Search engines have developed their own unique searching algorithms. As a result, using the exact same search terms at different search engines gives wildly varied results. Searching for over 10,000 random keywords, only 3% of the results were shared by Google, Yahoo, and Ask.com. Only 12% were found by two out of the three search engines, and a whopping 85% of the results were only found by just one of the search engines. Rather than just guess which search engine will give you the best results for a given search, Zuula lets you easily access the results of several of the top search engines.

Zuula allows you to browse through your search results from the top search engines individually, while a meta search engine uses an algorithm to combine the results from different engines onto a single page of results. If you have a favorite search engine you like to use and trust, but you are unsure about how results from different engines get combined by meta search engines, you'll probably prefer the Zuula approach. With Zuula you can still get the results from your favorite and most trusted search engine first and then quickly and conveniently check the results of other search engines.

For Internet Explorer:

• Go to the "Tools" menu at the top of the window and click on "Internet Options."
• Make sure the "General" tab is selected. In the text box, paste Zuula's web address or type http://www.zuula.com
• Click OK.

For Safari:

• Go to the "Safari" menu at the top of the window and click on "Preferences."
• Make sure you're in General Preferences.
• In the "Home Page" section, paste Zuula's web address or type http://www.zuula.com.
• Click OK.

For Mozilla Firefox:

• Go to the "Tools" menu at the top of the window and click on "Options."
• Make sure "General is selected in the bar at the top. In the "Locations" text box, paste Zuula's web address or type http://www.zuula.com
• Click OK.

For Netscape:

• Go to the "Tools menu at the top of the window and click on "Options."
• Click on "General."
• In the "Locations" text box, paste Zuula's web address or type http://www.zuula.com
• Click OK.

You can choose which search engines to include in your searches on the Preferences Page for each search type. To add a search engine to your list, click and drag (continue to hold down the mouse button as you move) the appropriate search engine tab from Available Search Engines to Selected Search Engines. To remove a search engine from your list, click and drag the appropriate tab from Selected Search Engines out of the box and drop it anywhere on the page. Clicking on the following links will take you to the preferences pages for each search type:

• Web Preferences
• Image Preferences
• Video Preferences
• News Preferences
• Blog Preferences
• Jobs Preferences

You can change the order in which you wish to have your search engines displayed on the Preferences Page for each search type. Click the appropriate search engine tab in the Selected Search Engines box and drag it to the location within the box in which you want the search engine tab to appear. Tabs can also be reordered from the Search Results screen. Each tab has a patterned grip area on its right side. You can click this grip area of the tab and drag it to its desired location. Clicking on the following links will take you to the preferences pages for each search type:

• Web Preferences
• Image Preferences
• Video Preferences
• News Preferences
• Blog Preferences
• Jobs Preferences

You can search as many or as few of the search engines available on Zuula as you want. If you have more search engine tabs selected than can fit across your browser's window, buttons will appear on the results page to allow you to scroll through all the tabs.

Search engines use complicated algorithms to rank the importance and relevance of Web pages. The algorithms take into account how many times your search terms appear on a Web page, as well as how many other pages provide links to the page in question. Because each search engine uses its own unique algorithm to assess these (and other) characteristics of a Web page, the results from different search engines can vary greatly. Since the importance of a website is subjective to a certain degree, it is hard to say if one search engine is better than another. Zuula offers easy access to the top search engines to provide access to the different results produced by each of them.

Zuula is currently a beta version, and we are constantly improving and integrating new search engines to best meet your needs. If you would like to suggest that we include a search engine that is not currently listed, please .

Zuula is designed to duplicate the results from individual search engines as much as possible. While the results should be comparable, there may be minor differences between the results shown by Zuula and the original search engine. For example, some search engines provide slightly different search results depending on users' locations. Zuula may be obtaining results from a location that is different from yours.

Sponsored links often vary by location. Zuula does not currently have the ability to specify users' location to the search engines included at Zuula. As a result, the sponsored links you see at Zuula may differ because they are not specific for your location.

Successful searches can take some practice and experimentation. Below are some suggestions to help you develop better searches. For more information visit Searching Tips and Tricks.

• Include synonyms for your search terms.
• Avoid very general search terms.
• Try entering search terms in a different order.
• Check the spelling of your search terms.
• Try searching for a specific phrase using quotes or the advanced search page. Example: [ "Tomato soup recipes" ]
• Exclude a specific word or phrase using the minus sign or the advanced search page. Example: [ Tomato recipes -soup ].
• Search using OR between two words to find Web pages that include either but not necessarily both words.
• Search within a specific site or domain using the Advanced Search page.

