100 Search Engines Every Business Student Should Bookmark

May 25th, 2010

Learning about business in college can be a great way to prepare yourself for the working world, no matter what field you end up joining. Coursework can create a great foundation to work with, but students can keep up with what’s going on in the business and finance worlds as well as get some help researching for courses from resources on the web. Here are some great search engines that can help you find essential business resources and tools all over the web.

Business Centered

These search engines will help you navigate a wide variety of business topics.

1. Business.com: Through this site you can search for products and businesses and get answers to your business questions.
2. Zapdata: Sign up with this site to search for business data you can use.
3. Bloomberg: Follow the latest business news and fluctuations in the market using this site.
4. BPubs: Here you’ll be able to search for great business-related publications, great for personal and school research alike.
5. ThomasNet: Connect with others in the industries you find intriguing through this site.
6. Corporate Information: Use this search tool to find out more about businesses out there.
7. AllBusiness: There are loads of resources on this site that will help you learn about business and corporations.
8. BusinessInDepth: This site will let you go through business resources by country and search for what you need to know.
9. SmallBusinessExpo: Those hoping to start their own businesses can find a wealth of searchable services, software and franchises here.
10. Where2Go: Search through this site to easily find the resources you need to start and run a business.
11. Small Business Search Engine: This government site is home to numerous search engines that will aid you in searching for everything from legal issues to local policies.
12. TopTenWholesale: Retailers looking for wholesale products can search through thousands of listings here.
13. Zibb: Check out this global business search engine to get news, business updates and more.
14. BusinessSeek: Use this site to find businesses around the world.
15. Masterseek: Find products, news, jobs, business leads and much more through this search engine.
16. Fox Business: If you need a business quote, want some news or videos, this site offers easy searchability.

Entrepreneurs

Those thinking of starting their own business can benefit from these search engines.

17. Angelsoft Investor Search: Need an angel investor? This search engine can help you find one.
18. Business Finance Loans: Search through this site for available business loans.
19. Entrepreneur.com: You’ll find tons of information on starting and running your own business through the search tools on this site.
20. Head Startup: Try out these search tools to find websites, apps and resources for small business.
21. The Funded: Use this online community as a place to search for and see ratings of funding sources worldwide.
22. Vator.tv: Watch videos from other startups on this site and search to see others in your field.
23. Alltop Startups: When you search through this blog aggregator, you’ll get the latest news in entrepreneurship.
24. Young Entrepreneur: Search through this site for helpful articles and advice.
25. Partner Up: Using the search engine on this site, you can find members of this business community who can be investors and partners.
26. Entrepreneurship.com: This organization, dedicated to helping people start their own businesses, is a great place to search for guidance.
27. Inc.com: Try searching through this magazine for articles that fit your research or business needs.
28. Killer Startups: When you search through this site, you’ll find articles on marketing, blogging and technology as well as access to the Datapedia site so you can find relevant business data.

Stocks and Investing

Find out more about the stock market and investing–two essential components of business–from these search engines.

29. DailyStocks: Search for and track all the changes in the stock market using this site.
30. Yahoo! Finance: Follow the latest financial news on Yahoo! Finance.
31. Investor Guide: From managing your own finances to getting help with business prospects, search through this site for helpful articles.
32. Investopedia: This Forbes company will let you search through tutorials, study for CPA exams, and just plain learn more about finance.
33. TradeWiser: You can find an online broker through this site or just get some advice on smarter investing.
34. Dividend: Search for stocks that meet your interests here.
35. Option Find: Find out more about hedging options through this site and search for funds that match your needs.
36. Motley Fool: This site offers users a chance to search for specific information or to browse through articles, tickers and news.
37. Tickerpedia: Here, you can search for stock, Forex or brokers.
38. TradingDay: Search for stocks, highs and lows, quotes and more through this handy site.

All-In-One

These meta search engines will save you time in finding the results you need.

