Usually have smaller databases than search engines

Classify web documents or locations into a subject classification scheme

Are usually compiled by hand or in some type of logical order

Usually provide limited search results of available pages on the Web

Begin with general topics and allow the user to narrow to a specific category

Will not be as comprehensive as the information located from a search engine

Will contain more specific information dealing with a particular subject matter.

Are programs that run on a particular web site

Index words or terms in web documents

Create their listings dynamically

Search large portions of the Internet based on information that their "spiders or robots" retrieve
Spiders or robots are automated search programs that go through the Web and search web pages for keywords

The information that spiders or robots return is used to match web pages to keywords and key phrases requested by users and provide more comprehensive results of available sites on the Web

Information is submitted by users who want their sites included in the search database

Provide more complete search results of available pages on the web

Provide a larger amount of possibilities

Doesn't create its own database of information

Searches the databases of other engines

Allows the user to search several search engines simultaneously

Search databases of other search engines