While Google has been the unquestionable search engine leader for quite some time, it is not without its alternatives. A number of (other than Google) search engines, some of which have been around for years, and some that have just started up, are well worth using and might surprise you with their functionality and accuracy. Yahoo! and Bing are the two names that might come to mind to anyone, who is Internet and computer savvy, but there are others, which are smaller, regional, specialized, or haven’t gained popularity yet, but could prove useful to anyone that is frustrated with Google or is after more targeted results.

1. Bing

Microsoft has done two major project right in the past few years and they are Windows 7 and Bing. Millions of computer users were quick to switch from Vista or XP to the latest robust and excellent operation system and found it impressive, and Bing, although lagging behind Google and Yahoo! in popularity is showing an impressive growth as well. The search engine has simple interface, comes with easy to set options, and provides accurate results; of course, it is not without its drawbacks, especially if you are using a browser other than IE, but it is well worth bookmarking and using nonetheless.

2. Yahoo!

Search started as a web directory and evolved into the second largest (based on query volume) search engine today. Originally, the search results provided by Yahoo! Search were provided by Inktomi and then Google, and in 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo! have announced that the Yahoo! Search will be powered by Bing. Yahoo! Search is quite easy to use and comes with Image and Video, as well as Local, Shopping, News, Jobs, Sports, and Finance search options.

3. Quintura

A unique search engine, with, at a first glance, awkward interface, but is actually quite easy to use and provides immediate visual results. If you run a quick search for say “travel,” you will get a cloud with a number of tags that can help you find exactly what you need, in our instance “travel deals,” “international travel,” “destinations,” “travel agencies,” etc. It also offers web, image, video and safe (for kids) search and is available in English and Russian.

4. DuckDuckGo

An excellent search engine, which sports very clean interface and is a breeze to use. It allows you to change a multitude of settings, which can make the searches safer, more targeted, or more relevant, and has an option to search some of the largest Web 2.0 and shopping sites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Amazon, Twitter, Vimeo, and many others. You can sort out the results by date by using the drop-down menu, let the search engine display only local to you results, or pick one of the various commonly used search options.

5. WolframAlpha

An unorthodox search engine, which many users could find extremely useful. It uses structured data and is the place to visit if you want to perform computations, convert one measuring unit to another, learn more about mathematics, physics, retrieve socioeconomically data, or if you are interested in education, food and nutrition, transportation, science, or technology. Getting used to the way WolframAlpha works might take some time, but once you do, you will quickly realize that it offers an immense wealth of knowledge.

6. Omgili

A godsend to everyone, who wishes to search thousands of online forums at once. Whether you are interested in gadgets, sport, dating, or science, this is probably the only place, which allows you to find thousands of fellow enthusiasts that share your interests and passions. Using Omgili, you can find communities, message boards, or discussion threads and sort the search results according to time, minimum number of replies, or minimum number of users.

7. Blinx

If you are after videos, then this is the search engine for you. With more than 35 million hours of videos in their database, you are likely to find whatever you are looking for easily. You can also watch the latest news in your browser, browse the twenty or so categories, or find and view the latest movie trailers.

8. AuctionMapper

Could be extremely useful if you want to find everything and anything on EBay. It is an EBay listing centered search engine, which allows you to drill-down the searches, map them to your location, or browse them by categories.

9. Healthline

A health search engine, where you can find tons of useful information on diseases, health conditions, treatments, cures, and even medications. Although it cannot replace a visit to the doctor, it could give you some quick insight on thousands of medical topics.

10. Dogpile

This one has been around for years and is a Meta search engine, which combines results from Bing, Yahoo! Search, and Google and could save you some time if you are not finding enough information on any of them separately. It supports Video, Image, News, White pages, and Yellow pages searches.

Do you have a favorite search engine other than Google? Please share it with the rest of us in the comments section.