Google is not the only search engine to use and also to be found by others today. Recently, I was checking my stats on Google Analytics and came across several different search engines besides Google that my site’s visits came from.
A few of them I recognized and a few I did not know about. I thought you would be interested too in these different search engines.
Table of Contents
Google Remains The Biggest Search Engine
In the United States, the biggest search engine went down slightly according to these stats. Within the United States, Google makes up 87.78 percent of the US market share, compared to 91.45 percent worldwide.
However, with the last election and websites being banned and canceled, many people started using other search engines to do their research.
People no longer wanted to be tracked by the big tech giants.
DuckDuckGo Became Popular
Next, along came DuckDuckGo on the rise in 2020. Many web users thought this was the safest search engine if they feared being tracked. DuckDuckGo became the fourth most significant search engine in the US after Bing and Yahoo Search.
According to Oberlo DuckDuckGo now has a 2.56% share of the search engine traffic in the United States. This explains why Google is down in the US but not worldwide. (yet!)
Each time you search on DuckDuckGo, you have a blank search history, as if you’ve never been there before. They do not store your search history as Google does.
CEO Weinberg revealed that people downloaded DuckDuckGo’s browsers and browser extensions 20 million times in 2019 and are doing so at a rate of about 100,000 per day.
According to CNET, DuckDuckGo is sharing data it collected about online trackers with other companies so they can also protect your privacy. Hmm, that doesn’t sound 100% safe to me, how about you?
Now, fast forward to March 11, 2022, and we learn that a conservative news site has been banned from DuckDuckGo. Let’s see how the popularity of this search engine wanes in the coming months.
Update – In June 2022, DuckDuckGo sells user information to Microsoft. I would NOT recommend you use this search engine today.
StartPage Privacy
But to many, the surprise search engine came from the oldie but goodie Start Page. This search engine has been around for many years and is one of the safest for those that do not want to be tracked by big tech online.
According to its founder, Robert EG Beens, “Realizing the huge privacy consequences, I was horrified. I looked through some of these files and the searches that people had typed in – highly personal searches that others would have no business seeing – and that was my epiphany and the moment of realization: my gosh, this is terrible and extremely unethical!”
Hence, Robert began the StartPage search engine back in 2006 after realizing the privacy consequences of Google. The new search engine did well in Germany from the beginning.
That’s where people are most concerned about privacy. As a matter of fact, more users today from the United States are turning to this Google search engine alternative.
So today is #DataPrivacyDay. Let’s start a conversation. What have you done to protect your privacy online?#infosec #PrivacyPlease
— Startpage (@startpage) January 28, 2021
As you can see from the below tweet, StartPage uses zero tracking cookies! This is why it makes alternative search engines the best for privacy when searching online.
We discuss this matter here. 1st party cookies can track you too!
FWIW, we use ZERO tracking cookies.https://t.co/u6fCBA5Kvj
— Startpage (@startpage) March 12, 2021
So you may be wondering, how does StartPage make any money? You get ads based on your search query, not your personal data.
As you can see from the below tweet, StartPage uses zero tracking cookies! This is why it makes their alternative search engine the best for privacy when searching online. #startpage #searchengines Click To TweetEcosia – Another Alternative Search Engine Besides Google
Now, if you are into saving trees and the planet, this different search engine other than Google is for you!
Ecosia is transparent about its financial reports so you can see how they make money and where it goes. Not only that, but they care about your privacy too.
They don’t sell your data to advertisers, nor do they have 3rd party trackers on their search engine. It’s a great alternative to use for different search engines besides Google.
And, What Browser Are You Searching On?
What is the difference between a browser and a search engine?
A browser is your access to the internet, and a search engine allows you to search the internet once you have access. You have to use a browser to get to a search engine.
Brave for Search Without Censorship
Many people use Google Chrome but if you are signed in Google can trace everything you do online. Others may use Microsoft Edge as it comes on many computers already installed. (However, there is not much you can do with Microsoft Edge if you are doing website work!)
I like using Brave for my browser unless I’m doing website work that needs Chrome. When I’m researching or searching online I love using the Brave browser.
Brave is easy to install on your computer and mobile device. Notice below how you can customize your browser experience too! Hence, you can have the news you want to appear in your browser instead of what Microsoft Edge shows you. I love that feature!
What Makes Brave Browser Safer?
Brave loads major news sites up to six times faster than Chrome, Safari, and Firefox on mobile and desktop. They do this because they block harmful ads and ad trackers.
Other browsers claim to have a “private mode,” but this hides your history from others using your browser. Brave lets you use Tor right in a tab. Tor not only hides your history but also masks your location from the sites you visit by routing your browsing through several servers before it reaches your destination. These connections are encrypted to increase anonymity.
Brave has this on desktop and on mobile devices! With Brave’s IPFS Integration, you can browse without fear of censorship from outside influences. It works well on mobile as well.
Of course, when searching on Brave you can use different features besides Google. Go to settings, then search engines. Make your favorite search engine the default for search.
Watch the video below to learn more.
With Brave's IPFS Integration you can browse without fear of censorship from outside influences. #browsers #censorship Click To TweetSwiss Cows Alternative
According to Swiss Cows: Our anonymous search engine protects the privacy of our users when searching and from inappropriate content when finding it. We do not use cookies or other tracking technologies, with us each search query remains anonymous, and each user is a guest without a user profile.
