FAQ

What is Sifte?

Sifte is a hosted search directory and link verification platform. Website owners submit URLs for manual human review, and approved links can be published in Sifte's verified search index after payment.

How is Sifte different from Google?

Large search engines crawl and rank enormous indexes. Sifte is smaller and reviewed by people. We do not try to index everything.

Each search phrase is intentionally limited, and links are included because they fit Sifte's published quality and eligibility standards.

Do you use AI summaries?

No. Sifte is not trying to replace the page. If you want a chat tool, ChatGPT and Claude already exist and they do that job well. Search should send people to websites. That is the point.

Do you crawl the web or run a big index?

No. Sifte does not crawl. We keep the system small on purpose. The web does not need another infinite index stuffed with SEO noise.

Why are there fewer results?

Because fewer results can be better results. When you are human-curating, you are making a judgment call. You are saying, "These are the sites worth seeing for this phrase."

How do results get added?

A person reviews the site, checks the fit for the phrase, and decides whether it belongs. For obvious official sites and major brands, we include the clear source. For everything else, we rely on human review before it shows up.

What does verification cost?

Submitting links is free. Sifte invoices only accepted links for the selected listing term. Monthly listing is $9.90/month per approved link.

Yearly listing is $99/year per approved link, saving $19.80/year compared with monthly billing. That is 16.7%, or two months free.

Accepted links can also be prepaid for 2, 3, or 5 years to lock the current yearly listing rate for that prepaid term. Rejected links are not charged.

Payment does not buy traffic, clicks, sales, leads, third party rankings, or higher placement inside Sifte. Rankings are based on Sifte's search and quality criteria, not simply on payment amount.

Can I submit more than one link?

Yes. The submission form accepts one URL per line and also supports CSV uploads for bulk submissions.

Submit here: Submit links for verification. Read the submission guidelines first if you are uploading a CSV.

Do you track me like big search engines?

Sifte is built to be simple. We are not trying to be your identity provider, your ad network, and your browser all at the same time. If you ever see Sifte drifting into surveillance behavior, call it out. That is the whole point of building something smaller.

Read the privacy policy for the current data handling terms.

What if I do not see what I want?

That is the tradeoff. A curated system will never cover the entire web, and that is not the goal. If you want fewer results with more judgment, use Sifte.