39. Powerset: This site offers a better and more comprehensive way to search through Wikipedia.
40. Dogpile: Search through all the major search engines at once using this site.
41. MetaCrawlerWeb: Save time and search through several search sites at once here.
42. mamma: mamma lets users find images, news, videos and tweets.
43. Myriad Search: Use Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.com at once here.
44. HotBot: This search engine goes through Yahoo!, LyGo and MSN to find the best results.
45. SurfWax: You can search news, RSS feeds, Wikipedia, shopping and more using this tool.
46. Clusty: Using several top search engines, this site combines the results into clusters organized by topic.
47. Copernic Agent: Search the web smartly using this search tool.
48. Scour: Scour makes it easy to get the latest and most popular results in images, news and videos.
49. Vertical Search: Get targeted, relevant search results on this site in a range of categories, including business.

Research

When doing research for your courses, these search engines can be a big help.

50. Google Scholar: This site guarantees that you’ll get great results that are academic and trustworthy.
51. WorldCat: If you can’t find what you want in your own library, use this search engine to locate it.
52. HighBeam Research: Search through tons of articles and journals using this tool.
53. iSeek: This site will deliver results focused on academics and education.
54. Librarian’s Internet Index: Find information you can trust through this search engine.
55. Virtual Learning Resource Center: Search or browse through loads of topics on this site to find the information you need.
56. Open Library: Doing research for a business project? This site can help, with access to lots of free books.
57. Virtual Salt: This site offers access to a variety of search engines as well as listing some tools that can help you find what you need.
58. NoodleTools: Not sure how to go about researching? This site takes into account numerous factors and gives you a plan to get it done.
59. Academic Index: Here you can search through academic and professional resources.

Economics and Finance

Find out more about the world of finance through these search tools.

60. EconLit: Search through numerous articles published in econ journals through this site.
61. National Bureau of Economic Research: Find out more about economic research projects by searching this site.
62. RePEc: Find research papers in economics by searching though the hundreds of thousands of papers listed here.
63. Inomics: Use this site to keep up with the latest news in economics meetings, education and jobs.
64. Google Finance: Follow the markets and important financial news here.
65. DailyFinance: You can search this site for market results, or just read the news published daily.
66. Boardmark: This financial search engine and community will put you in touch with great resources and people.
67. SeekFin: Search the web for the best financial information using this tool.
68. Business Finance: Through this site, you’ll get access to information geared towards business professionals.

Legal

Gain a better understanding of the legal aspects of business by using these tools.

69. FindLaw: Find answers about the law, get access to lawyers, and much more through this site.
70. LawForum: Here you can join in discussions on law and find helpful information through the search functions.
71. Everybody’s Legal Glossary: Use this site to look up legal terms so you can be in the know.
72. Law.com Quest: This search engine focuses on law firm sites and legal blogs to bring you results.
73. FedLaw: If the research you’re doing requires learning more about federal law, then try out this site.
74. World Legal Information Institute: Try out this site to find out about law and legal decisions worldwide.
75. Meta-Index for U.S. Legal Research: This site isn’t a search engine itself but will point you in the direction of dozens of other great searchable sites.
76. LawGuru: Ask a legal question or search through past answers on this site.

Advertising and Marketing

Try out these search engines to research advertising and marketing, past and present.

77. Ad Access:You’ll find over 7,000 ads here that you can search through.
78. Ad Forum: Using this site, you can search through a collection of modern ads and get access to an online community.
79. MarcommWise: Find articles and a glossary on this searchable site.
80. Marketer’s Portal: Search through this site for resources that can help you be a better marketer.
81. Vintage Ad Browser: Get an idea of what ads looked like in past decades from this site.
82. Workbook: This site is an excellent photography and illustration database for advertisers.
83. Marketing Find: Through this search tool, you can find marketing news and helpful apps to navigate the web.

Social Media

These social media search tools will help you better navigate social tools that can help you market and promote your business ventures.

