In addition to being great at displaying the most relevant search results, Google also excels at eliminating rival search engines. With a market share of 60 to 90 percent since 2009, it has maintained more than two decades of dominance. But being continually slapped by privacy and antitrust cases may soon slow you down. On the other hand, Google's series of lawsuits may be an opportunity for some privacy search engine pioneers to shake off (unfair) competition, carve out a niche for themselves, and hit the tech giant where it hurts.
Early last year, a massive Google class action lawsuit alleged that the Silicon Valley company had been tracking the personal identities of users browsing in private mode. This was followed by antitrust lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice and some state attorneys general. Part of the most recent complaint against Google was how it had leveraged its strong leadership in search and digital advertising at the expense of other players.
But some of these “other players” simply won't be left out of the results of a potentially protracted legal battle. DuckDuckGo, one of the best privacy search engine alternatives and a staunch Google critic, has been gearing up for growth. It broke the 100 million mark in daily mobile searches in January and has now surpassed Bing's share in this segment (0,48 percent vs. 0,42 percent in global figures). With studies revealing that consumers want to be in control of their digital data and are seeking transparency from search engines, the likes of DuckDuckGo are poised to fill some gaps created by Google's business model.
In this blog post, we look at that possibility and more.
Privacy-focused Google alternatives
The rise of privacy-focused Google competitors is a response to one of the major search engines' perceived shortcomings: tracking user data without consent. In this sense, it is technologically savvy users who convert to these alternatives to Google, as they are likely to have privacy issues.
We can see that online privacy search engines serve a segment of the entire search market. They have distinctive characteristics that attract a cult following. Let's look at each Google alternative and how their business model differs from Google's.
DuckDuckGo Privacy First Search Engine
DuckDuckGo (DDG) is arguably the best search engine that web advocates can rely on to compete with Google. While still considered a niche competitor, DDG is quickly becoming part of the conversation. In particular, the Pennsylvania-based internet firm points to the breach in private browsing, which is the subject of the Google class action lawsuit, also known as the Google Incognito lawsuit. He also insists that if Google was serious about privacy, it should have already abandoned its "surveillance business model."
So how is Privacy First Search Engine different from DuckDuckGo? We know that it does not collect user data for profiling and personalization. Instead, it pulls information from over 400 sources, including Bing (but not Google!), WolframAlpha, DuckDuckBot, and crowdsourcing sites like Wikipedia.
People can choose it as their default search engine on desktop and mobile browsers. They can also add the DuckDuckGo browser extension to Google Chrome.
But an astute DuckDuckGo browser might think, “How does this private browsing company make money?” The company says its biggest revenue driver is the most obvious: keyword-based advertising. But unlike Google, it doesn't track your personal information to deliver results. He claims it's not necessary because search ad bids are based on "keywords, not people."
Brave Search Engine
Brave It was first introduced as a free and open source private web browser. Now, it is preparing to be known as one of the best privacy search engine alternatives with the acquisition of open search engine Tailcat. The resulting Brave search engine promises to provide independent, high-quality, privacy-focused indexing.
Banking on online privacy becoming mainstream, Brave has launched a slew of privacy-focused products. It expects 2021 to be a year of growth, with its browser recently gaining 25 million monthly active users.
To earn revenue, it offers Brave Ads, an opt-in advertising platform that rewards you for viewing non-invasive ads. Rewards come in the form of Basic Attention Tokens or BAT, which you can cash out or use to tip websites and content creators at the end of each month. There is no tracking of personal information, just control is returned to consumers.
Neeva Search Engine
Neva You may be a newcomer to the “beat Google competition.” But the minds behind it are search advertising veterans, from Google and YouTube, no less. Co-founder Sridhar Ramaswamy was the head of Google's billion-dollar advertising division for many years. He now offers search engines possibly the most intriguing Google alternative: ad-free search.
Other Best Privacy Search Engine Options
The search for the best search engine for privacy continues, and here are a few more to consider:
• Ecosia – An eco-friendly search engine whose parent company is based in Germany. It shows ads next to search results, but says it doesn't create user profiles based on search history. Ecosia donates 80 percent of its advertising revenue to nonprofit organizations that advocate for reforestation.
