When you ask a person where they normally research stuff, Google is always the first answer you’ll get. Maybe it’s because of the user-friendly interface or amazing search capabilities—but whatever it is, Google has never been more popular.
Today, it has over 90% of the search market share and 95% of mobile traffic worldwide. Hence, many companies utilize it through search engine optimization (SEO) to increase their visibility and website traffic.
But while Google offers many advantages, there are also other search engines that can help you with your SEO strategy. If you’re a beginner who’s just starting to delve into the realm of SEO, you don’t need to limit yourself to one tool alone. Explore lots of alternative search engines that can potentially offer untapped opportunities for online visibility and growth. Below are a few that you can leverage in your SEO journey!
Top Search Engines
You know how important developing an SEO strategy is, but limiting yourself to one search engine will only miss potential traffic on other sources. Sure, Google is popular. However, it’s the same popularity that makes it even more challenging to get yourself a favorable ranking.
You must go beyond the confines of Google because there are a lot of search engine options that can help you get to the result you want. Let’s take a look at the five best alternative search engines for SEO.
Bing
Microsoft’s Bing takes second place in the most prominent search engine, raking over 2% of worldwide searches. It offers a more visual experience than other search engines, providing you with background photos and larger thumbnails. And while you think this number is too low compared to the search traffic in Google, it still matters and can be of advantage in SEO. Since there’s a lower search volume, businesses tend to neglect the tool, resulting in lower competition.
The only thing you must do is to learn how the algorithm works in Bing—which is remarkably different from Google. For instance, when it comes to Page Authority. Bing tends to lean more toward sites that have great Page Authority. Beyond that, there are many things that you should know. Read through their webmaster guidelines to come up with the right SEO strategies that can help improve your website’s visibility.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is one unique website because it cares a lot about user privacy. They do not collect, monitor, or even store anything regarding users’ actions on the website. It’s that commitment to privacy that makes it grow so much since its launch in 2018.
But besides privacy, DuckDuckGo is also known for having a clean interface with its one search result page. Users can easily scroll through all the results until they reach the end of the page.
Finally, there’s this feature called bangs that allows you to search directly within another website by simply typing “!” before the name of the website and your query. For example, typing “!amazon yellow dress” will take you to Amazon’s search results for the query “yellow dress.”
All these features make it a great alternative to Google for users who value their privacy. So, capitalize on that to get more traffic and conversions. Tailor your SEO strategy to DuckDuckGo, which tends to put more emphasis on content quality and website security. You can use ChatGPT for content ideas and SEO recommendations.
Yahoo!
Yahoo! may not be as big as Google, having only 1.09% of the worldwide market share as of June 2022-2023, but it’s still worth considering. Thus, optimize your content for that platform, focusing on On-Page SEO and including keywords on titles, tags, and content.
Ask
Ask, once known as Ask Jeeves, is another search engine that you can leverage for SEO. They had 12.5 million visits in June 2023, which were mostly from the United States (US). Optimizing your content for Ask will be a good idea to get web traffic or convert people who are still using the platform.
EcoAsia
With environmental issues getting more prominent, many are now taking a stand and trying to change their lifestyle to a more sustainable one. Besides eliminating plastics and using eco-friendly materials, they also try to reduce their carbon footprint in the online world through Ecosia. This search engine plants a tree for every search, and it successfully funded 170 million trees already. When it comes to search engine market share, it only has 0.9%. This may be low, but it can still help you grow your lead pool.
Social Media Platforms As Search Engines
Besides your regular search engines, social media can take your SEO strategies to a whole new level. In 2021 alone, there are over 4.6 billion people using social media platforms. And nowadays, a business can only be seen as legitimate if they have a reputable page with visually-pleasing graphics. Hence, it makes a great alternative search engine for SEO. Below are a few social media platforms that can help you:
YouTube
While mostly used for entertainment, YouTube is considered the second-largest search engine in the world. It has over 2 billion active users and changes the game in SEO by using videos instead of written content. You must then optimize those contents by incorporating keywords into engaging titles, compelling descriptions, and helpful tags. Leveraging the power of YouTube SEO can help drive more traffic to your website.
TikTok
TikTok is another platform that focuses on video content but can help create a buzz for your brand. But unlike YouTube, TikTok focuses on short-form videos. You must then be creative with your content to draw attention and get more traffic. Otherwise, TikTok users will scroll past your post in a quick second.
But of course, you’ll only gain traffic if it’s visible—hence, incorporating SEO best practices is important. In the videos you post on TikTok, always double-dip your main keyword by including an in-text overlay on your short-form videos. Then, add relevant keywords and hashtags in the caption, which is a critical factor in the platform’s algorithm. Finally, optimize your TikTok profile because it will help improve your entire account’s visibility.
With over 2.3 billion active users on Instagram, it would be an advantage for your brand to be known on the platform. All you have to do in every photo, video, reel, or story you post is add relevant keywords and hashtags on the caption, alt text, and subtitles. It would also help to tag the location of the post because Instagram has a map that functions as a local business search.
According to Forbes, Facebook is the most used social network, with 2.4 million monthly active users worldwide. It has one of the largest organic reach opportunities, so take advantage of that. Optimize your Facebook page by using your main keyword on your page title, about section, vanity URL, and description. Moreover, always make every post SEO-friendly by adding relevant keywords and hashtags.
The Bottom Line
You see, there are numerous alternative platforms that you can use for SEO. From your usual search engines to social media platforms, you got plenty of options to expand your reach. You can even utilize Amazon and Walmart if your business is operating in the e-commerce world. By taking advantage of these alternative search engines, you can improve your SEO strategy and reach a wider audience.
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