Why should you consider trying DuckDuckGo?

When I started my virtual assistant journey 11 years ago, we virtual assistants used to say among ourselves that Google is our lifeline. Even today, if we need to tell someone to find something online, we often say, “Google it.”

Back then, we used to consider ourselves search wizards after learning various Google shortcuts, such as exact, insite, or filetype searches.

Though ChatGPT-4 and Perplexity effectively got their share in our search lives, the bond with Google is still intact. It flourished more with the advent of Google Gemini.

However, when I came across DuckDuckGo a few years ago, I felt it was worth trying to extend and improve our search experience beyond Google!

Why DuckDuckGo?

The DuckDuckGo browser is a fast, free, and privacy-focused alternative to mainstream browsers like Chrome.

What is DuckDuckGo?

DuckDuckGo is a private search engine that puts user privacy and security at the forefront. Unlike other search engines, DuckDuckGo does not track your searches or browsing history, ensuring comprehensive online privacy protection. This search engine is designed to be the default search engine for those who value their online privacy and wish to opt out of targeted ads and tracking. By using DuckDuckGo, you can enjoy a private search experience without the worry of your data being collected or shared with 3rd-party companies. Additionally, DuckDuckGo's Global Privacy Control (GPC) feature helps users express their opt out rights automatically, ensuring compliance with relevant privacy laws.

DuckDuckGo is growing fast, mostly because of privacy. By 2024 they’ve done over 112 billion searches, 35 billion in 2021 alone. Globally they have 0.71% market share, 2.11% in the US. They’re killing it in mobile, 63.1% of their traffic is mobile, 10 million app downloads and 5 million Chrome extension users.

Privacy matters deeply, especially in places like the US and Indonesia, that’s why they’re growing steadily. They’re still far behind Google with 70-100 million users, but DuckDuckGo is becoming a force to be reckoned with in privacy-focused search. 71.9 billion searches by January 6 2024 and 16.12 million daily visits, they’re making a space for themselves in the search landscape.

And they're not doing it alone—DuckDuckGo pulls search results from over 400 different sources, ensuring depth and breadth of information.

DuckDuckGo Private Search Engine Does Not Track You!

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that cares about keeping your search history private and giving you fair search results. Unlike some other search engines, it doesn’t spy on what you’ve searched for before or gather any of your info.

That means when you search with DuckDuckGo, you’ll see results based purely on what you’re looking for right now, not what you’ve looked at in the past.  This helps prevent you from being stuck in a bubble where you only see things that match your preconceived notions. Instead, you’ll get a broader range of information to explore.

It’s an excellent option for users who value privacy and control over their search results.

You might say, but hold on! Does not Google Incognito offer similar features?

Well, no!

Google Incognito mode might seem similar to DuckDuckGo, but they work differently.

Google Incognito only clears your search history and browsing data, but it doesn’t make your online activity entirely private. Internet service providers, employers, schools, or the websites you visit can still track what you’re doing even in Incognito mode.

Conversely, DuckDuckGo doesn’t record your searches, giving you a private search experience.

DuckDuckGo offers a simple search experience with no tracking!

However, like Google, it also has a paid ad feature (way fewer!), wherein sponsored ads appear at the top of the search results.

How DuckDuckGo Works

DuckDuckGo operates using a unique approach to search engine technology. It combines its own web crawler with external search APIs to deliver relevant search results. DuckDuckGo's Global Privacy Control (GPC) feature allows users to express their opt-out rights automatically, informing websites not to sell or share personal information. What sets DuckDuckGo apart is its commitment to user privacy and security. The search engine blocks 3rd-party trackers, ensuring that your search experience remains private. Additionally, DuckDuckGo offers a variety of features, such as instant answers, news, and images, all while maintaining your privacy. This means you can get the information you need without compromising your personal data.

Search Without Being Tracked

DuckDuckGo’s private search engine is designed to protect your online privacy. Unlike other search engines, DuckDuckGo does not track your searches or browsing history. This means that you can search the internet without worrying about being tracked by advertisers or other third parties. Our private search engine is built on the principles of Global Privacy Control, which allows you to opt out of tracking automatically. With DuckDuckGo, you can enjoy comprehensive online privacy protection and browse the internet with confidence.

