views:

75

answers:

2

Are there any web search APIs or search engines that allow automated queries?

+1  A: 

I think that the answer is no. Or at least, there is no service that will allow to do this without a prior commercial agreement.

If you were to use a search service in this way, you would be using the service's infrastructure and other resources for free, and at the same time eating away at their advertising revenue. It is not at all surprising that search services are not happy for you to do this.

(For the record, I checked the terms of service for Bing, Lycos, Altavista, MetaCrawler and a couple of others. They all take pretty much the same position ...)

Stephen C
Okay thanks. Guess I need to use an alternative source of data for my application.
Spi1988
Look into ScrubTheWeb and Gigablast. Gigablast has limited free queries.
Dave Jarvis
+2  A: 

Engines that forbid automation in their terms of use:

Engines where the terms of service do not explicitly prohibit automation:

Engines where the terms of service are questionable:

Dave Jarvis