Top Search Engines

General Search

Whenever you are looking for written information, the general search engines will do the trick. The advanced search gives access to additional features that easily let you refine your search query.

Google

Why?

• keeps setting new standards.
• comprehensive, yet easy to use interface.
• excellent search term suggestions.

Reverse Image Search

While most general search engines can search for images based on file names or tags, more advanced search engines can read the image and make its content searchable.

TinEye

Why?

• creates an image fingerprint.
• does reverse image search based on the fingerprint.
• reveals where and how images are used.

Alternative: RevIMG, which offers more features, for example selecting an area of the image to be searched. Unfortunately, the database is limited.

Similar Image Search

Similar image search doesn’t recognize exact copies of a given image, but similar features, such as color, texture, or structures within the image.

GazoPa

Why?

• extracts general image characteristics, such as color and shape.
• searches similar images based on their general characteristics.
• works with uploaded images and image URLs.

Alternative: Google Similar Images, although it only works with images that have already been indexed.

Further reading:

• 10 Tips to Have Fun Using Advanced Google Search for Images by Saikat
• 3 Fascinating Search Engines That Search For Faces by Tina
• Top 5 Black & White Image Search Engines by Ann

Invisible Search

Information that is stored in databases is largely invisible to standard search engines because they merely index the contents of websites, following one link after the next. Invisible search engines specialize in hidden data in the so-called Deep Web.

CompletePlanet

Why?

• access dynamic databases.
• search within data range.
• well-documented help section.

Alternative: Saikat documented 9 more search engines in his article 10 Search Engines to Explore the Invisible Web.

Semantic Search

Semantic search is concerned with the exact meaning of a search term, its definition and the search context. Search engines based on semantic search algorithms are thus better at eliminating irrelevant results.

Why?

• choose intended meaning for ambiguous terms.
• save a myriad of personal settings.
• search other search engines from DuckDuckGo using its !bang feature.

Alternative: "Hakia" because it offers a more compact interface and it lists search results by category.