84. Aardvark: Find all kinds of answers to your important questions on this searchable site.
85. Backtype: Type in any URL to this site to see its social impact.
86. Delicious: Use Delicious to search for information that is popular with web users.
87. LinkedIn: LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for searching for business connections.
88. Scoopler: Find out what the biggest scoops are out there in business, technology and more using this site.
89. Technorati: Need a blog? Use this site to search for those related to the topics you need to read about.
90. Taggl: Search for tagged posts relevant to your query on this site.
91. Twingly: You can follow big news stories or help yourself find ones that you really want to read by signing up and searching this site.
92. KnowEm: Search through all the big social media sites to see what people are saying about your company.
93. Omgili: Find communities, message boards and discussion threads about any topic using this search engine.

Green Business

With more and more businesses looking for ways to be green, these search tools can help you learn about the latest developments in sustainable business.

94. EcoBusinessLinks: Through this site, you can search for green products and companies.
95. EcoSeek: This site is a searchable green products directory.
96. GreenGamma: Use this directory to find out how green tech is being used by all kinds of different companies.
97. Green Maven: Search green news sites and blogs using this search engine.
98. GreenBiz: Use this site to find great blog posts and articles on the green business world.
99. Green America: Here, you’ll be able to search for companies who are changing the face of business by becoming greener.
100. Sustainable Business: Learn about green business, investing, connections, jobs and more through the search tools on this site.

1. Jason Decks Says:
   October 12th, 2012 at 12:52 am
   Very useful information you provided in your post. When I first started trading, I could’ve used any information available and even though I’m not a newbie trader anymore, I still find blogs and posts like this a must-read material.

Advertisers, You Need YouTube [Infographic]

Advertisers, You Need YouTube [Infographic]

Video content has experienced enormous momentum in recent years, with YouTube emerging as the digital darling of video seekers and sharers worldwide. The video platform draws 1 billion unique users each month and its ability to catch and keep attention has brought in brands eager to reach those captive consumers. MDG Advertising’s latest infographic highlights YouTube’s astounding numbers of visitors and views, along with the hours spent watching and dollars spent on marketing, and breaks down how brands are channeling their efforts. It’s an eye-opening look at the value of video advertising and illustrates why brands should use YouTube in their social media marketing efforts.

The infographic illustrates the increasing significance of video marketing due to its ever-growing community of loyal users. It explains that video has already caught the eye of marketers who are projected to spend $4.14 billion on the medium this year and invest billions more in the coming years to reach more than $8 billion in 2016. As a result, content marketing has become a top priority to meet consumers’ demand for engaging and informative video content.

Next, MDG’s infographic focuses on the allure of advertising on YouTube and the fact that every company on AdAge’s 100 Leading National Advertisers list is using it to enhance their social media efforts. These video campaigns have delivered impressive results, with the top 500 brands on the platform averaging 884,000 monthly views and 35,000 subscribers. Yet there are still plenty of consumers to capture since these top brands, including Red Bull, Google, Old Spice, Coca-Cola, Samsung, and Volkswagen, average 2.6 million Facebook likes and more than 200,000 Twitter followers. The graphic touches on the top YouTube channels and what they generate socially and financially, and explains how results can go far beyond YouTube. It cites the example of the Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” video advertising campaign, whose stellar YouTube success spawned an 800% leap in Facebook interaction and a whopping 107% rise in sales.The graphic also notes that “Gangnam Style,” the most popular YouTube video ever, saw $870,000 in ad revenue from YouTube.

The graphic offers a glimpse of YouTube’s remarkable growth and reach, showing that 21.7% of Web users visit the video site daily, while nearly 28% check it a few times each week, and 10% visit once a week. Altogether, approximately 60% of Internet users are on YouTube on a weekly basis and more than 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. The infographic shows the video sites favored by U.S. Web watchers and the average time they spend per site. Not surprisingly, visitors have been increasing their viewing time each month, from 3 billion hours in May 2012, steadily rising to 6 billion hours in May 2013.

