I just switched my default search over to ODP/Dmoz and I am very pleased with the results. I did it on a lark just to see what having only human reviewed result coming up first would be like. I have to say I’m finding more interesting sites for my queries than I have in a long time. I like ODP/Dmoz for this task for two reasons: 1.) they are by far the largest and most comprehensive directory on the web, 2.) at the bottom of the ODP search results pages they have the handy links that will let me continue my search on several leading search engines if I don’t find it with ODP.
It does take a little more time to find the specific site I want but sometimes fastest is not always the best. As I have indicated, I am finding ODP searches to be remarkably good, and if I get distracted by neat sites I don’t normally see in the search engine SERP’s but are still relevant all the better.
Switch to a Directory for November:
Anyone who is worried about search engines’ controlling to much of the web, or anyone who just likes to have some fun searching ought to consider switching their default search on their browser to a general directory for the month of November.
My short list of recommendations for directories are:
- ODP/Dmoz - for the reasons stated above.
- Yahoo Directory - second in size only to ODP, Yahoo directory’s search feature is pretty good and you can continue your search using the Yahoo search engine very easily if you do not find what you want in the directory.
- Illumirate - I like this directory in that they rate the sites they list. It is smaller than the others but has a good database of sites that should appeal to a mainstream audience.
Other useful directories might include: Joeant and GoGuides.org
The idea here is to try a different way of searching for your everyday stuff - so add a little serendipity to your searches. Try it for November and see what you think.
Tags: directories, dmoz, goguides., illumirate, joeant, ODP, search, Search Engines, Yahoo directory
November 5, 2007 at 6:40 pm
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