What Are the Top 5 Search Engines?

• People use search engines to look for all kinds of information online. Mensch und Computer image by Sven Rausch from Fotolia.com

  Among the wide variety of search engines in existence as of 2010--some more specialized than others--a few rise to the top of the rankings nearly every year. The leading search engines all use different algorithms, each with unique features and an easily distinguishable appearance. All perform the same general functions, however.

Google

• The number one search engine, Google, accounts for 70 percent of all Internet searches conducted. As of 2010, Google is the second most heavily trafficked website on the Internet, surpassed only by Facebook. Google's popularity has led to the word "google" becoming a verb listed in several dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary. This top-ranked search engine was launched in 1997.

Yahoo!

• Yahoo! boasts the second most popular search engine as of 2010, with users conducting nearly 15 percent of all Internet searches via its engine. Yahoo!, founded in 1994 by two students at Stanford University, is technically powered by Microsoft Bing.

Bing

• As of 2010, Bing, Microsoft's search engine, accounts for 10 percent of all Internet searches. Officially launched in 2009, Bing is a rebranding and extension of Microsoft's Live Search and MSN Search.

Ask.com

• Coming in fourth is Ask.com, with around two percent of Internet searches. Ask.com, founded in 1996, was initially known as Ask Jeeves. The name was shortened to Ask in 2005.

AOL Search

• Approximately one percent of Internet searches are performed via AOL Search. America Online launched AOL Search in 1999. Despite several relaunches and updates, the search engine has retained the same name.