Search Engine of the Day: Zulu – I mean Zuula!

July 16th, 2007 by Charles S. Knight
Posted in Alts | No Comments »

Zuula! Zuula! When we say that we cover Alternative Search Engines from A-Z, did you ever wonder which search engine was the last one in our collection? Well, suffer no more; it’s Zuula.

Zuula’s approach to Meta Search

Zuula provides the results from your favorite search engine unaltered, so you can check those first and then get results from other search engines simply by clicking on their tabs. If you want to switch back and forth between search engines, Zuula remembers where you were. And Zuula keeps sponsored links clearly separated from the regular search results.

Zuula is customizable and easy to use. For each search type, you can set your preferences for which search engines are included and in what order. The search engine tabs can also be rearranged right from the search results page by dragging and dropping them. Zuula offers Web, Image, News, Blog, and Job searches.

Question: Why “Zuula?”

Answer: The answer surprises a lot of people. We started off considering names that were very different from Zuula. However, as we looked at different options, and also what domain names were actually available, the search got more difficult. Finally, after playing around with different names that were short, easy to remember, and had available Internet addresses, we settled on the name Zuula.  When we selected it, we didn’t think it had any particular meaning. However, we’ve since found out that the word actually means “to take off” in an African language, and we hope the meaning is a prediction for what will happen with Zuula.

Have a question or comment? Send it to them at info@zuula.com and share it with us in the comments section, please.

I’m only going to Ask.com you once!

July 16th, 2007 by Charles S. Knight
Posted in Majors | No Comments »

Today, over at Search Engine Land, is the second “Google Free Friday,” only it was postponed until today. They are requesting that you only (or primarily) use Ask.com today. I have just signed up as a member, and I hope you’ll try it as well.

It makes no sense to discuss Alternative Search Engines if we don’t study the very search engines (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL and ASK) that they are alternatives to!

The first Google Free Friday was AOL, and for me, it was also my last day using AOL. I am no fan at all of portals vs. traditional search engine home pages, but AOL’s seemed even more tabloid-like than MSN’s, which I pass through – quickly – on my way to check my Hotmail / Live email account.