intelligence as well.

You may like to know that this search engine service has its origin in none other than RankDex. It is an earlier search engine which Robin Li developed in the year 1996. Incorporated by Eric Xu and Robin Li on January 2000, it is slated as the fourth largest website by the Alexa Internet rankings.

6. AOL Search

Based in New York City, AolSearch, which was previously known as AOL Inc. is marketed by Verizon Media. After coming to existence in the year 2009, Aol has received massive popularity among web users. While the search engine services are quite useful, the mailing services and the dial-up internet features of Aol are something that needs mention.

7. Yandex

While the US-based search engines are leading the market, the Russian search engine companies are not lagging far behind and Yandex search engine proves that very well. With Alexa rank 20, Yandex is considered to be one of the best search engines for obtaining local search results.

Not only in Russia but also it can give accurate results for over 1400 cities in the world. The parallel search results provided by this search engine is also praised by the users. 

8. Duck Duck Go

In a time when almost everybody is looking for measures to protect their information from being exposed on the web, Duck Duck Go search engine boasts of excellent privacy features. The search engine is known for not offering filter bubbles for the personal information of the users or exposing the private content of the users. Founded by Gabriel Weinberg, Duck DuckGo based in Pennsylvania and is gaining popularity among the users.

9. Dogpile

If you are looking for a metasearch engine, you can undoubtedly opt for Dogpile. The search engine fetches its results from other popular search engines like Yahoo, Google, Bing, and Yandex for providing relevant information to the users. Created by Aaron Flin, the metasearch engine service came into operation in the latter half of the nineties and is working actively even in recent years.

10. Search.com

Search.com is also another popular search engine operating on the World Wide Web. After coming into operation, this search engine service has enjoyed immense popularity among the users and is preferred for its relevant results. Yet, the company is working on efficiently for fixing different issues related to its search engine and improves its position.

11. Wiki.com

Often confused with Wikipedia, Wiki.com is a search engine loaded with numerous information on almost every topic under the sun. The search engine home page has been uniquely designed for the ease of the users and you can select any option from all wikis, Wikipedia only, encyclopedia’s and People’s wikis only.

12. Altavista

Launched in the year 1995, Altavista has been one of the leading search engine services of the nineties. Though the company has a stronghold in the World Wide Web, it failed to match the search engine features offered by Google and slowly lost its ground to the company. The search engine service was later taken over by Yahoo in the year 2003. 

13. Lycos

Developed by Dr. Michael L. Mauldin in the year 1994, Lycos is named among the pioneers in the field of search engines. Lycos which is a Latin term means wolf spider that is actively observing its prey. Though Lycos is one of the oldest players in the market, it did not make the necessary improvisation at the right time and lost its popularity. Yet, it is still an active search engine service.

14. Scrub the web

If you are looking for the best SEO directory service, Scrub the Web is the best choice. Founded in the year 1996, this search engine directory service offers appropriate results for all your searches and can guide you with the directory information in the right way.

Though Google is the first phrase that comes to mind when speaking of search engines, there are several other search engines as well. To work successfully in the digital platform, it will be wise to get the basic information of other search engines as well.

Conclusion

In the modern digital world, search engines are used for almost anything, right from finding a local restaurant to the data related to space studies. Not only information but also web search engines are now offering a source of income to many people across the globe. If you are also interested in making a career in the digital platform, you need to be familiar with the popular web search engines used these days.