If you’re not sure whether you would be better off using Google, Bing!, or Yahoo! for your Web search needs, there are a number of ways you could decide. You could certainly try to trade off different engines as you do searches to determine which one gives you the results you’re looking for, or you could visit all three and do a search every time you need to find something. You could also read reviews of the various engines and let them sway you.

Alternatively, you could pit the top three search engines against each other with BlindSearch. BlindSearch is a free Web app that gives you a text bar and will search all three engines and display the top results from each in a window. You choose which set of results you think are the best, and then the site reveals which engine they’re from.

BlindSearch is far from scientific, but it’s definitely useful if you’re curious what kinds of results different engines turn up when you search them. For example, I know so many people who don’t use anything but Google that they imagine that search results from other engines must just turn up garbage. BlindSearch can prove the point that other search engines, other than the one you use, just may be useful.

You can use BlindSearch to look for Web results or images, and the results from each engine are displayed in three columns. It’s specifically useful for image searches, where the difference in quality among each engine is wider than with regular search results.

The site shows you the first ten results from each of the three engines. At the top of each column is a button you can click to vote for your favorite set of search results. After you vote the names of the engines that provided each of the results is shown, and you can see which engine you voted for.

Admittedly, BlindSearch doesn’t give you a feel for what it’s like to actually use any of the search engines that it tests, and since you only see the first set of results, it’s not really an indicator of how helpful one of those engines may be if you’re doing some really deep digging for something.

Even so, if you’re like me and go on frequent image searches and often want to see how blogs and other sites appear when other people search for them, it’s fun to see how your search term appears to users of each of the three major engines, and then see which one’s results are the ones you like the most.

The developer has published the results from the first several weeks BlindSearch has been up, and while Google is still the winner, Bing’s search results are apparently popular as well. Give BlindSearch a try; you may be surprised which engine you think has the best results when you have to pick one blindly.

[ Visit BlindSearch ]

To get the most from Google, you need to understand Google. Building Research Tools With Google For Dummies explains how Google works and how you can build more effective queries (hint: it’s a lot more than just using the “Advanced Search” techniques!) It even shows you how to think like a researcher and how to package the results of your research so it means something to your audience. You’ll be able to:

• Understand Google research techniques and use the custom search-related syntax
• Recognize Google’s strengths-and limitations
• Target your search by using Google operators
• Use Google to research photos, or even an entire industry
• Improve the effectiveness of your results by understanding Google’s comparative methodology
• Build custom tools using WDSL and Web ServicesYou don’t have to become a programmer to use Google, but if you know a little about software development and want to explore new, more focused search techniques, Building Research Tools With Google For Dummies has a section just for you. It introduces you to the Google API, shows you how to download a developer key, and leads you through building a C# .Net Google application. On the companion Web site, you’ll find the source code and software discussed in the book as well as links to lots of other resources for researchers. Before you know it, you’ll be Googling your way to research success!

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