Zooqle

Introduction

Where would we be today if it weren’t for Google? Can you even imagine a world in which we didn’t have the answers to any question at the tips of our fingers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? I struggle even to remember what life was like before I had infinite information just a couple of taps away. Some people say that Google could take over the world if they wanted to; to that I say, well, it looks like they already have. Think about how much power this one company has … it is nothing short of mindboggling.

There are still some things that Google is not ideal for, though. And, unfortunately, finding the best torrents on the web seems to be one of them. Google is far from the most torrent friendly search engine on the web. Luckily for us, though, there are plenty of other sites that are much better when it comes to finding as many torrents of your favorite free indie content.

Choose wisely: torrent trackers vs. torrent search engines – Essentially, there are two kinds of sites that exist for browsing and discovering torrents. First, there are the torrent trackers.

The second kind of torrent site that you need to know about in order to become a P2P file sharing expert is the torrent search engine. Similarly to a torrent tracker, a torrent search engine will make it possible to find whatever torrent file it is that you are looking for; the only difference is that torrent search engines merely aggregate their torrents from numerous torrent sites at one time, making them something like the Google of torrenting.

This is not the only way in which a torrent search engine could potentially be a more convenient resource, though. The fact that they draw from multiple separate websites means that they are much more likely to actually have whatever the file it is that you are hunting for. A higher quantity of torrents means a higher probability of high-quality torrents, as well as a greater diversity of files.

Which brings us to the torrent site that we will be taking a look at today: Zooqle. The name, I can only assume, is meant to be a play on Google, letting would-be visitors know right away … this site is the Google of torrents. However, to reduce Zooqle to just calling it “the Google of torrents” would be to do this great site a disservice. It is so much more than that, too.

All that being said, let’s see what sets Zooqle apart from all the other torrent search engines out there, and whether this site has what it takes to become your new go-to source for finding all of the best torrents on the web.

Design

I was immediately impressed with Zooqle from the moment I landed on its home page. As I mentioned earlier, it is somewhat rare to come across a torrent site that offers responsive, experiential, and user-friendly design. This makes some sense, too, when you think about it. The very nature of torrents is to be very data heavy. It can be tricky, then, I would imagine, to try and translate all of that data into a site that is easy to browse and looks good.

Look and experience – Zooqle, however, has defied all expectations. It looks great, offering instead of long lists of text and file names, thumbnail images and a logical and easy way to browse. Plus, the site is much more experiential than many. When you first visit the page, you may be taken aback by how everything looks as if it grayed out. However, hovering your cursor over a file or an image lights it up in full color. I think this is a fun way to add a unique user experience to the site.

You can browse your own way – I cannot believe how many different viewing and browsing options that Zooqle has built into it. On the home page, for instance, you’ll find a few sections of files to choose from, neatly organized by content type.

Another nifty organizational feature that Zooqle has incorporated into their design can be found on the site’s inner pages (the pages you click into to learn more about a torrent).

Free Indie Content and Features

Design, though, is not the only category in which Zooqle shines. This site also offers plenty of awesome user features, making it an easy contender for the best torrent search engines of 2020.

Never be out of the loop – Zooqle allows users to subscribe to their favorite free indie content. By clicking the “Subscribe” button, you will be notified whenever there is a new episode available of your favorite free indie show, or a new release by your favorite free indie musicians. Plus, Zooqle offers a standard RSS feed, too, if that is how you prefer to be notified.

Advanced search – Enjoy an intuitive and user-friendly advanced search without even having to dig too far into the website in order to find it. Next to the search bar at the top of every page, you will also find a button with ellipses on it. Click that in order to access an advanced search window which simply overlays on top of whatever page you happen to be on. Here, you can choose keywords to exclude, exact match phrases, file size range, category, language, and time range (of indexing).

My only real complaint when it comes to this site, however, is its notable lack of free indie music. If Zooqle would start indexing free indie music files along with everything else, it would easily be in my top 3 torrent sites of all time.

Desktop and Mobile Experience

Zooqle has not disappointed in any way, shape, or form as of yet. And it appears as if this site will continue to impress once we take a look at the mobile version. Unlike many torrent sites, Zooqle is 100% optimized for mobile devices. This is great news for those of you who prefer to torrent on the go. The format is ideal for small screens, and the site is just as easy to use on your iPhone as it is on your desktop computer.

The only issue, and I’m really nitpicking here, is the fact that Zooqle does not have an app. 

Conclusion

It is not every day that you come across a site as responsive, experiential, well-designed, and easy to use as Zooqle when it comes to searching for torrents of all kinds. The site offers a great mobile experience, minimal ads, tons of torrents, and plenty of user features.