Metasearch engine

Architecture of a metasearch engine

A metasearch engine (or search aggregator) is an online information retrieval tool that uses the data of a web search engine to produce its own results.[1][2] Metasearch engines take input from a user and immediately query search engines[3] for results. Sufficient data is gathered, ranked, and presented to the users.

Problems such as spamming reduce the accuracy and precision of results.[4] The process of fusion aims to improve the engineering of a metasearch engine.[5]

Examples of metasearch engines include Skyscanner and Kayak.com, which aggregate search results of online travel agencies and provider websites, and Searx, a free and open-source search engine which aggregates results from internet search engines.

  1. ^ Berger, Sandy (2005). "Sandy Berger's Great Age Guide to the Internet" (Document). Que Publishing. ISBN 0-7897-3442-7.
  2. ^ "Architecture of a Metasearch Engine that Supports User Information Needs". 1999.
  3. ^ Ride, Onion (2021). "How search Engine work". onionride.
  4. ^ Lawrence, Stephen R.; Lee Giles, C. (October 10, 1997). "Patent US6999959 - Meta search engine" – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Voorhees, Ellen M.; Gupta, Narendra; Johnson-Laird, Ben (April 2000). "The collection fusion problem".