Mountain View, Calif.-based SearchMe.com's search engine starts out like any other — with one search field against a plain background.
But once a user enters a search term, the engine presents the user with handy icons to help them narrow their search. For example, a search for "diamondback" will return icons for reptiles, cycling, insects, golf and other topics. Once a user chooses an icon, SearchMe will disregard all other areas and only search in the chosen category.
After that, SearchMe's premier feature kicks in. The final search results are shown as a series of full-page images that the user can scroll through, much like Apple's album-cover gallery used on its iPhone, iPod, and in its iTunes music program.
Adult industry professionals told XBIZ they were impressed by SearchMe, and most agreed that showing a user the look and design of a website sooner rather than later can ensure that all-important first click.
"I think this is an incredibly effective way to find what you are looking for," Tonya of PlugInFeeds told XBIZ. "In this industry, it's all about what catches your eye. For instance, if you're searching for MILF content, you can view each of the sites and find what most attracts you personally instead of clicking all the links only to be disappointed."
But Braincash President Fred Valiquette said Google was already working on including some of SearchMe's features into its own online juggernaut.
"It's a step further into semantic web, but I doubt [SearchMe] will be able to beat Google in the search game," he said. "Sorting by categories related to a word is something that Google is already testing."
SearchMe is currently beta testing.