With the vast majority of Web surfers going first -- and only -- to Google to start finding what they need online, why have so many other search engines cropped up? Do they really offer their users something that Google doesn't? Anthony Hart takes a look at some of the other major search engines, and tells you what he thinks.
In the news over the recent months, MSN, Yahoo, Google, Ask Jeeves and Amazon unveiled to the public their own unique versions of search engines. I have to ask, how many search engines do we really need to fulfill our quest for infinite wisdom? In my opinion, there are not enough differences between them to legitimize the need for six individual, but oddly stagnant search engines.
I welcome you to compare this to the Ice Cream Scenario. When polled, most of the American public voted that their most favorite ice cream flavor was either vanilla or chocolate. If this is true, what makes a manufacturer of a Neapolitan flavor of ice cream imagine he will have a significant change in the favorite ice cream of the American public? The same argument holds true when discussing the choices when it comes to search engines. What makes MSN, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves and Amazon believe that with their product, they will be America’s Next Top Search Engine? If Google has anything to say about it, they will remain at the peak of their performance, with over 90 percent of U.S. Web surfers (and a substantial percentage of non-U.S. Web surfers) using their search engine today.
Search Optimization 