Finally, the infographic encourages brands to expand their social media efforts by leveraging the influence and exposure of YouTube. As the infographic shows, YouTube offers a captive audience continually searching for fresh and interesting content. Brands would be wise to get involved in this wildly popular video-sharing platform to keep current customers engaged and get new ones intrigued.

ing.com.

Famous entrepreneurs and their stories

We all know of these famous entrepreneurs - people who through their wealth andbusiness success became famous. Just think of the likes of John D. Rockefeller orRichard Branson.

Moguls and tycoons, they are people that had built empires from their businesses and thrived. They are the envy of the common folk, but as per the definition of entrepreneur: they take great risk for the potential of great reward.

This section of my site is dedicated to these famous entrepreneurs who were not necessarily born great, but achieved greatness through their business savvy and the indomitable entrepreneurial spirit.

They are a financial inspiration for the rest of us and by studying their lives and methods we might learn valuable lessons regarding wealth and success.

If they were not born great, what is it that makes them great? Is there one thing that they all have in common or are each and every one different?

Whether they achieved their wealth through oil likeJohn D. Rockefeller or computer software like, currently one of the most famous entrepreneurs, Bill Gates, they all had their fair share of trials and tribulations that they needed to overcome. Valuable insights can be learned from their struggles and how they overcame it.

Do they see the world in the same way that we do or is there something radically different? We can glean insights from their books or the books about them. Thesefamous entrepreneurs may have something valuable to teach us and we have the opportunity to learn by studying them and their history.

In all this we need to remember that they are only humans and they have their own faults and weakness. How they overcome these are what is important to me and the other entrepreneurs out there.

It is mostly their businesses that made these men and women famous. But some of them achieve fame by other means, whether through entertainment like Oprah Winfrey or through their flamboyant lifestyle like Aristotle Onassis.

Whichever means they use or have used, they are custodians of great wealth and with that great wealth come problems that we can only imagine: the extra security needed, the loss of privacy or fights over inheritance. Some have overcome all obstacles and founded dynasties - wealth to last generations.

And then there are the heirs - the inheritors of great wealth, who either spend it all recklessly or have to climb out of the giant footsteps of their forbearers and walk their own path - great challenges in their own right.

These men and women are well known and their fame (or infamy) is indisputable. I set out to learn as much as I can about each and every one of them and then to use theirmethods and techniques in my own life as entrepreneur and my struggle for financial freedom.

The sheer size of the achievements of these famous entrepreneurs is inspiring to me and maybe you and I may be fortunate enough to learn something from these great men and women. All these famous men and women share the same spirit - the Spirit of the Entrepreneur.

