So who the heck uses all these 'Fringe' search engines?

[kookbreaker]

OK, have a look at This list. (http://www.quantawebdesign.com/tips/directories.html#directories) This list is actually a list of the more 'legit' (ie. not all porn spam) directories on the web.

The question is, who uses these? They are really obscure. I can't say I've heard of any of them. A cursory rundown shows that sets of 4-6 have the same exact design.

I can 'see' how they make money, with link approval and all that other nonsense. But who, if anyone, actually uses these things/ :confused::confused::confused:

[jsiv]

I think a few make money by sending out invoices to random companies and tricking them into paying for listings on useless sites.

[moopet]

Well, they all seem to be rubbish apart from DMOZ, which is a pretty well-used system.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Some people (Gord looks around nervously) do not trust Google. :(

[Gord_in_Toronto]

And here's why (some people do not trust Google):

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10032047-2.html

Privacy advocates are starting to sound the alarm over a feature in Google's Chrome that sends anything typed in the browser's Omnibox back to Google.

[AvarianParakeet]

The directories aren't really used for searching in general. People list their websites in these directories to trick google into thinking that they are a popular and respected website in their genre. They get a bunch of links in "respected" directories and google gives them a bit more respect.

The directories themselves make money from premium listings and express approvals. They also cost almost nothing to run except for the startup template (which is why so many have the same design). There are several modest directories that rack up a nice chunk of change. There's not much advertising and it works as a "if you build it, they will come" deal. Get a site with page rank above 2 and you'll have plenty of freelancers wildly submitting new links to build up your directory. Directory submission grew as a business because of all the directories that popped up.

I guess I'll also point out that DMOZ is not a good directory and it's ridiculous that Google gives them so much respect. Some of the stories I've heard from respected webmasters about DMOZ's behavior...just ridiculous.

[Gazpacho]

And here's why (some people do not trust Google):

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10032047-2.html
So what's the trust issue here? Most web users already have no idea what a URL is and work by search queries anyway.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Google knows your IP address, your type of browser and your search query -- this is a worry to some people. Any extension to the data they collect about you is probably "not good" unless you trust them and their antecedents for ever. :D

[Gazpacho]

If most users are already typing search queries into the address bar, it's not really an extension. In any case, you can just turn on incognito and go about your.. um.. business.

There are few truly user-oriented features in Chrome, but the omnibox is one. I fully expect other browsers to copy it in the next few years.