Search Tools This page links you to a variety of standard search tools (directories, search engines, meta-search engines, etc)

Internet Directories: best used by browsing (vs. searching) when you are early in your search, or are still learning about your topic

1. DMOZ,(dmoztools, curlie) Links to 4 million websites sorted into 1 million categories
2. Example directories: www.thegolfcourses.net , www.bigmax.ru  (archive), 

Search Engines: Use detailed keywords. Read the online help and advanced features for each search engine.

1. Google, search.yahoo.com, Bing, 
2. Search Engine Watch: Search Engine News & Tips.   has many articels such as: An in-depth guide to Google's ranking factors.
3. ranking.thumbshots.com - compares the search results of various search engines
4. robotstxt - has a list of known search engine robots.

Meta-Search Engines: Pass your keywords to multiple search engines at once.

1. ixquick , Yippy

Web Analytics: Research the popularity and user demographics of websites before you visit them.

1.  Alexa siteinfo - enter a web address into their search box
2.  Alexa Top Sites - lists the top 50 most popular sites, can also view most popular sites by country  
3. Similarweb  - enter a web address OR the name of a phone app  ( list of Top websites, examples: facebook, aljazeera.net, aljazeera.com , List of top android apps)
4. webrate.org   - example: satellitemap.space
5. radar.cloudfare.com - can enter domain name, IP number, Autonomous System Number,etc.
6. URLMetrics ( urlm.co , urlm.co.uk, ca.urlm.com , au.urlm.com/ ) 

"User Pages" - Resources built by "people without a life" 

1. Could be listed at a directory such as dmoz.org.   Browse around to the subject of your choice.  Look  for "organizations" , "directories",   or  "FAQ's" listings  for your subject area.
2. Wikipedia - Many of the better websites will be linked from the bottom of a Wikipedia page about the subject.  Look for the section called "external links"
3. old.wikimapia.org - A map where users can add their own comments. I suggest you initially set "map type" to "Google map" , zoom out, pan around, and zoom in to a location of interest.. and then set "map type" to "wikimapia classic" to see all the user comments.
4. Try surfing upstream from individual sites that you have discovered.

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