I'm trying to find a FREE solution for my website visitors.

I want to conduct a meta-search on major search engines (google, fast,
etc.)
and get the results back to me for formatting. My server is strong
enough to handle the queries, but I obviously cannot hold the entire 4
billion page database locally. is there any LEGAL way to perfom a meta
search using a server-side tool or technology of engines of my choice?
I've came across octafind (www.octafind.com) that is doing a similar
thing - without having the entire content stored locally - their
webmaster won't expose his idea, obviouslly.

I'm NOT intrested in a pay-per-query service or external company that
I need
to come across. I want to conduct searches (and thus - supply results)
completly on my own so I can customizable results set by myself.

Thank you!

Hi, mluggy-ga.

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any meta search engines which allow
you total customization for free.

One thing to note is that few meta search engines include Google,
because it is not permitted according to their Terms of Service (
://www.google.com/terms_of_service.html ). Meta search engines
which do include Google are doing it illegally. Some meta search
engines get around this problem by including a search tool that uses
Google results, such as Yahoo! or Netscape.

There are several services that do offer something similar, other than
octafind:


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Digital Windmill http://www.digitalwindmill.com/

How to Use it
Digital Windmill will let you include their meta search engine on your
website by giving you some JavaScript code to include. The code is
available at http://www.digitalwindmill.com/exampleaim.shtml . Digital
Windmill also includes a similar tool for browsing the Open Directory.
While you do not have full customization, you can do a lot. Style
sheets are probably the most effective method. You can see an example
of how their tools is customized; I use their directory browser on my
website at http://www.faganfinder.com/dir/dmoz_livedir.shtml .

Search Tools Included
Yahoo!, AltaVista, LookSmart
Digital Windmill uses Anaconda ( http://www.anaconda.net/ ). If you
buy their product, it includes additional search engines and has more
customizability. See the Anaconda demo at
http://www.anaconda.net/ap_afdemo.shtml .

The Catch
The top three search results are paid listings, and there is a little
Digital Windmill button image at the bottom of results.
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Mamma http://www.mamma.com/

How to Use it
Sign up at http://mamma24.mamma.com/acb/ , customize the look of the
page online. The results can include your logo, your layout, your
website navigation, etc.

Search Tools Included
Lycos, MSN, Ask Jeeves, Entireweb, several directories, and a number
of pay-per-click search tools. You can choose which tools you want to
include.

The Catch
The results page contains advertising in a couple of places, including
a banner at the top. There is a "powered by Mamma" image at the
bottom.

The Plus
“Mamma.com will give you 50% of the revenue generated by the valuable
advertising space your Search Engine provides.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------

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SearchHippo http://www.searchhippo.com/

I won’t go into too much detail about SearchHippo. It is not a meta
search engine, it uses its own database. If you know about PHP, ASP,
CFM, or a variety of other languages SearchHippo works with, then you
can customize the results completely. See
http://www.searchhippo.com/webservices.php for details.
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Search Strategy:
None, I know this from personal knowledge.

I hope this is what you were looking for. If you need more
explanation, or help using one Digital Windmill or Mamma, then ask for
a clarification.
- Cheese-ga

Hello,

I suggest you to try Query Server. It has clustered list feature by
site and / or content. Clustered means classified/grouped the result
into several categories. They arraged the result itself
(self-organized).

	http://www.queryserver.com/

Here is the site overview.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Site Overview 

The Query Server is an advanced meta search tool that broadcasts a
single query across a set of Web-enabled search engines.

One query returns a single merged, ranked and conceptually clustered
list - saving you untold amounts of time and ensuring you'll easily
find only the most pertinent information.

This Web site not only gives you a powerful and productive way of
searching the Internet, but also demonstrates how the Query Server
software can be used to simultaneously search multiple information
sources.

If you would like more information about the Query Server, and how you
can use this technology in your own organization, please contact us or
see the Product Details page.


How is this Site Organized? 

To show you that the Query Server can be configured to search many
different types of information, we have set up several focused search
pages, each concentrating on a particular type of search engine.

The search pages we currently provide are: 

Web queries eleven general purpose Internet search engines 
News queries nine TV and newspaper sites 
Health queries twelve sites containing health and medical information
Money queries six financial sites 
Government queries thirteen US federal government sites 
Each of these pages can be customized, giving you control over the
manner in which the Query Server both queries the search engines, and
displays the results. For more information, see the Search Syntax
page.


More Information 

The following pages contain information about the Query Server
product:

Product Details describes the benefits and features of the Query
Server
FAQ poses and answers questions about the Query Server 
Support provides assistance to Query Server customers 
If you cannot find the information you are looking for, or would like
to know more about the Query Server, please contact us.


Web Site Contact 

We appreciate hearing feedback about our site. If you have any
questions, comments or problems to report, please contact our
webmaster.


Copyright © 2002 Open Text Corporation. All rights reserved. 


The search engines for web category :
AltaVista
AOL
FAST
HotBot
MSN
Netscape
Northern Light
Open Directory
Sprinks
Teoma
Yahoo  

Clustered result by site, content and, site and content.

Find out what people are saying about the Query Server:
ZDNet searchIQ  - Top ranked meta search engine with an IQ score of
140
Suite101.com  - "A speedy meta search engine that makes it easy to
find what you're looking for"
Search Engine Watch - Top choice meta search engine 
About  - "This classic meta search engine ... clusters results
conceptually"

Here is the search result example.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web Search Results 

                              Your Search For: Help!  
   
 Customize 

has been broadcast to 11 search engines 

      1. Sprinks  (0 results in 0 seconds)
      2. Yahoo  (20 results in 0 seconds)
      3. HotBot  (20 results in 1 seconds)
      4. Netscape  (15 results in 1 seconds)
      5. Teoma  (10 results in 1 seconds)
      6. Northern Light  (20 results in 1 seconds)
      7. AOL  (20 results in 1 seconds)
      8. MSN  (20 results in 1 seconds)
      9. Open Directory  (20 results in 1 seconds)
      10. FAST  (20 results in 2 seconds)
      11. AltaVista  (20 results in 7 seconds)


The search engines took 7 seconds to return 185 results, 64 of which
were duplicates

Result Clusters: 

      Downs Syndrome  (67 results)
      Syndrome Quarterly  (2 results)
      Downs Syndrome Association  (4 results)
      Children with Down Syndrome  (3 results)
      Syndrome Association  (3 results)
      Syndrome Research Foundation  (3 results)
      Americans with Down syndrome  (2 results)
      Adults with Down Syndrome  (2 results)
      Down Syndrome Sites  (3 results)
      Other Results  (32 results)


Downs Syndrome  (67 results) 

~98%  Genetic Disorders: The Links to Diet 
Explores the role of diet in birth defects and genetic disorders.
Includes nutritional links to disorders such as Down syndrome,
cerebral palsy and homocystinuria and cystic fibrosis.
Source: Open Directory
http://www.mindspring.com/~sandysimmons/genetic_disorders.html

~98%  Researchers Seek Answers to Down Syndrome 
Learn about causes, symptoms, tests and more at MSN Health.
Source: MSN
http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/3608.1134

----- cut ------

I mostly use this site first before other. According to my experience,
this is my the best search engine tools.

I hope these answer is useful.

Cheers.
- koemis-ga