Data from search engine analysis run on Jan. 5, 1999

Still remarkably little overlap!

This chart compares the results from four small, precise searches run on the largest ten search engines, including four that are based upon the Inktomi database. From a total of 176 pages found, 83 of the hits represent unique Web pages. Of those 83 unique Web pages, the largest group contained unique Web pages found by only one of the search engines.

Even with four Inktomi-based databases, there was a low degree of overlap even among those four. Three of them included unique hits not found by any of the other nine search engines.

See my analysis of unique hits to gain a sense of how the 34 unique pages were divided among the search engines. See below for older analysis of duplcation and overlap among the major search engines.

Previous Comparisons:

• August '98: Four searches on five search engines. 103 hits, 70 unique pages. None found by all five search engines.
• May 1998: Four searches on five search engines. 95 hits, 77 unique pages, with none found by all five.
• Feb. 1998: Four searches on five search engines. 103 hits, 62 unique pages. Three found by all five search engines.
• October 1997: Four different searches on four search engines: 220 hits, 12 found by all four
• September 1997 and June 1997 found no pages in common among four small searches on the four largest search engines at those times. (No charts available.)