5+1 Awesome Alternatives to Google

While Google remains the dominant search engine in 2020, there are some fantastic alternatives available. DuckDuckGo has had a quick rise to a current 0.53% (Aug 2020) of the Global market and the other larger players are Bing (2.83%), Yahoo! (1.65%), Baidu (0.98%) and Yandex (0.76%). All stats from StatCounter.

Global Market Share of Search Engine Market – August 2020

1. Google 92%
2. Bing 2.83%
3. Yahoo! 1.65%
4. Baidu 0.98%
5. Yandex 0.76%
6. DuckDuckGo 0.53%

It is interesting to see that in Germany Ecosia ranks in third position (0.8%) after Google and Bing and before DuckDuckGo and Yahoo! (Aug 2020 – StatCounter).

Below are five of my favourite alternative search engines (plus one). Please let me know which one you like in the comments.

1. DuckDuckGo – duckduckgo.com
   While DDG has been one of the fastest growing search engines it is very hard to verify how many users visit the search engine as DDG does not track its users! DDG is very popular in the USA (1.47% – August 2020-StatCounter) and Europe (0.84% – August 2020-StatCounter), where users value their privacy and data security.
   This search engine is perfect if you wish to maintain a level of privacy in your searches.
   
   
2. Ecosia – www.ecosia.org
   This is an alternative search engine with a different focus: Ecosia claims to be an environmentally friendly search engine! You ask “how”? This is their take on search engines:
   Since using the Web generates a certain amount of CO2 and has a negative impact on the environment (see note at end of this post) Ecosia uses revenues generated from search engine queries to plant trees. Approximately 45 searches on Ecosia are needed to plant a new tree and Ecosia claims to invest 80% of its profits from search and ad revenue into tree planting projects around the world. (Source: Trees For the Future)
   Cool? – No, awesome!
   So, what are you waiting for? Use Ecosia on your next research project and plant several trees!
   
3. CC Search – search.creativecommons.org
   CC Search specialises in the discovery of openly licensed and public domain works, meaning images and data that has been made available for everyone. This is a great alternative to all the image sites that focus on copyrighted material.
   CC Search is great for students looking for free materials and it is a return to the Internet of the past, less commercial and more a place for sharing knowledge and creativity.
   
4. Yandex – yandex.com
   Yandex is a Russian search engine and while the majority of users are Russian, it is very popular in other countries, including the Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkey. It is gaining popularity in English speaking countries as well and has an amazing set of developer tools worth exploring including Yandex.Cloud an equivalent to Google Cloud: Yandex Technologies
   
5. The Internet Archive – archive.org/search.php
   This is an absolute gem of a search engine. Why? It is a time travelling travelling search engine. The Web Archive has taken screenshots of the Web from the early days and allows you to revisit websites of the past. Not everything is captured and it does not work the same way as current websites, yet you can find websites that you may have lost sight of.
   
6. giveWater – givewater.com
   giveWater is a search engine (and Web browser) that uses profits from paid searches to provide clean water and sanitation. This search engine was started by Michael Feeley after reading Thirst by Scott Harrison. It is amazing to use a Internet to increase the standard of living for so many.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed the read and will try a new search engine from today.

Using the Web Generates CO2

Is using the Web bad for the environment?

“Watching online videos accounts for the of the world’s internet traffic – 60% – and generates 300m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, which is roughly 1% of global emissions, according to French think tank, The Shift Project.Mar 6, 2020”

Source: BBC – Why your internet habits are not as clean as you think

Read as well

SearchEngine Journal – 17 Great Search Engines You Can Use Instead of Google

Lifewire – The Best Search Engines of 2020

WebFX – 2020 Search Market Share: 5 Hard Truths About Today’s Market

Oberlo – Meet the Top 10 Search Engines in the World in 2020