
Blekko is a search engine that uses a unique approach to filtering results, allowing users to search the web in a more targeted way.
This approach is based on the idea that search results should be organized by topic, rather than just by relevance.
See what others are reading: Google Code Search
How it Works
Blekko wants to be transparent about how it ranks Websites and search terms.
Website owners can see how Blekko looks at their site to improve their search engine optimization for Blekko.
You can find information such as how recently Blekko’s search bots crawled your site and how many site pages the search engine has looked at.
Blekko also shows where it has found duplicate content to what’s on your site from other places on the Web.
Unfortunately, Blekko’s SEO information doesn’t include data about search terms that drove users to your site.
On a similar theme: Wikia Search
Features and Benefits
Blekko's core approach is to use subject-specific search terms called slashtags that help you narrow down your search results.
You can use Blekko's predefined slashtags to search for specific types of content, such as people, blogs, or Flickr photos. For example, you can use the slashtag "/people" to search for people-related content.
Blekko also allows you to create your own custom slashtags, which can be useful for searching specific topics or domains. You can also use other people's slashtags and share your own with others.
One of the benefits of Blekko is its user-friendly interface, which makes it easy to create custom search engines using slashtags. This is similar to the Google Co-op, but with a few key differences.
Here are some key features of Blekko's slashtags:
- You can add websites to a slashtag to narrow down your search results
- You can see which other sites link to a given page
- You can check out the IP address of a site and search just that IP
- You can view the cached site, which can be useful for grabbing information that might be hidden to casual browsers
Blekko's slash tag system allows you to make "vertical" searches around any topic by allowing you to "slash in" what you want and "slash out" what you don't. This can help reduce spam and make your search results more relevant.
You can also use third-party slashtags, such as "/twitter" or "/youtube", to search for specific types of content. Blekko also allows you to create and share your own custom slashtags.
Overall, Blekko's slashtags provide a powerful way to narrow down your search results and focus on the information that's most relevant to you.
Reception
Blekko's reception was mixed upon its release. John Dvorak described it as adding "so much weird dimensionality" to search, and recommended it as "the best out-of-the-chute new engine I've seen in the last 10 years".
Matthew Rogers, on the other hand, found Blekko to be "slow and cumbersome". He also didn't understand the necessity or utility of slashtags.
Jeffrey L. Wilson expressed approval of some search results, but criticized the site's social features which "bog down the search experience".
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