Big Three Search Engine Comparison

Which search engine is best?

Instructions: There are many factors we must consider when trying to decide which search engine works best. Three of the most important are:

How fast is it?
How many hits does it produce?
How useful is the information it provides?

Choosing a search engine is a little like choosing a dictionary. The best way is to pick a few common words or search terms and look for them in several resources. Compare the results. Which are the easiest to understand? Which results are the most useful.

Try this technique with the Big Three search engines:

Instructions: Try these searches on the Big Three. Evaluate the reults

Speed: Fast, Slow or Average
Number of Hits: Record the total number of hits produced by each site
Usefulness: On a scale of 1-5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best

Search for:

Yahoo

Lycos

Altavista

Totem poles

Speed

Number of Hits

Usefulness

electromagnetism

Speed

Number of Hits

Usefulness

the Hermitage

Speed

Number of Hits

Usefulness

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service forms

Speed

Number of Hits

Usefulness

Community Colleges in California

Speed

Number of Hits

Usefulness

You have to write an essay about Einstein's brain.

Speed

Number of Hits

Usefulness

You are thinking of buying stock in the company that makes Viagra, and want to find out more about it.

Speed

Number of Hits

Usefulness

You are planning a trip to Mexico and want to find the value of the Peso.

Speed

Number of Hits

Usefulness