Meta Tags 101:
Search Engine Differences
Excerpt from Meta Tag Maximizer Web Site
For web surfers, the major search engines generally mean more dependable results. These search engines are much more likely to be updated frequently and to keep up with all the new pages submitted every minute.
For webmasters and site owners alike, getting listed in the top 40-60 positions in a search engine is much more likely to bring traffic and hits to one's site. For a website that is listed in Yahoo! it's almost guaranteed they will receive more traffic than one listed in WebCrawler. While both are fantastic engines, Yahoo! is much more well known and likely to drive traffic to your site.
Search Engines, Directories and Combinations of the Two
A webmaster and web surfer should know the difference between these types of sites, because they are often misused and confused.
- Directories:
Directories are created by a person who actually profiles your submission, as opposed to a search engine which uses a 'robot' or 'spider' to do this. Sites are submitted and then assigned to an appropriate category or categories. Because someone is actually profilling your site, rather than a 'robot', directories often provide much more targeted results than search engines. For example: Yahoo! is a directory.
- Search Engines:
Commonly referred to as "spiders" or "crawlers," search engines are searching the web for new pages at all times. Because they are automated and index so many sites, search engines may often find information not listed in directories. On the other hand, they may also pull up unrelated information for the topics you're searching for.
- Combination Search Engines:
Many of the medium size engines have helped confuse the issue of what the difference is between and engine and a directory by combining the two. These are search engines that also work in conjunction with a directory. Usually, these are reviewed and rated sites.
NEXT: How Search Engines Rank Your Site
