by Kyle G. Mork

When it comes to uploading and distributing files over the Internet the file hoster Rapidshare seems to be the number one choice for many users. Rapidshare does provide free upload space and downloads to its users which is why it has been made a repository of files for many.

Inexperienced users have difficulties tapping into the vast resources that Rapidshare is providing on the Internet. Search engines can help all users access the file repository easily.

The upload process at Rapidshare works basically like the following: A user selects the upload option at the main website, picks a file from his local computer and watches how the file got transferred to the file hoster.

Once the upload has been completed they get a download link that is pointing to the upload file on the Rapidshare website. The link can then be shared with friends, relatives or other associates. Large scale distribution on the other hand is only possible when dealing with search engines and sites that take advantage of them.

A simple search query working on all search engines out there is to enter Rapidshare and the desired file name or type of file that should be searched for. This approach is flawed. It will find a few files but it will also turn up deleted files and links to other websites that do not contain links to files that can be downloaded from Rapidshare.

The other reason? Is that there’s a smorgasbord of specialized sites which actually contribute a lot of the links one finds on Google searches of Rapidshare to begin with. These, we will look at more closely.

The sheer bulk of specialized Rapidshare search engines is stunning at first, and many are rather serviceable. If one were to input the Google query “rapidshare search”, many such sites would turn up, enough to make it impractical to list. Unlike Google, which has a massive architecture designed to effectively search the entire internet, these sites use a different strategy to serve the needs of Rapidshare searchers.

Their bots crawl through rapidshare – or sites likely to have Rapidshare links – and harvest thousands of download page links to be archived in their database. Then, these sites provide the links based on the filenames, check them to ensure Rapidshare is still hosting the files, and present the results to the searcher.

About the Author:
Kyle G. Mork is an expert Internet search analyst contributing articles like Rapidshare Search or Megaupload Captcha Auto Fill information.