Examples of search engines are Altavista , HotBot , Infoseek Ultraseek , and OpenText . Metasearch engines search various search engines simultaneously. Metasearch engines are most helpful to use when you have exhausted your search with single search engines or you are just starting out.
Directories provide guides and lists of Internet site under a certain subject.
Directories are a passive listing of Internet sites compiled by people. Usually, directories are based on sites that are submitted by people. These sites are also reveiwed by people which is beneficial. The best place to find help on a specific directory or search engine is the home page of the particular engine you use. The Net provides a searchable database.