What is the difference between a web search and a “meta” web search?
Meta search tools Even the largest keyword indexes don t contain all the information on the Internet, and many tend to specialize in certain types of information. Using a meta search tool is one good way of making sure your search is comprehensive. Meta search tools let you access several databases at once. There are many pseudo meta search tools, such as All 4 One Search Machine, Metasearch, and FindIt!, which are really search link stations that embed multiple search engines on a single page so that you can access them one at a time. These search link stations can prove useful if they re well-designed. For example, the Research-It! Web site at http://www.iTools.com/research-it/research-it.html is a great link station for searching dictionary, thesaurus, language translation, and other reference databases. But true meta search engines, like the ones shown below query multiple search engines simultaneously from one search query and then return the results organized by search engine or