Making Money Without Tracking

At DuckDuckGo, we believe that you don’t have to sacrifice your online privacy to make money. Our private search engine is supported by ads, but we don’t use targeted ads that track your browsing history. Instead, we show you ads based on the keywords you search for. This approach allows us to generate revenue without compromising your online privacy. We also offer a paid subscription service, Privacy Pro, which provides additional features such as a VPN, personal information removal, and identity theft restoration.

Save Time with DuckDuckGo's Instant Search Results

One feature that I like about DuckDuckGo is its “Bangs” feature! It allows you to search other websites directly without visiting them first. For example, if you type in “!w One Direction”, you will be taken directly to the Wikipedia page for One Direction. This can save you time and clicks when searching for specific information on a particular website.

The search engine blocks 3rd-party trackers, ensuring that your search experience remains private. DuckDuckGo Private Search offers comprehensive privacy features, allowing users to search the web without being tracked and preventing data collection through various protections.

This means you can get the information you need without compromising your personal data. Additionally, DuckDuckGo provides free tracking protections that prevent hidden trackers, block third-party cookies, and enforce encryption, ensuring your online activity remains confidential and secure from unwanted surveillance.

Not Isolating Your Audience

Relying solely on one platform, whether it’s Google, Bing, or even DuckDuckGo, can alienate parts of your target audience. For example, if your business sells “electronic gadgets” and you only focus on optimizing your Google search ranking, you might miss out on potential buyers who are gadget enthusiasts but prioritize privacy. These potential customers might not use Google and could be overlooked if you don’t diversify your online presence. Utilizing the DuckDuckGo search engine can help you reach privacy-focused users who value data protection and limited tracking.

Ever-Changing Google Algorithms 

Google periodically changes its ranking and algorithm rules, so no traffic or ranking is permanent. Focusing only on Google ranking is similar to keeping all your eggs in one basket.

Google has become stricter with its policies over time, and so every business is likely to be penalized by Google. Global Privacy Control (GPC) is a feature that helps users manage their data privacy in compliance with various laws. GPC helps users express their opt-out rights automatically, ensuring compliance with various data privacy laws. And if it ever happens, your online presence will get severely hampered.

Don’t rely only on Google. Use social media, emails, other search engines, and forums to reach more people. This way, if your Google ranking changes, you still have different ways to connect with your audience.

Is DuckDuckGo Trustworthy?

DuckDuckGo is an independent internet privacy company dedicated to protecting user privacy and security. The company has built a strong reputation for transparency and accountability. Its search engine and browser are free from targeted ads and tracking, and DuckDuckGo does not collect or share user data with 3rd-party companies. With its comprehensive online privacy protection and unwavering commitment to user privacy, DuckDuckGo stands as a trustworthy alternative to other search engines. By choosing DuckDuckGo, you can be confident that your search experience is both private and secure.

Dodge Big Sharks

Google is undoubtedly the biggest player, which means that the competition to rank at the top of Google’s search results is incredibly fierce.

Big companies constantly wrestle and wrangle to reach the top of search results. They spend millions of dollars on paid advertisements. As a result, the cost per click of specific keywords relevant to your business becomes too expensive, making it challenging for smaller websites and businesses to compete and gain visibility.

In our business, “Virtual Assistant” is one of the primary keywords, as we’re human virtual assistants who assist companies with their tasks remotely. However, many other businesses, like Amazon, Apple, and so on, use the same keyword for their AI assistants, like Alexa and Siri.

Not only that, many big technology firms allocate a huge budget to using the same word for their paid advertisements, making it expensive for us to use it. To tackle this, we use longtail keywords such as virtual assistant for real estate, administrative tasks, etc., and related keywords such as remote assistants, personal assistants, etc.

