Ars Techncia has assembled an article on what certain analysts believe to be the most likely Google killer.  The idea is to have specialized search engines, not try to compete with Google’s mastery over generalized searches.  Some will focus on providing information on local products or services, although Google Maps may well win in that category.  There are also vertical searches which focus on a specific topic and search in a specific set of databases.  The idea being that a professional could search for targeted topics and not be bombarded by the millions of matches a generalized search engine would return, and not have to limit themselves to searching those specific databases one at a time.
“Every few months, someone wonders aloud whether local and vertical search providers will one day kill off Google. These companies offer specialized searches within specific locations or industries; if targeted search results are what you seek, these may provide better answers than a general query. The most recent proponent of this theory is Jason Prescott, who argued last week that “specialty search engines could one day become more important than Google.”

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