This article originated as a member question:

This question is not as straightforward as it seems. Although both products can do full-text searching, they are not really comparable. Verity is a programmer's toolkit, and Google is a plug-and-play piece of equipment. It's easier, and probably fairer, to compare Verity's Ultraseek search with Google's Search Appliance, but even that is fraught with pitfalls. The success or failure of any search engine depends in part on the quality and organization of the content collection, the availability of other navigation tools (e.g. A - Z indexes), and user perceptions.

We attempt to sort out the differences between the two products and highlight some of the major issues with a test that compares Google and Ultraseek searches of the Montague Institute Web site with results from our A - Z index. Four members report their experiences, and we conclude with a list of references.

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