• OneSearch : Verizon, which also owns Yahoo, ventures into alternative Google territory with OneSearch. Like other search engine alternatives, it does not collect personal data or search history. But it personalizes ads based on location, from IP addresses that do not match those of users. This could benefit businesses' local search engine optimization (SEO) if launched successfully.
• StartPage – Last but not least, this search engine privacy best bet claims it's like Google, but private. Considering that it does not track user behavior, how will it match the latter's targeting accuracy and become Google's main competitor?
The impact of privacy-focused Google competitors
With Google's antitrust case pending and privacy concerns spreading among consumers, Google alternatives like DDG, Brave, and Neeva can capture and serve an underserved market. That may not undermine Google's market dominance. “They are still very small” and “They will divide market share among the smallest group of people who don't want to use Google.”
But there is no doubt that the opportunity exists. A Harvard Business Review (HBR) study looked at ads and internet browsing privacy, and here's what researchers found:
“If people don't like the way their information is shared, purchasing interest drops.”
Consumers appreciate ad personalization when they trust the publisher or brand tracking their data. Clicks occur when they know how their personal information is used.
It's when people are targeted with an ad based on their behavior from third-party websites that prioritize privacy concerns over personalization, the HBR study said. This is where the likes of DuckDuckGo and the Brave search engine and the combined power of the browser come into play.
What data does Google collect?
Since Google's chain of lawsuits was launched, the search engine company has attempted to prove search engine privacy regulators wrong, if not right. It has used data anonymization in machine learning to keep personal information on people's devices. Some observers of Google antitrust cases may be happy to know that it is not selling user data to third-party ad sellers.
However, to make more relevant products and better services, the technology company collects personal information. What data does Google collect to offer the best user experience? Here are some examples:
• Your location and location history on Google Maps
• Your YouTube viewing habits
• Your queries in Google Search
• Your online purchases and your budget
• Your browsing habits
Source: Avast
Your activities are tracked and the resulting data is used to create a user profile. Defenders of the Google Incognito lawsuit and Google's antitrust case believe that this access to big data is growing its advertising machine while keeping others out of the competition (Google's competition).
The Future of SEO: What Digital Advertising Looks Like in a Post-Google Future
The Google class action lawsuit may take approximately a year to complete. Add in the legal process involved in hearing antitrust cases, and we know the search giant will be busy for quite some time. This means that the growing Google alternatives may not have a significant impact on search engine marketing or pay-per-click advertising until a verdict is announced. But as an advertiser, business owner, user, or even a Google competitor, it shouldn't stop you from preparing for a very different picture of the future of SEO.
Contextual targeting
The future of SEO may do away with individual targeting and instead focus on contextual targeting. This refers to placing ads on pages based on what those pages contain. For example, an ad for reading glasses might appear on a book review blog page or an ad for running shoes in an article about running.
Authenticated consent
Instead of cookies, consent signals will be delivered based on identity – a user's privacy preferences. This helps improve user experience while advertisers and consumers maintain a good relationship.
Fine-tuning reputation management
If Google's competition expands, Clarke said reputation management must change too:
“Reputation management companies will need to work on different review platforms that are also featured in DuckDuckGo searches and have new strategies and tactics. “We will also have to see how reviews affect search queries on these new platforms differently than Google.”
Some advantages and disadvantages of online privacy
You may be wondering what digital advertising will look like when private browsing is the norm. Alternatives to Google like Brave allow users to choose which ads to see and reward them when they pay attention.
To some people, it would seem that your attention is the merchandise and you will protect it from any form of advertising. To be the best search engine for privacy-focused users, the listed Google alternatives must face some challenges, such as:
• The time it takes to build trust
• Capture enough market interest such as Google competitors and niche rivals
• Convince users to choose direct but almost generic results instead of personalized results
Prepare for potential change
Consumers are increasingly aware or proactive about privacy. The start of the Google lawsuit, especially the Google Incognito lawsuit, has helped spark conversations about it. In this article, we talk about the chances of search engines like Neeva carving out a niche for themselves. The Brave browser and the DuckDuckGo browser extension for Chrome can be a good start for users to learn a new way to “Google.”
But we also learned that Google is willing to address privacy issues head-on after asking, "What data does Google collect?"
When it comes to the declining importance of Google ads due to privacy concerns, the jury is still out. But while we wait for things to develop, brands and businesses can prepare for the future with guidance from SEO experts.
