WebCrawler
Encyclopedia
WebCrawler is a metasearch engine
that blends the top search results from Google
, Yahoo!
, Bing Search (formerly MSN Search and Live Search), Ask.com
, About.com
, MIVA
, LookSmart
and other popular search engines. WebCrawler also provides users the option to search for images, audio, video, news, yellow pages and white pages. WebCrawler is a registered trademark of InfoSpace
, Inc.
WebCrawler was the first Web search engine
to provide full text search
. It went live on April 20, 1994 and was created by Brian Pinkerton at the University of Washington
. It was bought by America Online on June 1, 1995 and sold to Excite
on April 1, 1997. WebCrawler was acquired by InfoSpace
in 2001 after Excite
, (which was then called Excite@Home), went bankrupt. InfoSpace also owns and operates the metasearch engines Dogpile
and MetaCrawler
.
WebCrawler was originally a separate search engine with its own database, and displayed advertising results in separate areas of the page. More recently it has been repositioned as a metasearch engine, providing a composite of separately identified sponsored and non-sponsored search results from most of the popular search engines.
WebCrawler also changed its image in early 2008, scrapping its classic spider mascot
.
In July 2010, WebCrawler was ranked the 753rd most popular website in the U.S., and 2994th most popular in the world by Alexa. Quantcast estimated 1.7 million unique U.S. visitors a month, while Compete estimated 7,015,395.
Metasearch engine
A metasearch engine is a search tool that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list or displays them according to their source. Metasearch engines enable users to enter search criteria once and access several search engines...
that blends the top search results from Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, Bing Search (formerly MSN Search and Live Search), Ask.com
Ask.com
Ask is a Q&A focused search engine founded in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen in Berkeley, California. The original software was implemented by Gary Chevsky from his own design. Warthen, Chevsky, Justin Grant, and others built the early AskJeeves.com website around that core engine...
, About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, MIVA
MIVA
MIVA is an initialism that can refer to:* The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association - NCAA Men's Volleyball* The Marshall Islands Visitor Authority in the Republic of the Marshall Islands...
, LookSmart
LookSmart
LookSmart is an online advertising company based in San Francisco. LookSmart provides search advertising products and services to text advertisers, as well as targeted pay-per-click search and contextual advertising via its Search Advertising Network...
and other popular search engines. WebCrawler also provides users the option to search for images, audio, video, news, yellow pages and white pages. WebCrawler is a registered trademark of InfoSpace
InfoSpace
Infospace provides metasearch and private-label Internet search services for consumers and businesses.InfoSpace's flagship metasearch site is Dogpile; its other consumer brands are WebCrawler, Nation, DoGreatGood and MetaCrawler.-History:...
, Inc.
WebCrawler was the first Web search engine
Web search engine
A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results often referred to as SERPS, or "search engine results pages". The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other...
to provide full text search
Full text search
In text retrieval, full text search refers to techniques for searching a single computer-stored document or a collection in a full text database...
. It went live on April 20, 1994 and was created by Brian Pinkerton at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. It was bought by America Online on June 1, 1995 and sold to Excite
Excite
Excite is a collection of Internet sites and services owned by IAC Search & Media, which is a subsidiary of InterActive Corporation . Launched in 1994, it is an online service offering a variety of content, including an Internet portal, a search engine, a web-based email, instant messaging, stock...
on April 1, 1997. WebCrawler was acquired by InfoSpace
InfoSpace
Infospace provides metasearch and private-label Internet search services for consumers and businesses.InfoSpace's flagship metasearch site is Dogpile; its other consumer brands are WebCrawler, Nation, DoGreatGood and MetaCrawler.-History:...
in 2001 after Excite
Excite
Excite is a collection of Internet sites and services owned by IAC Search & Media, which is a subsidiary of InterActive Corporation . Launched in 1994, it is an online service offering a variety of content, including an Internet portal, a search engine, a web-based email, instant messaging, stock...
, (which was then called Excite@Home), went bankrupt. InfoSpace also owns and operates the metasearch engines Dogpile
Dogpile
Dogpile is a metasearch engine that fetches results from Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Ask.com, About.com and several other popular search engines, including those from audio and video content providers. It is a registered trademark of InfoSpace, Inc.- History :...
and MetaCrawler
MetaCrawler
MetaCrawler is a metasearch engine that blends the top web search results from Google, Yahoo!, Bing , Ask.com, About.com, MIVA, LookSmart and other popular search engines. MetaCrawler also provides users the option to search for images, video, news, yellow pages and white pages...
.
WebCrawler was originally a separate search engine with its own database, and displayed advertising results in separate areas of the page. More recently it has been repositioned as a metasearch engine, providing a composite of separately identified sponsored and non-sponsored search results from most of the popular search engines.
WebCrawler also changed its image in early 2008, scrapping its classic spider mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
.
In July 2010, WebCrawler was ranked the 753rd most popular website in the U.S., and 2994th most popular in the world by Alexa. Quantcast estimated 1.7 million unique U.S. visitors a month, while Compete estimated 7,015,395.