Exalead in Review
 
By Rino Svaldi
 
 
            If you’re tired of the same old search engine and what to give something new a try, then Exalead may be just the thing you’re looking for. I found the clean, uncluttered layout of the search pages refreshing and easy to follow. I also liked the unique Home page design, which lets you store several of your most visited or favorite websites as a handy cluster of thumbnail links, neatly arranged in the center of the page.
 
            The use of thumbnails would have to be, in my opinion, the single most unique feature, separating Exalead from other search engines. For each search result, the usual text link is accompanied by a thumbnail image of the related webpage you’re searching for. This extra visual dimension could prove quite useful in certain circumstances. For example, the appearance of a webpage for your particular search topic may grab your attention when the accompanying text information may not. This could allow you to discover useful and interesting websites you might have overlooked with just a written description, especially since the written information found in search results is often repetitive.
 
            Exalead, originating from France, is among the more recent additions to the search engine spectrum; it was released in October 2004. A revised beta version was released in October 2006 and is the current interface. Of course, thumbnails are not the only interesting feature pertaining to Exalead. Listed below is a brief outline of some of the key features of Exalead, along with some strengths and weaknesses.
 
 
MAIN FEATURES
 
  • Multi-faceted database containing crawled web pages and images

 

  • Advanced search option can separate out results with Audio, Video, or RSS feeds

 

  • Supports Boolean and Proximity searching; also features Truncation

 

  • Advanced search options can perform phonetic proximity searches with the “soundslike” operator and approximate spelling searches with the “spellslike” operator.

 

  • Can search results in 54 different languages worldwide as of 2006 (may be the most of any major search engine)

 

  • Provides Adult Content Filter

 

  • Results sorted by relevance algorithm and can be further sorted by date: new-old or old-new

 

  • Searching is not case sensitive; supports a Title search

 

  • Advanced features offers a percentage breakdown of locations, file types and languages of results set                               
 
 
MAIN STRENGTHS
 
 
  • Unique Thumbnail Display for Results

 

  • Tons of excellent limiting options and Advanced Search options

 

  • Well organized and user friendly lay-out

 

  • Minimal Advertising
 
 
 
MAIN WEAKNESSES
 
  • Has a smaller database than the other major search engines

 

  • Gets updated less frequently than other search engines

 

  • Relatively unknown in the mainstream market; few people use it
 
 
 One final note, you must sign up for a personal account if you wish to customize your homepage or want Exalead to retain your prefrences. This should not prove to be much of an obstacle however, as the whole process is quick, easy, requires minimal personal information and best of all, it's free. The search engine itself and its features however, can still be used by anyone with or without an account.  As you can see, Exalead, like everything else has its share of pros and cons. I for one think that the positive, for the most part, outweighs the negative and will consider making Exalead my preferred back-up search engine.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Primary source: Search Engine Showdown, User’s Guide to Web Searching, Exalead review 
http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/features/exalead/review.html

 


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