| The chart below compares how search engines have scored in various reviews. Exact scores are shown, with explanations below the chart. Color codes provide an at-a-glance view. Search engines are given a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place color rating. Two or more may share the same color rating, depending on the nearness of scores and in relation to all the search engines reviewed. It's not a perfect system, but it provides a rough summary. | Color Codes
|
| Service | Cnet 4/99 |
PC Mag 12/98 | PCC MVP 1998 |
PC Mag 9/98 | Cnet 1/98 |
PC Mag 12/97 |
PCC MVP 19 97 |
IWorld 12/97 |
Network World Fusion 10/97 |
Kip- linger's 9/97 |
Family PC 9/97 |
IWorld 9/97 |
PCC |
| Ask Jeeves | EC | ||||||||||||
| AltaVista | 2/2 | 2 | 3.3 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 82 | 2 | 3 |
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| AOL NetFind | 3 | 81 | |||||||||||
| Excite | 4/2 | 2 | 1 | 3.1 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 90 | 4 | 3 |
||
| Go2Net | EC | ||||||||||||
| HM | |||||||||||||
| HotBot | 5/3 | HM | 1 | 2 | 3.6 | EC/16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 82 | 1 | 5 |
|
| Infoseek | 3/3 | 2 | 3.5 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 85 | 3 | 4 |
||
| LookSmart | 2 | 11 | 74 | ||||||||||
| Lycos | 1/4 | 2 | 3.3 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 81 | 4 | ||||
| Microsoft | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Netscape | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Northern Light | EC | 1.6 | 13 | 4 | |||||||||
| Snap | 3 | ||||||||||||
| WebCrawler | 15 | 77 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Yahoo | EC | 2 | 1 | EC/16 | 3 | 94 |
Chart Explanations
Links to the reviews listed below are on the Search
Engine Reviews page.
| Cnet 4/99
Search engines were rated in a variety of categories. The first number shows overall accuracy on a 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being best. The second is the score for advance search ability. PC Magazine 12/98PC Magazine's annual survey of search sites. Editors' Choice awards in different categories went to those marked with EC on the chart, and this is scored as a first place award. Honorable Mentions went to those marked as HM, and this is scored as a second place award. PC Computing 1998 MVP Awards 1 notes the winner; 2 notes the finalists. PC Magazine 9/98 Review of portal sites, but chart reflects the score awarded for directory offerings. These are categorized lists of sites by topic, not sites generated from search engine results. Sites rated excellent are shown with a 1; good with a 2; fair with a 3. Important note: AltaVista's directory was rated 2, and since it is powered by LookSmart, that means LookSmart and HotBot's LookSmart powered directories are also entitled to that score, even though they weren't actually included in the review. Cnet 1/98 Comprehensive review of major search engines. They were given weighted scores in four areas. Numbers show the overall ratings. Higher numbers are better. PC Magazine 12/97 Comprehensive review of major search engines. EC notes the Editors' Choice. Number indicates how many total stars each service earned in the query trials, which tested for relevancy of results for simple, complex and news queries; dead links and duplicate pages. Internet World 12/97 Brief review of six search engines. AltaVista earned Best of the Test and thus is ranked 1. Others were mentioned with AltaVista as alternate choices, ranked in order of strength of the recommendation. Those not mentioned are ranked fifth. PC Computing 1997 MVP Awards 1 notes the winner; 2 notes the finalists. Network World Fusion 10/97 Brief review of four search engines, with search engines listed in order of preference at the end Number shows the rank each received, 1 being best. Kiplinger 9/97 Brief review of four search engines, with a target rating for each. Four targets was best. Family PC 9/97 Reviewed major search engines in the Sept. 97 issues. Each service was given an overall score, with 100 being best. Internet World 9/97 Scores weren't given, but the top three search engines were named. These are marked 1, 2 and 3. Others reviewed but not winning top marks are shown with 4. PC Computing 9/97 Reviewed AltaVista, Excite, Infoseek and HotBot for the Sept. 97 issue. Five stars was excellent, 4 stars good, 3 stars acceptable. |