What is DuckDuckGo?
DuckDuckGo is an online search engine whose main selling points to its customers and leverage against its competitors is its simplicity and privacy policy. The search engine does not profile its users to bring personalized search. DuckDuckGo started in 2008 and has grown rapidly with over 2.5 billion private searches in a month. At the bottom of the search engine homepage, the mission is to offer its users privacy on the internet simply.
9 Reasons to Ditch Google for DuckDuckGo
Apart from privacy, DuckDuckGo offers its users numerous other useful features. These features include:
1. Search Engine Landing Pages (SERPs)
Search engine landing pages are the search results search engine displays after you make a query. DuckDuckGo displays ten organic SERP results for each query. There is an option to view more results on the next SERP at the bottom of each SERP.
2. Some Ads at To and Bottom of SERP
DuckDuckGo displays some ads at the top and bottom of each search engine landing page. The number of ads depends on the competition and search volume of the topic and keywords. However, they usually display either one or two ads.
3. Its Web Crawler
DuckDuckGo has its web crawler called DuckDuckBot. It works to deliver the most secure search experience and improve the search results constantly.
4. Over 400 Sources for Search Queries
DuckDuckGo displays search results with the help of its web crawler DuckDuckBot and at least 400 other sources. These sources include search engines like Yahoo, Yandex, Bing, and crowdsourcing sites such as Wikipedia.
5. Location Directions
DuckDuckGo also supports location directions. However, it relies on maps from other sources. Bing Maps are the default source of location directions. However, you can change to HERE Maps, Google Maps, or OneStreetMaps maps for sale.
6. Instant Answers
DuckDuckGo has an Instant Answers feature, which is comparable to Google’s Featured Snippets. It claims that Instant Answers offers results from over 100 sources across the internet.
7. Category Pages
DuckDuckGo’s search results also have category pages. Their category pages offer images and brief descriptions of your search query.
8. Multiple Search Options
DuckDuckGo has vertical search options that determine the form of results you want. These options include image results, news results, Maps reserves video results, and web results.
9. Site Search Command
DuckDuckGo has a site search command known as ‘!Bang’ syntax. You can use it to make your search in one website easier and faster.
Choosing Between DuckDuckGo vs. Google
There are plenty of great Google alternatives out there, but if you are trying to decide between using Google or DuckDuckGo, the following criteria about each of the search engines will help you select one suitable for your needs:
Ease of use
When a search engine is easy to use, it is easier to navigate and get results for your query. DuckDuckGo is easier to use as compared to Google. The former offers a simple user experience through a clean interface. It has the layout and basic concept of other search engines, but it is still aesthetically pleasing.
Google is also relatively easy to use with features like Snippets, making it easy to access information. However, Google constantly tests new features and is a little biased to its products and services.
Privacy
Incase Privacy is a major concern for you, DuckDuckGo is the better option. People share very personal information with a search engine knowingly or unknowingly. Such information includes financial, medical, and other personal information.
Google tracks, mines, and profiles your data. The data plays an important role in Google’s massive ad networks. Advertisers will use this data for advertising and marketing things to you. For example, have you ever searched for something on Google and later found an ad suggesting it in another random site or app?
Moreover, Google’s incognito mode is not as safe as many users assume. The incognito tab will only delete the data locally. However, Google can still link the data to your IP address. Google has even received a fine of $
170 million from the Federal Trade Commission for Data misuse through YouTube. Moreover, Google reports an increase in censorship requests by governments on its citizens.
DuckDuckGo protects the search information of users from legal requests or governments. They do not track your search information whether you use private browsing or not.
Features
When it comes to features, Google is usually the better option. It has the largest search index among all search engines and has the most free tools. An example of notable features includes the G-Suite.
DuckDuckGo also has some useful features such as !Bang, a tool that helps you search a single website.
Market share and Popularity
Google has the largest SEO market share in the world at 87%. DuckDuckGo, on the other hand, has a very small market share. It only has a 2.3% share in the US alone. A large market share is good for advertising and provides more information to your search queries. A small market share indicates that there is room for growth.
Biased Search Results
Google’s search results are usually biased to its products and services. They also deliver search results based on information they collect from your previous searches. Furthermore, Google will also force your search into a local index, such as a local country index.
DuckDuckGo doesn’t deliver results biased to their products, your search profile, or locality.
Ads
The presence of Ads is another factor to consider. Google’s search results and webpages are usually filled with ads. The ads can be nagging and can even cause your device to hang especially mobile devices. Moreover, there are tracking ads present.
DuckDuckGo has minimal ads and does not use tracking ads.
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