September 26th, 2016
Believe it or not, there is a search engine world outside of Google -- and it's one that you should be paying attention to. Many people are beginning to feel that Google has too much power, is too finicky with its algorithm, and is devoting too much SERP space to PPC ads. As a result, more people are turning to alternative search engines than ever before.
If search engine optimization is what you're after, don't focus all of your efforts on Google alone. Here are five other search engine sites that actually offer perks over the "master of all domains." Soon, they might be the ones driving web traffic.
- Bing: Most people have at least heard of Microsoft's search site, even if they've never seen it in action. Bing's crawlers are minuscule compared to Google's, but they do offer a more comprehensive video search with thumbnails and additional auto-fill suggestions.
- DuckDuckGo: This site is all about privacy and protection, something Google critics say is seriously lacking with standard search. DuckDuckGo never retains user data, so you can search for all of those embarrassing WebMD queries without fear.
- Ask: You remember Ask Jeeves, don't you? He's still around, trying to answer all of your questions. The "Popular Q and A" feature is also fun for when you just need the answer to a question you didn't know you should ask, like "How far can a helicopter fly without refueling?"
- Giphy: The future of communication is the almighty GIF. And if you want to conquer social media, there's still no better way to go viral than a truly exceptional reaction gif.
- Dogpile: This is a site that actually curates search results from other search engines -- including Google, Yahoo!, and the dominant search engine in Russia, Yandex -- but without all the ads. Win? We think so.
Perhaps it's too soon to say that any of these websites might actually be able to overtake Google any time soon. In fact, the second-largest search engine in the world, YouTube, gets more hits than Bing, Yahoo!, Ask, and AOL combined -- and, of course, they're owned by Google.
But never underestimate the power of the underdog. Take non-Google streams into account as you build your SEO strategy, and you may reap the benefits of an "alternative" society.