Best Reviewed
Search Engines
- Best search engine overall Google *Est. $0
- Alternative search engine Bing *Est. $0
- Search engine for private browsing DuckDuckGo *Est. $0
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- Relevant results
- Very customizable
- Ample information on current events
- Limited advanced search
April 2009. Windows Live Search, also available as the search tool at MSN.com, lags way behind Google and Yahoo! Search in popularity. However, reviews find that all three search engines provide relevant results for about 80 percent of search queries. Some reviews even prefer Windows Live to Google when it comes to covering current events or getting answers to direct questions. For standard searches, though, reviews say the advantage goes to Google.
Windows Live Search is included in several useful comparison tests of search engines. The tests at Dolores Labs are based on the most queries and testers, but tests at SearchEngineLand.com are more recent. The comparison review at StraightUpSearch.com is dated 2008 but still useful. The Nielsen search statistics reported at SearchEngineWatch.com also help position Live.com in relation to other major search engines. Information specialist Phil Bradley's site lists recommended search engines but doesn't include full reviews.
Our Sources
1. Dolores Labs
Based on results of 500 random queries, testers find the results at Live.com about as relevant as those at Google and Yahoo! Search -- with all three providing relevant results for about 80 percent of the queries. (Ask.com gets a lower rating for relevance.)
Review: Search Engine Relevance -- an Empirical Test, Brendan O'Connor, Apr. 3, 2008
This recent comparison review praises Live.com for providing direct answers to a query for "oscar winners," though they're placed below a sponsored listing. Ask.com places its direct answer above the ads, while both Google and Yahoo! Search just provide links to the information.
Review: And the Oscar for Best Search Engine for Oscar Winners Goes to É Microsoft Live & Ask.com, Danny Sullivan, Feb. 23, 2009
Live.com earns top ranking in this review comparing it with Google, Yahoo! Search and Ask.com based on a search for "Olympics." (The 2008 Olympics were taking place at the time.) The reviewer concludes that Live.com provides the most information and also makes it very easy to access.
Review: Search Engines Compete for Olympic Audience, "Alex", Aug. 15, 2008
This article reports the December 2008 statistics from Nielsen Online, showing that Live.com fell way behind Yahoo! Search and Google during 2008 when it comes to market share.
Review: Nielsen Online December 2008 Search Engine Share Rankings, Nathania Johnson, Jan. 15, 2009
5. Phil Bradley's Website: Making the Net Easier
Live.com is one of four search engines recommended here for most searches. Though Google and Yahoo! Search rank higher, the reviewer notes that Live.com "may provide results if the other two don't work."
Review: Which Search Engine When?, Jan. 2009