But if you’re looking for a less crowded online space that offers a less cut-throat and noisy environment, you might want to check out DuckDuckGo. Unlike Google, ranking on DuckDuckGo is relatively easier, and you won’t have to worry about being overshadowed by bigger players. As a result, you can expect less competition, more visibility, and a fairer playing field on DuckDuckGo. With its comprehensive online privacy protection and unwavering commitment to user privacy, DuckDuckGo stands as a trustworthy alternative to other search engines. DuckDuckGo Private offers an all-in-one online privacy solution through its apps and browser, featuring private search capabilities, tracking protection, email tracker blocking, and automatic enforcement of encryption.

How to Use DuckDuckGo

Using DuckDuckGo is easy, just like using any other search engine. You can visit their website on your browser or download their app on your phone. DuckDuckGo’s Private Browser provides robust online privacy protections by blocking trackers, enforcing encryption, and allowing users to search privately by default.

To search, type what you’re looking for into the search bar and press enter. You can also use “bangs” by typing “!g” for Google, “!a” for Amazon, or “!yt” for YouTube before your search to go directly to those sites.

DuckDuckGo has settings you can tweak, like changing the theme or turning on dark mode. To access these options, click the menu icon at the top right corner.

Switching to DuckDuckGo

Switching to DuckDuckGo is easy and straightforward. You can download our private browser on your mobile or desktop device and start enjoying comprehensive online privacy protection. Our browser is designed to be user-friendly and provides a seamless browsing experience. You can also set DuckDuckGo as your default search engine and enjoy private searching and browsing. With DuckDuckGo, you can take control of your online privacy and browse the internet with confidence.

Does it mean you should stop using Google Search?

The world of search engines is not a competition where one wins and the other loses. Just like when shopping, you don’t limit yourself to a single store. Similarly, there’s no need to restrict yourself to a single search engine. Instead of thinking of DuckDuckGo as a replacement for your current search engine, consider it as a powerful extension to your search strategy, providing privacy-first, unbiased results and a level playing field. DuckDuckGo also offers advanced privacy features like blocking link tracking, which prevents companies from gathering personal data and browsing history through identifiers embedded in links.

If you want to search for something that falls under the marketing segment, where you search for it once and get thousands of sponsored ads for similar products, then DuckDuckGo is the right search engine for you.

How does DuckDuckGo's "smarter encryption" improve security?

DuckDuckGo’s “Smarter Encryption” makes you safer online by connecting you to the secure HTTPS version of websites. Here’s how:

Smarter Encryption Mechanism

1. Automatic HTTPS Upgrade: Redirects you from HTTP to HTTPS links, so you’re not exposed during the initial unencrypted connection.

2. Secure Site Whitelist: Uses a whitelist of verified HTTPS sites, updated through continuous internet crawling.

3. Data Leakage Prevention: Redirects search to encrypted versions to prevent data leakage and keep your browsing data safe.

4. High Encryption Coverage: 80% of DuckDuckGo search clicks go to encrypted connections.

5. Open Source: The open source code allows other platforms to do the same.

In summary, Smarter Encryption enhances online safety by defaulting to secure HTTPS connections, protecting users' data.

Always remember, safety and security are the most incredible features any service provider or app can provide.

Give DuckDuckgo a go!

And if you need any assistance with DuckDuckGo SEO or growing your brand visibility there, drop us a line.

Here are some quick marketing tips for DuckDuckGo:

1. Target privacy-conscious users: Mention privacy in your messaging.

2. SEO for DuckDuckGo: Quality content, good backlinks, structured data.

3. Local SEO: Update Yelp, Apple Maps, and Bing Places.

4. Social signals: Be active on Twitter and Reddit.

5. Schema markup: Use structured data for rich snippets.

6. Run privacy-friendly ads: Microsoft Ads with relevant keywords.

7. Content-rich pages: Answer fully and provide valuable content.

8. Engage with knowledge-based sites: Be on Wikipedia and niche forums.

9. Optimize for multiple platforms: Be on all platforms DuckDuckGo pulls from.

10. Mobile optimization: Fast, mobile-friendly pages.

Aside from that, give your users maximum value, which will automatically help you grow your brand search and visibility. 

Remember, while the Nile is the longest river, it’s not the only one — and the same goes for Google. If you prioritize security and want to market beyond Google’s intense competition, DuckDuckGo is waiting for you.

You can set it as a default browser, too.