You can either search for a specific phrase on the Advanced Search page, or by enclosing your search terms in quotation marks. Entering search terms in the This Exact Phrase box on the Advanced Search page will return pages that contain ALL of these words in the specific order that you type them. You can also search for a specific phrase from Zuula's main page. Enclose your search terms in quotation marks to search for Web pages with the exact wording that is contained within the quotes. More information is available in Zuula's User Guide in the Advanced Search and Search Tips and Tricks sections.

This icon appears after each search result. Clicking on it will open that particular Web page in a new window. Usually, clicking on the text of the result name will open the Web page in the same window that contains your search results. However, you can change your settings on the Preferences Page so that clicking on the result name will also open it in a new window.

If you are not getting many search results, there are several things you can try.

• Your search may be too specific. Try eliminating some search terms.
• If you are searching for an exact phrase, try a standard search instead (Eliminate quotes and refrain from using the "this exact phrase" box on the advanced search page.
• Check your spelling.
• Try another search engine tab.

Search engines use complicated algorithms (mathematical formulas) to rank the importance and relevance of Web pages. Since there are numerous factors that impact a Web page's importance and different ways of assessing how relevant it is to your search terms, each search engine's formula is somewhat different. In general, the formulas take into account how many times your search terms are mentioned on a Web page, as well as how many other Web pages provide links to the page in question. Each search engine has a unique algorithm that produces search results with different rankings. The search results are then displayed with the highest ranked results listed first.

Recent searches located on the left side of the screen on Zuula's main page can either be expanded or collapsed. Clicking on the arrows to the right of your recent searches will toggle between expanded and collapsed views.

Regular search results (sometimes called "organic" results) are those found by the search engine by scouring the Web and looking for matches with your search terms. Sponsored links, in contrast, are advertisements that someone has paid to have displayed when certain search terms are used. The sponsored links on Zuula are clearly labeled and are in a different location on the page so they can be clearly distinguished from search results. Since sponsored links are targeted to match your search terms, they may provide exactly the information you want.

Blogs are Web-based publications, often focused on one topic, and frequently written by one or a small number of people. Many people are finding blogs to be a good way to get news and information about topics that interest them. A blog search uses the search terms you enter to find relevant blog posts.

You can delete all of your recent searches by clicking on "Remove All" below your recent searches. To delete individual searches, click on the trash can icon that follows each search. You can turn this feature off by clicking "Turn Off" below your recent searches.

A news search on Zuula provides access to search engines that are continuously searching thousands of sources. The sources that are used may vary based on the topic you are searching for and by search engine. News searches typically include any major news outlet you can think of, such as the Associated Press, Reuters, BBC, CNN, and the New York Times, as well as many others.

You can specify a website or domain that you would like to search using the Advanced Search Page. In the Site/Domain box simply enter the site or domain that you want to search. Enter your search terms in the appropriate boxes at the top of the page. Zuula will then search for Web pages relevant to your search terms within the domain that you specified. For example, the search shown above would yield pages about the Seattle Mariners only on ESPN.com. Limiting searches to a particular country follows the same principle. Enter your search terms in the appropriate boxes at the top of the page. In the Site/Domain box, enter the domain that corresponds to the country of interest. Some examples of country domains are:

• United Kingdom: .uk
• India: .in
• Germany: .de
• Japan: .jp

If you enter search preferences on the advanced search page, they apply to that search only. To apply preferences to all searches, you need to save your changes on the Preferences page. You also need to have cookies turned on in your browser for Zuula to remember your search preferences. Cookies are small files that store information on your computer, including your preferences when you visit a website.

For Internet Explorer:

• Go to the "Tools" menu and click on "Internet Options."
• Click on the "Privacy" tab.
• Under Settings, slide the bar to select "Medium" or click the "Default" button.
• Click OK.

For Mozilla Firefox:

• Go to the "Tools" menu and click on "Options."
• Click on the "Privacy" tab.
• Check the box that says "Allow sites to set Cookies."
• Click OK.

For Netscape:

• Go to the "Tools" menu and click on "Options."
• Under Security and Privacy click on "Site Controls."
• Under Master Settings click on "I trust this site."
• Under Web Features check the box that says "Allow Cookies."
• Click OK.

If you are searching for information on frequently changing topics, you may find it helpful to limit your search results to recently updated Web pages. On the advanced search page, you can limit your search results to only include Web pages that were updated in the past 3 months, 6 months, or in the last year.

To block adult sites on all searches, go to the Preferences page, and click on the "on" button by the Safe Search option. Turning this feature on will remove most adult sites with sexually explicit content from your search results. While using this feature will remove most adult sites from your search, adult content may still appear occasionally. To filter results for just one search, select the Safe Search option on the Advanced Search page.

Zuula and the search engines included here do their best to filter out adult content. While most adult pages will be excluded from your search results, adult content may still appear occasionally.