Free Service Description: Do you ever go to your favorite search engine looking for something that should be easy to find, but get so many irrelevant results that you feel overwhelmed? Rollyo "Role Your Own" search does something to address that problem. You can create a custom search that only gives results from the sites you indicate. You can also use custom searches that have already been designed by others.
How do I use this free service?: Visit Rollyo and check out the custom searches created by others like the Freebies Search – I wonder who created that one? Once you see what others have created you will want to create your own search. You just need to give the custom search a name and list the site or sites (up to 25) that you wish to get results from.
Let's say you have a big interest in Orchids and there are half a dozen sites that you know have reliable information on Orchids. You can create a search called Orchids and list those five sites. Now, when you use that search and type in "fertilizer" you will get results from just the six sites that you know have good and relevant information.
How does this service work?: The actual search pulls results from the Yahoo search engine. The secret is that Rollyo requests only results that are from the sites that are specified. This allows searches without most of the irrelevant results you get on direct searches from a standard search engine.
Who runs this site?: Rollyo is run by a group of Web enthusiasts. You can read more about them on the Rollyo site.
How much effort is required to use this free service?: Using an existing Rollyo search is as easy as picking a topic and typing in your search terms. Creating your own Rollyo searches is almost as easy. You will need to register to create a search, but the registration is quick and painless.
What are the risks in using this free service?: You do need to register to create your own searches, but you only need to provide a name and email address. You have the choice of making your profile public or leaving it private. The site has a reasonable privacy policy. You need to remember that when you do a Rollyo search you are only going to get results from the sites designated for the search. If those sites don't adequately cover the topic you are researching you may not get very complete results.
Where do I learn more about Web search?: To learn everything you ever wanted to know about Web search you will want to visit About Web Search run by Wendy Boswell.
