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ZapMeta.com - Looking for Feedback

K

khn

New Member
Hello Everyone,

We recently did a major update to our new meta search engine, http://www.zapmeta.com . An array of new features were added along with a bit of design change. ZapMeta has been in beta for almost four months and before we go official. We would like to have your input on these major factors.

1. Speed - Fast? Average? Slow?
What do you think of ZapMeta's speed comparing to other meta search engines?

2. Advanced Search and Preferences - Useful or Useless?
We wanted users to have more ability than just being able to select the number of results per page, timout value, or the sources they want to search. Preferences were made to work in conjunction with advanced search. In other words, if you change a value in preferences, it will also be reflected in advanced search if the value
is present.

3. Design - Visually appealing or overloaded with graphics?
What do you think of our effort in trying to put some distinction between ZapMeta's design and the plain html design of most search engines? A plain html version without any graphics is on the way for those who prefer a simple interface or on a slow connection

4. Result Relevancy - On the mark or not close at all?
We wanted ZapMeta to return relevant results, so paid-per-performance links will never be included in the actual results (unless selected in preferences). Along with our simple but yet smart algorithm, ZapMeta is able to produce very precise results. Or at least that's what we think :), let us know your thoughts.

Anything you dislike or like? Please let us know, all feedback, comments, and/or suggestions are highly appreciated.

Kevin
 
1. Speed

- Fast here.

2. Preferences/Advanced

- Seems good to me, but I think Altavista and Open Directory should by ticked on as default if you really can search via their database.

3. Design.

- It's great, even with less grfx. Serve its purpose as a search engine.

4. Result Relevancy

- This one largely depends on the preferences. Again, I say that Altavista and ODP should be included in default config because they have good database of sites. Not very many people open the preferences/advanced search to change the settings, so if the 2 sites above are included, more often than not the visitor will get a better and relevant result for their searches.
 
I personally find it to be very good. Very good and simple design. Easy to use, and the search results are pretty good. I especially like the fact that there are no ads. :D Straight to the point, like a search engine aught to be. :) Nice job!

*bookmarks* :eek:
 
1) fast, but still slower than google ;)
2) good
3) clean and simple
4) results are average
 
aphel aura,

You are right on the fact ODP and altavista are great databases that could increase relevancy. However, the main reason they are not included is because of their slow respond time. Altavista is very unstable, most of the time it's fast but some time very slow, and ODP has always been very slow. If users wait too long, we will certainly lose them. A matter of fact, we are planning to replace both with other search engines.


DeepList.com,

Thanks for the compliments, really appreciated.


biggulp,

Have to remember that ZapMeta is a meta search engine, it takes a bit more time to process the results than traditional search engines like google. Since meta engine has to wait for the results to come and then process the them. So infact, meta search engines are only as fast as their sources.

Thank you for all the feedback so far, please keep them comming.

Kevin.
 
Will ZapMeta have its own directory etc instead of relying on google and stuff?

1. Fast
2. Useful
3. Visually Appealing
4. On the mark



I don't see a submit your site link at all though
 
Originally posted by khn
aphel aura,

You are right on the fact ODP and altavista are great databases that could increase relevancy. However, the main reason they are not included is because of their slow respond time. Altavista is very unstable, most of the time it's fast but some time very slow, and ODP has always been very slow. If users wait too long, we will certainly lose them. A matter of fact, we are planning to replace both with other search engines.

Kevin.
Click to expand...

Well, if that's the case, you can set a time-out condition for Altavista (or any other search engines) so that if they timed out when a search query is entered, you can simply stop waiting for them and takes other results from other search engines. I think another meta search engine does just that, where they will tell their users that a search engine timed out when queried. Surely Altavista is not that slow 24/7/365 :)

About the ODP, if they are slow, you can always go and mirror their data (free) on your servers and search it from there. Just remember to update your data from them once per two weeks or so :)

Don't underestimate Altavista and ODP, both of them are great resources!
 
aphel aura,

We do have the timeout feature, for some reason we were unable to get it to work for Altavista. We have also visited other meta search engines that use AV, and they are slow as well. Maybee that's the reason why not many meta engines use AV in the first place. Believe us when we say we have tried every effort to include AV, but they seam to be a bit difficult.

As for ODP, yes you are right about mirroring their data, we are hoping to do this in the near future.

Once again, thank you for your suggestions. Keep them comming if you have anymore.

Kevin
 
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