They do have ads on the site as a means of supporting the search engine. They do not store your data and no search history is built up on their platform.
Your Turn: Different Search Engines Besides Google To Use
I’d love to know in the comments which browsers besides Google you are using today. Is privacy important to you?
Let’s discuss this in the comments below.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 11 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
You can purchase her eBook about Twitter on Amazon.
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I’ve been using Ecosia more and more lately. The main thing it lacks is the equivalent of Google News. But it’s great for regular searches, including image searches. And I know that some of its revenue is planting trees, something I hold dear.
Hi David, great to know as I haven’t heard of many using that search engine before. That’s a great way to spend money by planting trees. We can all appreciate that David. Thanks for your input and have a great day.
🙂 I have been using multiple search engines for years (Mainly out of fun).
I love Qwant and I use Startpage daily.
And, yes, I do value my privacy.
Hi Renard, I don’t believe I’ve heard of Qwant. Thanks for the info. I will have to check that one out. Thanks for coming by and have a great day!
Hi Lisa,
This is great information. I see I need to change things up, so thank you for the suggestions. I use DuckDuckGo on my phone but have been hearing not-so-great things about it for a while now. I just hadn’t gotten around to finding an alternative until now. The biggest issue is Chrome is just so convenient. Probably only because it is what I am used to using.
I think I will check out Brave and Startpage on my phone for now and see how it goes.
SharlaAnn
Hi SharlaAnn. I’m so glad you found it informative. Yes, I had published this prior then updated it once I learned the latest about DuckDuckGo and the hashtag #duckduckgone LOL. I still use Chrome for some work but rely more on Brave and racking up the free points for crypto. I have Brave on my mobile and love the ease of bookmarking sites on it. It will be interesting to see how the search traffic goes going forward with these players in the market. Thanks for coming by and have a fabulous day SharlaAnn.
I’m seeing a few visits from DuckDuckGo and even more from Bing.com
Not that much as you can get from Big G., but still, something to worth considering.
How many visits are you getting from them, Lisa?
By the way, nice to see your new blog design. 🙂
Bing seems to gain market share quite a bit Lisa. I like that. I am for an abundant approach to search; different folks using different search engines dissolves fear-based, competitive practices used by the big ones like Google. Same approach applies to Facebook and Twitter regarding social media.
Ryan
Hi Ryan, Yes, it was amazing to see Google losing some of the market shares on search 🙂 I hear new ones may be on the horizon as well. You are correct, it’s like social media as well. Many leaving the old massive ones for newer less censored ones. Thanks for coming by and make it a great day there Ryan!
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for listing this information. I’ve only used DuckDuckGo and I realize I’m making the mistake of always using Chrome. Hmmm Time to make some changes and use other ways. I never wanted to please the Google Gods, but wrote content for others to help them out. That’s where my head was at. But now, after reading this, there has to be some tweaks I need to make. Thanks so much my friend,
-Donna
Hi Donna, you are most welcome 🙂 Yes, you have to make it a habit and that does take time! I’m glad you found it helpful and can make some tweaks along the way. Take care and I hope you can enjoy the nice weather today.
Hi Lisa,
Your blog article is useful because we are more focused on driving traffic from Google so much that marketers forget about other helpful sources of search traffic. In fact, a moment ago, I found out that I’m getting traffic from DuckDuckGo, Bing, Yahoo, and a few others. I can’t even remember their names. So, if marketers should concentrate on driving traffic from other search engines other than Google, we will see a significant increase in organic web traffic and leads.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Moss, thank you. I’d agree that many don’t realize they are getting organic traffic from other search engines other than Google today. It’s a trend I’ve noticed for a while now. Do you use Bing webmaster tools Moss? That’s another with Microsoft Edge browser. Thanks for coming by and have a great weekend Moss!
Thanks for pointing out some options Lisa. I am attempting to reduce reliance on Google. I use DDG with Firefox on Linux, Google and Chrome on Android, and DDG and Safari on iOS. Firefox feels clunky and isn’t as stable on my phone for some reason. Having built in cross platform password and bookmark sync is very helpful. The built in web dev tools on Firefox and Chrome are handy at times, too.
Wow! Brave did it. Fast and smooth on iOS and syncing was easy. Thanks this helps a bunch.
Yay, I am so happy to hear that Eric. I have it on my Android as well. It does work well on mobile. So glad it worked for you too 🙂
You are most welcome Eric. I know many are trying to do away with Google or at least their dependence solely on them. I have yet to change my email but have thought about that too 🙂 Thanks for coming by on this one Eric and have a great day!
It’s great to have options, Lisa! So glad you mentioned Brave because that is what I use. I do have to use Google Chrome for my work because there are so many helpful extensions needed. However, my personal, I use Brave. I don’t want to be tracked and I want to be secure! Startpage isn’t bad either, but still prefer Brave to it. 😉 Thanks for sharing these, Lisa! Passing it on!
Hi Bren, Yes, I love using Brave as my browser. I then use Startpage there to search. I have to check and see how many extensions are available on Brave compared to Chrome – excellent point Brenda. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day!