Search engines are immensely important tools for marketing and SEO strategies. Most people overlook the value of other search engines and immediately open Google without a second thought. While there’s a reason that so many people use Google, we’re going to walk you through some of the other search engines that people are using. Here’s your guide to the best search engines.
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What Is the Best Search Engine?
Before we get into naming and explaining each search engine, you might be wondering which one is truly the best without bias. The simple answer is that it’s up to personal preference. Of course, with over 90 percent market share, it’d be absurd not to recognize that Google is nearly synonymous with the words “search engine.” That said, Google is not the only search engine on the market that has many users. There are plenty of alternative search engines. Other search engines might offer features more suited to your business or individual browsing needs. In order to find the best search engine for you or your business, take a look at the list below.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who hasn’t used Google. It’s considered one of five Tech Giants in the industry and often referred to as the best search engine. Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1996 as a research project at Stanford University, the vision for Google was to create an algorithm based on websites’ relationships with each other. The company has come a long way since then, incorporating ads, apps, and other web-based services to its users. Sure, there are plenty of reasons that Google is the number one search engine around the globe, but let’s take a look at the full picture.
Pros of Google
There are plenty of pros to using Google for marketing your business or simply just for browsing. First, the website is user-friendly. Not only does user-friendliness open it up to a larger community of users, but it’s also easier for marketers to understand how the search engine works.
Additionally, Google updates its search engine results frequently. While some of the changes made are known and some are unknown, the site is clearly focused on producing the most relevant results. This is another advantageous feature of Google. The company is well-reputed for providing quality search results.
But the main appeal of Google has to be the potential for massive traffic to your website. Because more people are using the search engine, you have a higher potential for your website to be seen in its search results.
Cons of Google
Just as the potential for traffic is considered a pro for Google, you could also consider it a con. This means that while there is great potential for increased traffic to your website, there’s a boatload of competition for it. Organic search is the most competitive on Google out of all the search engines. And of course, paid searches are more expensive than other websites.
Another downside to using Google as a search engine for personal browsing is that the company records and sells its users’ data to advertisers. Along with that, Google produces too many search results to manually look over.
Microsoft Bing
Though not as popular as Google, Bing is Microsoft’s search engine. In 2009, Bing replaced MSN Search in an effort by the company to re-brand. It is the second-largest search engine and accounts for about 30 percent of all searches in the United States.
Pros of Bing
Like Google, Bing is easy to use, but it provides its users with a more visual experience in surfing the net. This visual aspect manifests itself in daily backgrounds and thumbnails that correspond to each search. Unlike Google, where titles and meta descriptions draw readers in, pictures play a vital role.
Bing is also well respected in many markets, including in the United States. The search engine hosts a range of internal features, similar to Google, like translation and currency conversion.
As for SEO, you won’t see as many professionals vying for the top ten spots because the Bing algorithm isn’t as complex as Google’s. This means that it is easier to understand and predict where your website will rank. Additionally, as it pertains to ads, you can advertise on Bing for significantly less money than on Google. And since the average age of Bing users is between 55 and 64, it could be advantageous to advertise to people with more spending power.
Cons of Bing
Of course, the biggest con to Bing is that it receives less traffic than Google. It is far less used than Google even as it holds the second-largest percentage of market share. Bing also ranks reputable websites ahead of newer ones, favoring reputation over fresher content.
DuckDuckGo
Relatively new to the market and founded in 2008, DuckDuckGo is a search engine based upon the issue of protecting the privacy of its users. In fact, the search engine doesn’t even know the number of users it has because it doesn’t track them.
Pros of DuckDuckGo
On DuckDuckGo, each user is anonymous. The app doesn’t collect any of your information. This means that you won’t see any targeted ads while browsing, and you won’t run into social engineering techniques based on your searches and interests. It even has an infinite scroll feature, unlike Google’s page-based approach.
Cons of DuckDuckGo
Again, since it’s not Google, one of the cons of DuckDuckGo is that it receives less traffic. Additionally, there are some nice extra features but not nearly as many as Google. And, because of its dedication to the goal of achieving complete privacy for its users, DuckDuckGo doesn’t even record your search history.
Yahoo
Like Bing, Yahoo is one of the better-known search engines. In the early days of web surfing, it certainly had its moment as a close competitor to the now-dominant search engine. Since then, it has lost that momentum, though it still is one of the most visited search engines worldwide.
Pros of Yahoo
Yahoo has some great built-in features comparable to Google’s services. The search engine provides email, games, news, and online shopping to its users. In fact, Yahoo’s shopping feature is much better than most other search engines.
Cons of Yahoo
Yahoo is a little less maintained than most other search engines. The search results are undated and the ads go unlabeled. This can cause confusion as to which links show up as organic search results and which are paid ads.
Ecosia
Similar to DuckDuckGo, Ecosia is a search engine with its focus on solving a specific issue that the others don’t address. Ecosia donates 80 percent of its profits to nonprofits that help reforestation. The website even has a personal counter of searches that translates to “trees planted” by the user. The Ecosia website claims that it takes a user 45 searches to plant a tree.
Pros of Ecosia
By simply surfing the net on Ecosia instead of Google, you’re contributing to a tree being planted. Ecosia’s design is sleek and minimalistic, seeming to have drawn inspiration from Google, and it’s relatively user-friendly.
Cons of Ecosia
Sometimes, search results can come out irrelevant to your search, which is certainly an issue if you’re looking for a consistent search engine. Additionally, the image search results can run pretty limited.
Wolfram Alpha
This search engine markets itself as a set of algorithms that “automatically answer questions, do analysis and generate reports.” Its databases cover a number of different topics, like Math, Science & Technology, Culture, and Everyday Life.
Pros of Wolfram Alpha
Wolfram Alpha computes an answer to your question rather than providing you with a list of related search results. On the main search page, not only is there the search function but there are suggested subjects for users to peruse. Users can even randomize a search result if they would simply like to learn something new.
Cons of Wolfram Alpha
Because the search engine runs on a database of knowledge, not every question can be answered. If you are looking to get a straight answer to your specific question every time, you’ll be disappointed. Additionally, to access most other features, users must pay for the pro-package, making other search engines more desirable for their free services.
Boardreader
This search engine is different from the others, similar to Wolfram Alpha. It allows you to search internet forums rather than filter through web pages or using a search engine’s forum site like Yahoo Answers or Quora.
Pros of Boardreader
If you are researching a niche topic, you can easily find answers to your questions from real people. If you’re interested in a specific topic and want to join a community to discuss it, Boardreader can be a good tool to find the community you’re looking for.
Cons of Boardreader
Because the results are from forum pages and message boards, the quality of the content you’ll find on Boardreader can be questionable. Additionally, it’s easier to find some of the more unsavory sides of the internet, as people are more likely to troll on forums.
Choose the Best Search Engine for You
Ultimately, the best search engine for you is going to be based on what you need it to do for you. Whether you’re interested in helping Ecosia plant trees with each search or you want your browsing to stay private, it doesn’t hurt to feel around the industry a bit before heading straight to Google.
If you have any questions about choosing the right search engine, or you’re interested in learning about our range of digital marketing services, reach out to SEO Design Chicago today.
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