Meta Search Engine

Need one for my site

[kingkelly]

Anyone know of a cgi/pl script that metasearches at least 4 major search engines? Ive looked and didnt find anything i liked...

I just need the results to have the look of MY page... Tried Bolt, Advanced Meta Search and even Anaconda's... None really worked too good..

Im using free.prohosting
I *think* they have the LWP module.. ???

Any suggestions would be great... :)

[DaveAtIFG]

Here's some leading script archives, you may find something you can use:
[cgi.resourceindex.com...]
[simplythebest.net...]
[worldwidemart.com...]
[scriptsearch.com...]

Also, I'll "rally the troops," bring your question up in the mods forum, see if anyone has any specific suggestions. Best I can do I'm afraid...

[Brett_Tabke]

The tough part about all the off-the-shelf meta engines is that as soon as you run them for awhile, they will get your ip banned from some of the engines. Google is the worst, followed by NorthernLight, and Hotbot. Alta doesn't seem to mind or does have the tech/brains in place to deal with it. (look for chatalogica meta search - a commercial script).

[kingkelly]

hehe,thanks for the help folks!

Too cheap to buy anything (webspace included!) Im actually developping a kids portal, and need some cool stuff on it.. Im also having problems installing ODP scripts..

Tried 2, none of them worked... im using prohosting....

Thanks for the help ( i need it)

[startup]

Have you tried this ODP script:
[portalscripts.com...]

I don't think it needs the LWP module.

[kingkelly]

Ya, tried ODP ++

Still said couldnt connect... :(

[Bolotomus]

Scripts like this are tricky; they have to keep up with all the possible changes the search engines could make to their output. Plus, they have to have strict time-out rules as they can't wait too long for any one engine since they have to deliver the page back to the client on time. One method is to make an inbetween "please wait" screen that makes them wait a few extra seconds, then reconnects to fetch the results of the first query.

I wrote one years ago, I wouldn't even both looking for it now, no chance it still works.

Bolotomus

[Brett_Tabke]

Welcome to the board Kingkelly.

That's the same trouble I have over at sew with the tools that use serps - keeping them updated is a once a week endeavor.
That chatalogic meta search is the only one I've seen that includes serp monitoring updates.

[rogerd]

HI, kingkelly, I've not tried it, but Digital Windmill seems to have a free meta search feature. It looks like a pretty simple addition - you paste a javascript into your page that calls a script from their server. No idea how well this works, though. It's at [digitalwindmill.com....] (It's free, but the first three listings are "featured" sites that point to GoTo listings.) If you don't mind building their affiliate revenue, this could be a quick way to offer this function.

They also have an ODP directory that seems to work in about the same manner - a couple of lines of JS. It looks like a super-simple addition to a site. I just set up ODP++, and the Digital Windmill approach looks a heck of a lot faster, although perhaps with a little less control over results.

ODP++ lets you do a few cool things, like tie affiliate links (e.g., Amazon) to the selected category or search strings. On the other hand, you have to play with installing the scripts, modifying the templates, etc.

While we are on this topic, does anyone know of a way to include ODP info in a way that most spiders will follow? I doubt if they will like either DW's javascript or ODP++'s .cgi pages with query strings.

[kingkelly]

Thanks for the replies!

Ya, digital windmill is actually "closely" associated with anaconda.net cgi scripts... So theirmeta search and odp code for your site are just anaconda versions, only you cant customize them....

I just cant get any ODP script to work on a free cgi host!!! Its practically impossible! I tried a few on prohosting, spaceports, dk3, ...... Still it says no permission to connect to dmoz or directory.netscape.com

This is startin to tick me off! If anyone can make the ODP stuff work on a free cgi host, please post it here!! ;)

Thanks! (hey isnt this thread about metasearch?? oh well)