What is a Meta Search Engine?
Metasearch engines send search queries to many other search engines. The results are then sorted by specific filters and displayed to searchers.
What is a Meta Search Engine?
The idea behind metasearch engines is that more results from different sources can provide better answers. Additionally, by querying different, smaller databases, higher recall can be achieved for more general search queries.
Time Before Google.
In the days before Google pioneered web search, the metasearch engine was a frequently used service. Instead of searching a single search engine’s index for queries, the indexes of multiple search engines were consulted simultaneously. This gave a comprehensive picture of the website landscape: At the beginning of the millennium, search engine indexes were far more manageable than they are today.
With the advent of Google and the continued expansion of the Google index, the era of general metasearch engines ended. In most cases, Google’s index had enough diverse results to provide the best results for web searchers.
Today’s Meta Search Engines
Metasearch engines have become more specialized over the years: they have moved from general search queries to very specific queries; These queries are often better handled by dedicated services rather than Google.
Meta search engine for specific vertical searches
Even today, many metasearch engines can find their way into web searches and generate top search results on Google for non-specific but very high-traffic, short-tail keywords related to specific subject areas. Some of the most well-known and widely used metasearch engines and their respective subject areas can be found at:
Flights
In the flight search landscape, metasearch focuses entirely on flights, such as Fly.com and SkyScanner.net, as well as large travel comparison portals such as Expedia.com, and general price comparisons such as Airhint.com.
This vertical is also served by Google, with Google Flights (google.com/flights) placing its box above organic results.
Google’s Flights feature: Along with Google Flights results, it’s important to note that Google also acts as an aggregator of aggregators, displaying web users’ results from direct providers like Lufthansa, in addition to flight portals like Expedia. Is. Takes you to the relevant platform for booking.
Hotel
When it comes to hotels, we again find websites focused on a single topic, such as Hotels.com, as well as large travel comparison portals and general comparison portals, such as Trivago.
In hotel search, Google is also represented by its information box, Maps integration, which displays the above organic search results. This box takes an organic hit to the bottom of the screen on a 27-inch monitor, as can be seen in this screenshot:
Google’s hotel search feature: It is important to note that with map results, Google acts as an aggregator of aggregators and displays the compiled results. When it comes to making a reservation, the searcher is directed to the respective platform like booking.com.
Holiday
In this example, Google has not only displayed AdWords ads for vacation rentals but also integrated Google Maps integration at the top of the organic results. The organic hits below this include major (travel) comparison platforms like Booking.com, in addition to local sites.
It is important to note that with Maps results, Google acts as an aggregator of aggregators and displays the aggregated results. The person searching for a reservation is directed to the respective platform.Jobs
In a job search, aggregators don’t have to compete with paid search ads or Google integration, as in the example below.
Google’s job search feature: However, this may end soon, as Google is currently testing its job search in English-speaking countries.
Meta Search Engines and SEO
Metasearch engines with a strong presence in certain industries can be an effective target for your search engine optimization. If I am responsible for a small hotel website in Bonn, in most cases, it is neither possible nor economically justified to rank for the strongest keywords like “hotels” or “hotels India”. These rankings are filled with reservations from Out of This World and TripAdvisor.
It might be worth looking at the biggest platforms and see how you might fare in their rankings for your region. This way, you can use the SEO work done by these platforms as a tool to attract visitors to your site.
Solution
For general web searches, metasearch engines are practically not offered anymore, because Google’s results are in most cases so good that they do not need to be re-filtered.
However, in specific subject areas, portals offering meta-search can still be found. In any case, optimizing for the strongest metasearch can often serve as a sensible strategy, as these portals often rank for many high-traffic keywords.
However, keep in mind that with a dedicated metasearch engine, it is more likely that Google will choose to compete with the top directories.