List of famous entrepreneurs

• Benjamin Franklin (1/17/1706 - 4/17/1790) - Printing (Pennsylvania Gazette)
• Cornelius Vanderbilt (5/27/1794 - 1/4/1877) - Industry (Shipping & Railroads)
• Andrew Carnegie (11/25/1835 - 8/11/1919) - Industry (US Steel)
• John Pierpont Morgan (4/17/1837 - 3/31/1931) - Banking (JP Morgan)
• John D. Rockefeller (7/8/1839 - 5/23/1937) - Oil (Standard Oil)
• Thomas Edison (2/11/1847 - 10/18/1931) - Inventions (General Electric)
• Henry Ford (7/30/1863 - 4/7/1947) - Automotive (Ford)
• Jean Paul Getty (12/12/1892 - 6/6/1975) - Oil (Getty Oil Company)
• Walt Disney (12/5/1901 - 12/15/1966) - Entertainment (Disney)
• Ray Kroc (10/5/1902 - 1/14/1984) - Fast Food (McDonalds)
• Howard Hughes (12/24/1905 - 4/5/1976) - Aviation (TWA)
• Aristotle Onassis (1/1/1906 - 3/15/1975) - Shipping (Olympic)
• Estee Lauder (7/1/1908 - 4/26/2004) - Cosmetics (Estee Lauder)
• Sam Walton (3/29/1918 - 4/5/1992) - Retail (Walmart)
• Mary Kay Ash (5/12/1918 - 11/22/2001) - Cosmetics (Mary Kay Inc)
• Karl Albrecht (2/20/1920 -) - Retail (Aldi Stores)
• Akio Morita (1/26/1921 - 10/3/1999) - Electronics (Sony)
• Donald Gordon (1929 - ) - Insurance (Liberty Life) & Real Estate (Liberty International)
• George Soros (8/12/1930 - ) - Investments (Quantum Fund)
• Warren Buffett (8/30/1930 - ) - Investments (Berkshire Hathaway)
• Rupert Murdoch (3/11/1931 - ) - Media (Newscorp)
• Herb Kelleher (3/12/1931 - ) - Aviation (Southwest Airlines)
• Ted Turner (11/19/1938 - ) - Media (CNN)
• Carlos Slim Helu (1/28/1940 - ) - Telecoms (Telmex)
• Anita Roddick (10/23/1942 - 9/10/2007) - Retail (The Body Shop)
• Larry Ellison (8/17/1944 - ) - Computers (Oracle)
• Donald Trump (6/14/1946 - ) - Real Estate (Trump Organization)
• Bernard Arnault (3/05/1949 - ) - Luxury Goods (Louis Vitton Moet Hennesy - LVMH)
• Lakshmi Mittal (6/15/1950 - ) - Steel (Arcelor Mittal)
• Richard Branson (7/18/1950 - ) - Business (Virgin Companies)
• Oprah Winfrey (1/29/1954 - ) - Media (Harpo Productions)
• Steve Jobs (2/24/1955 - ) - Computers (Apple)
• Bill Gates (10/28/1955 - ) - Software (Microsoft)
• Mukesh Ambani (4/19/1957 - ) - Industry (Reliance Industries)
• Debbi Fields Rose (9/18/1957 - ) - Retail (Mrs Fields)
• Eike Batista (11/03/1957 - ) - Oil (OGX)
• Deborah Meaden (2/11/1959 - ) - Holidays (Weststar)
• Jeff Bezos (1/12/1964 - ) - Internet (Amazon)
• Michael Dell (2/23/1965 - ) - Computers (Dell)
• JK Rowling (7/31/1965 - ) - Entertainment (Harry Potter)
• Pierre Omidyar (6/21/1967 - ) - Internet (Ebay)
• Elon Musk (6/28/1971 - ) - Internet (PayPal)
• Stella McCartney (9/13/1981 - ) - Fashion (Stella McCartney)
• Mark Zuckerberg (5/14/1984 - ) - Internet (Facebook)

Eluding the Illusion of Time: Douglas Karr on Priorities, Resources, and the Value of Quality

When your goal is to meet a deadline for a project, time can sometimes become your biggest enemy.

It’s not that I don’t understand the work involved to complete a particular task at hand; it’s all of the other unanswered questions that come along with working with clients and teams. I don’t know if my client will provide the resources in time. I don’t know that our team’s resources will be consistently applied. I don’t know if we’ll run into problems with the technology. I just don’t know.

What I do know is that I’ll be held accountable. The problem is that I won’t be held accountable for the result – I’ll be held accountable for the deadline.

When Will it All Get Done?

Recognizing this, I pad project schedules for safety. That said, I am putting my contract and relationship with my client at risk by taking my time estimate, doubling it, and doubling it again… eventually ending up at 4 times the original estimate.

It’s not that I’m lying or trying to delay the project — it’s that I want to ensure it’s done correctly and exceeds the expectations of the client. And, of course, I want to ensure that the client will get the hand-off when they expect it. There are often downstream repercussions when a project isn’t completed on time. This is the critical moment in our relationship. If the client asks their internal staff, the staff will say it takes a fraction of the time. If the client asks a competitor, they’ll undercut me for sure. It’s a critical moment because the only reason why the client would accept my estimate at this point is because they trust me. If they trust me, we’ll move forward. If they don’t trust me, we’ll end the relationship.

