It might surprise you, but there are search engines out there other than Google! Although Google is the dominant one here in the United States, other search engines are used by millions of people worldwide and serve millions of search queries each day.
What is a Search Engine?
A search engine is software that helps people find what they are looking for online. Simply put, a user types in a question, query, or string of words and the search engine lists the websites that match the search.
What are the Different Search Engines Available?
There are various search engines available, each touting its own unique advantage and services. While the bigger players like Google and Bing provide millions of searches each day, the smaller ones appeal to users who are concerned about privacy, are more comfortable with a language other than English (or simply don’t want to change their default browser setting).
Google is the biggest search engine in the world. It dominates with around 91% market share. Why is Google the most popular search engine? There are a few reasons. First is the quality of results. In the blink of an eye, Google can give a slew of results for a single query. With their ever-changing algorithm, they can provide the best results possible. Google wants you, the user, to have the best experience possible. And so this is why they are constantly updating their algorithms to display the best results. Search results can change from day to day and user to user. This is because Google learns what you are searching for and the content you desire.
Bing
Bing, owned by Microsoft, is another popular search engine. It has about a 3% market share in the US. Its demographic skews older with over half of its users aged 45+. One reason for the older demo is that Bing is the default search engine on Windows devices and many people do not know how to switch their default search engine. Interestingly enough, Amazon Alexa devices use Bing as the search engine, too, as does Xbox which is owned by Microsoft.
Yahoo
Yahoo was the original search engine giant when it launched in the 1990s. Today they are not the giant they once were, with only a little over 1% of market share. Yahoo is sort of a one-stop shop with email, news, weather, daily horoscopes, shopping, and more. Is it not the default search engine on any web browser which could be the main reason why their market share has plummeted into the 21st century. Yahoo’s interface is very similar to Google with sections for maps, videos, people also ask, and related searches.
DuckDuckGo
A newer player in the world of search engines with less than 1% of market share, DuckDuckGo is available on Safari, Chrome, and Firefox and also has an app for Apple and Android mobile devices. Their main focus is that they do not track their users, or store any information about you. This means they will not use the information on your searches and search history to show you ads in the future. People may like this because they want their searches to be safe, secure, and private. Some people find retargeting ads obnoxious and intrusive. However, the results of a DuckDuckGo search might not be as helpful as a Google search would be because they’re not tailored to your past search history or interests.
Yandex
Yandex is another small player with about 1.5% market share in the US. It is a Russian-based company and one of the most-used search engines in Russia. They do however have a .com version that is in English. Yandex grew in popularity since it is specifically designed for the Russian language. The Russian language has different letters and a different alphabet, so having a search engine solely dedicated to this is appealing to those in the US who speak the language. Baidu is another example. While this engine is predominantly used in China, it is used by Chinese speakers in the US as well.
While none of these smaller players is poised to take down Google anytime soon, it’s important to keep them in mind when putting together an SEO strategy – especially if your targets may be using them. Need help optimizing your website for Google and other search engines? Contact us today.