Poor Ignorant Soul: “Yahoo!” or should I say “Cool Java Beans,” I’ve finally figured out what a Search Engine is and even come to understand that I don’t actually need to type a Website address into a Search Engine to be able to navigate the Web. I’m ready for more and better ways to search the Internet in less time. So what on earth is a Meta Search Engine, anyway?
Ignoramus: To help answer this particular search engine query, I have called upon two of Seattle’s most animated experts in Search Engine subject matter. Meet Hunter the Spider, a Web expert who hangs out over at the meta search engine known as WebCrawler, and Arfie, the big dog who digs for data over at Dogpile, both appearing courtesy of InfoSpace.
Hunter: Thanks for inviting me to drop over. While press spin is not really my main line, so to speak, I can help weave this special thread on meta-searching. The whole topic has got me a little strung out lately. 
One common misconconception about me as a meta search engine is that I personally scour every database on the Web and bring back search results on an on-demand basis. In fact, I work with a network of partners sites and engines. A real “fly” group.
As a meta-search engine, WebCrawler sends out your search query to multiple search engines all at once. Then we provide the results back to you in one neat little package. Why search just one engine when you can search all the best in one fell swoop? It’s my job to help you save the valuable time you’d be giving up if you were to visit each major search engine individually. I mean, you haven’t exactly got eight legs to get around the Web now, have you?
Arfie: Dogpile is top dog at InfoSpace. And it’s a meta search service with an important difference. Instead of mixing all the results from different sources together, we organize the findings from each major search engine in a separate “department,” by pedigree if you will. Then we stitch the search results together. You dig?
Although Dogpile doesn’t highlight which search engines will be queried before you perform a search nor tell you the order in which results will
be displayed, you can easily request this information at any time by selecting the “Custom Search” option at the bottom of Dogpile’s home page. In fact, Dogpile’s Custom Search option also lets you select precisely which search engines are going to be queried and in what order they will appear. By making use of this facility, you can easily make Dogpile sit up and behave the way you want. A real bow-wowser in your browser! Arf! Arf!
Hunter: Take it from someone who knows the Web. Our universe isn’t just expanding, it’s exploding. With so many pages constantly being added to the Web, the total number of pages covered by any of the search engines has been steadily decreasing. That means ridiculously long hours for Web spinners like me. Worse yet, as search engines become more bloated, more of the information they contain is becoming obsolete. With each passing day, people become more doubtful about the scalability of centralized search engine technology. A more scalable alternative to search the Web is the metasearch engine approach.
Ignoramus: That’s about all my Web-logged brain can stand right now. It’s been a pleasure jaw-boning with the big dog at InfoSpace, Arfie. And hanging with you too, Hunter! Happy searching!
