The lesser-known search engine Dogpile can actually be a handy tool. Never heard of it? No problem – this search engine doesn’t aim to compete with big names like Google and Yahoo. However, if you want to evaluate your SEO strategy, it might be worth a look.
How Does Dogpile Work?
The secret: something called “metasearch.” According to the researchers at Dogpile, there actually isn’t that much overlap between some of the results that pop up between some of the biggest search engines.
Dogpile’s metasearch function gleans results from all three of the above search engines: Yahoo, Google, Ask.com, and Yandex. The algorithm at Dogpile will “fetch” results from these search engines, eliminates duplicate results, and then deliver the best ones. As a result, when users input a search term, they get results not just from one of the above search engines but, rather, from all three combined.
The Usefulness of Searching Multiple Engines at Once
If you’re not sold on Dogpile, consider similar multi-platform search engines like PolyCola. Just think about how much time and energy you could save by inputting your search terms into multiple search engines at once. Have you ever tried to test your SEO in several individual search engines?
While Dogpile will provide you with the top search results, PolyCola will actually let you do a side-by-side comparison of your search term in Google and Yahoo at the same time. These sites can be fun to play with, but you may be after a more sophisticated multi-platform search function – though some of these require you to shell out more than a few dollars. However, if you just want to see how your keywords stack up in search engines all over the web, Dogpile is a free and easy place to start.
What do you think of multi-platform search engines? How might you incorporate “metasearch” into your SEO strategy?