Google.com

Search engines are key components of running an SEO campaign. Among the search engines in use, Google holds first place globally and it is widely accepted that e-commerce flourishes for those listed on the first page of Google. The popularity of this search engine can be judged by the fact that the word ‘Google’ has come to be used as a verb in common parlance.

Much of the success of conducting business on the Internet is attributed to the introduction of Google. It provides a platform for businesses to gain exposure, develop a brand image for the online population and facilitates surge in traffic to the website.

Yahoo.com

Yahoo started out by providing Google search results for queries posted on its search engine. In 2002, Yahoo acquired Inktomi and based on the algorithm that it gained, Yahoo has swiftly risen through the ranks to hold second place among the popular search engines today. It monitors a humungous network of websites and boasts speedy results, just like Google. The fact that the algorithm of each search engine differs from each other is an aid in optimizing client website and helping it to rank highly on multiple search engines. Yahoo is a search engine that is expected to give Google a run for its money with the right handling and promotional aspects.

Bing.com

While MSN is an old, established player in the online community portals, its new offering is called Bing.com. This new entrant in the domain of search engines is actually a new avatar of what was earlier known as MSN Live; or was it Windows Live or both? Launched at the beginning of June, Bing is an attempt to provide meaningful links and URL’s to user’s queries. It is not yet proved beyond doubt whether it has been successful in this endeavor, but there is no doubt that Bing is carving out a piece of the search engine business for itself.

Ask.com

Founded as a powerful natural language search engine, Ask.com was launched in Berkley, California, with the name Ask Jeeves. Mr Jeeves (the famous character created by PG Wodehouse) was supposed to be the quintessential gentleman-like personal assistant who is assigned the task of retrieving and delivering answers to any question in the virtual world. The name was soon shortened to Ask.com. This search engine works on the ExpertRank technology (formerly known as Teoma) that uses clustering by subject methodology as its special algorithm in order to group relevant websites together. A typical search engine in the context of SEO, Ask.com does have some differences that set it apart.