iMetaSearch

A search tool for the web, but with advanced indexing and meta searching through the use of Latent Semantic Analysis.

Pros: iMetaSearch at its heart is a search tool. You type in a keyword or a keyword phrase and you get a bunch of results (maybe in the thousands). However, where it really scores is in what happens once the search is conducted and completed. That is, in the presentation of the search results. Here, advanced indexing and clustering based on Latent Semantic Analysis is used to produce the most useful results, the ones that are likely to be most relevant. Index words are linked to several other related keywords and in this way it is possible to follow a path of information flow to get to what you need. The results are also grouped into hierarchical clusters which further improves this process. Follow-up searches are easily done based on a particular keyword; search results can be exported to and saved in HTML and CSV format files; filtering for particular strings such as names and emails is available; and there is the ability to import and build search engines.

Cons: The interface couldn’t really be any worse. Although the indexing and clustering really help to improve the overall search efficiency (you are more likely to get the result that you are after), the interface is so poor and so unintuitive that only the hardiest computer enthusiast will find it useful. For the average user information is just not conveyed in a well enough way (and God forbid you want to change something in the search results index) and they will end up not using it. It is definitely not for the average computer user who none-the-less could have derived great benefit from it.

Overall: 3 stars at least. 4 stars possible. It really is very good and the searching followed by indexing and clustering is wonderful. But as it stands with a drab and hard-to-intuitively-understand interface it will only be useful for real computer enthusiasts and not for the average user.

Search engines can't group results based on meaning, but iMetaSearch can. iMetaSearch groups search results by concept; click the groups that interest you and the search results will be revised accordingly. This is a powerful way to refine searches. Searches can be exported to Excel for analysis, tracked over time, and refined easily. An expandable, sortable index is created that suggests additional words and phrases for further searches. Using the Pro version, results can be gathered from web pages, blogs, books, papers, news, etc. depending on which search engines you choose to include. Benefits and features include:
1) Get Better Results with Many Engines - if you use only one search engine, you may miss important results in your search.
2) Save Time through Smarter Exploration - iMetaSearch uses a cutting edge technology called Latent Semantic Analysis to group related results together and link up related topics, results and words.
3) Find People and Websites - filter the index words for people or websites or any text string.
4) Zoom In/Out on Topics and Words - use the topic and word sliders to zoom out and see the major topics and most common words, or zoom in and see the details.
5) Export Searches for Analysis - export search results or index words for further analysis.
6) Quickly Explore Related Area - use one click follow-up searches on any index word or phrase.
7) Track Changes in any Search - use one click to update any search and check for new results.
iMetaSearch is designed for quick, interactive search and exploration of results. It is the first search tool to bring the benefits of using many search engines together with a powerful exploration interface based on Latent Semantic Analysis. Try it free at PuffinwareLLC.com and upgrade to Pro version at any time.