diff --git a/plugins/alert.py b/plugins/alert.py
index 452f8e6..13a612f 100644
--- a/plugins/alert.py
+++ b/plugins/alert.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import asyncio
 import json
 import re
+import ssl
 import urllib.request
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
@@ -271,11 +272,22 @@ async def _poll_once(bot, key: str, announce: bool = True) -> None:
     loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
 
     for tag, backend in _BACKENDS.items():
-        try:
-            items = await loop.run_in_executor(None, backend, keyword)
-        except Exception as exc:
-            data["last_error"] = f"{tag}: {exc}"
-            had_error = True
+        items = None
+        for attempt in range(3):
+            try:
+                items = await loop.run_in_executor(None, backend, keyword)
+                break
+            except (ssl.SSLError, ConnectionError, TimeoutError, OSError) as exc:
+                if attempt < 2:
+                    await asyncio.sleep(2 ** attempt)
+                    continue
+                data["last_error"] = f"{tag}: {exc}"
+                had_error = True
+            except Exception as exc:
+                data["last_error"] = f"{tag}: {exc}"
+                had_error = True
+                break
+        if items is None:
             continue
 
         seen_set = set(data.get("seen", {}).get(tag, []))
diff --git a/tests/test_alert.py b/tests/test_alert.py
index c3881d5..ef393f8 100644
--- a/tests/test_alert.py
+++ b/tests/test_alert.py
@@ -1220,7 +1220,7 @@ class TestSearchSearx:
             def close(self):
                 pass
 
-        with patch.object(_mod, "_urlopen", return_value=FakeResp()):
+        with patch("urllib.request.urlopen", return_value=FakeResp()):
             results = _search_searx("test query")
         assert len(results) == 3
         assert results[0]["id"] == "https://example.com/sx1"
@@ -1237,13 +1237,13 @@ class TestSearchSearx:
             def close(self):
                 pass
 
-        with patch.object(_mod, "_urlopen", return_value=FakeResp()):
+        with patch("urllib.request.urlopen", return_value=FakeResp()):
             results = _search_searx("nothing")
         assert results == []
 
     def test_http_error_propagates(self):
         import pytest
 
-        with patch.object(_mod, "_urlopen", side_effect=ConnectionError("fail")):
+        with patch("urllib.request.urlopen", side_effect=ConnectionError("fail")):
             with pytest.raises(ConnectionError):
                 _search_searx("test")