It has nothing to do with time and very little to do with the results. Time is an illusion.

What’s Your Hourly Rate?

When I started my business, I responded to one ornery prospect with a rate of $250.00 per hour. He grimaced and literally berated me for the next five minutes or so. He said he could hire someone for one-tenth that rate and there’s no way he would pay it. I asked how much he would pay. He responded $75.00 per hour. So, I told him that I could do it for $75.00 per hour, but that it would take me three times as long as my original quote. I smiled. He didn’t. So I walked.

The illusion of time appears again. Within that discussion, the value of the project at hand wasn’t discussed — only my hourly worth as a human being. If he interviewed 10 people who ranged from $25.oo per hour to $250.oo per hour, I’m confident that the $25.00 per hour contractor would get the contract. I’m also confident that the results were disastrous. Just about every day, we meet with clients who have completely blown their budgets on cheap contractors who couldn’t get the job done.

We don’t manage retainers nor track hours anymore. We set budgets with our clients and have them hold us accountable that the value we generate is greater than the monthly subscription we charge. We like to measure that in increased visibility on search, social, improved conversion rates, and – ultimately – more dollars to the bottom line.

How do you Manage Time?

I don’t. Ten years ago, I started the Marketing Technology Blog and grew a sizable following online. The authority I built, combined with the following, began to drive demand for my services. The demand was enough that I launched my agency 5 years ago. Suddenly, I was a CEO and a blogger. I was recruited to write Corporate Blogging for Dummies. My influence grew, my network grew, and my business grew.

On a daily basis, I have to respond to a dozen or so tweets, a handful of Facebook status updates, dozens of PR pitches, hundreds of emails, a few phone calls an hour… and I need to execute for the clients who are paying my agency. I am surrounded by an amazing team that barely keeps me from drowning and thankfully keeps our clients afloat.

You can’t balance a checkbook when you don’t have enough money to cover the checks. The same goes for time management. When the demand for your time exceeds the number of minutes in the day, there is no time management. At that point, we’re not really managing time — we’re managing priorities.

Prioritization over Preservation

Some folks tell me that what this means is that I’m not charging enough, or I need to grow my business, or I need to say no… but that’s not who I am. I want to stay affordable to most businesses. I want to help more clients improve their marketing results. I want to stay engaged with my following on social media. I want to read every email from a new startup or a public relations professional. I love my disaster of a life!

The result is that I turn away business. Not because of the time it will take or the money it will pay, but because it’s not a fit for my style of work. I’m sure many of you are shaking your heads and some of you probably think I need psychological help, but I don’t. I’m absolutely content with finding and working with businesses that appreciate the value and commitment I bring to their company, instead of holding me accountable for over- or underestimating timelines made for self-preservation.

And I’m not alone. Virtually every client I work with is resource-challenged, and the demands continue to grow. Our service, sales, and marketing staff now balance a plethora of social mediums, a barrage of emails, and the interruption of meetings. They face increased expectations of developing content, nurturing leads, improving customer retention, and acquiring new business — all with less money, fewer people, and just a handful of tools.

Visualization Management

The key to our success isn’t managing time, it’s managing priorities. We balance our publication, our speaking schedules, our sponsors and sponsorships, our audience and our community alongside our clients’ demands. Because of these myriad responsibilities, we use a ton of visualization tools. From cashflow in our accounting platform, to analytics for our audience, to email visualization tools to handle bulk actions (check out Mailstrom), to MindManager and ProjectDirector for identifying obstacles and opportunities to drive business results.

In my opinion, time management is as dead as the corner office, the personal assistant and the flashy gold watch. It’s simply not how we’re working anymore. We have a fixed amount of resources, not a flexible amount of time. The challenge for every successful business is to prioritize their resources effectively — not based on deadlines, but on results.