When we talk about social platforms, we are more than used to witnessing the arrival of apps with innovative features that seek to seduce users. Without a doubt, it is a much more fragmented landscape than that of search engines, where Google has a lot of advantages over other competitors (with permission from Yandex (News - Alert) in Russia and Baidu in China). However, emerging search engines like DuckDuckGo have been steadily gaining users since 2020, and from an SEO point of view, you should not ignore trends like this according to Bluehat Marketing.
What is DuckDuckGo and How is it Different from Google (News - Alert)?
In January 2021, DuckDuckGo surpassed one million daily global queries and this was a milestone for this emerging search engine, which has experienced exponential growth in the last year. The value proposition that DuckDuckGo makes to its users is based on the protection of privacy. This search engine does not use cookies to track its users and does not collect information, since its focus is on keywords. The ads that appear and organic searches will be related to the keywords used, but DuckDuckGo will not take into account the user's background or their previous search history.
How Does DuckDuckGo work?
DuckDuckGo is a hybrid search engine since it has its own tracker bot (DuckDuckBot), but it classifies the results by combining it with some 400 external sources, among which the Bing search engine or Wikipedia stand out. The search engine also does not know from which exact location the query is being made, although it has access to approximate information that allows it to zoom in on the results. In fact, when using DuckDuckGo you can select the country next to the search box. Another of the peculiarities that DuckDuckGo has is the bangs, which function as search shortcuts or commands that allow you to consult information directly on Wikipedia, Amazon, and Twitter (News - Alert).
SEO for DuckDuckGo
Here are four basic tips for tackling SEO optimization at DuckDuckGo:
1. Optimize your brand's listing on Apple (News - Alert) Maps
DuckDuckGo uses Apple Maps to refine local search results, so it is essential that the brand has an optimized profile on Apple Maps . Similar to what happens with Google My Business, the tab must have key data such as name, address, phone number, hours, website and network profiles, as well as the business category to which that belongs.
2. Select the keywords with precision
As it does not have extra user data, this search engine is very sensitive to the words they choose to make a query. In practice, the results will generally be less accurate than those of Google, which offers a highly personalized SERP, almost tailored to each user. Therefore, SEO for DuckDuckGo should prioritize a very powerful copywriting and content marketing strategy focused on the search patterns most commonly used by users.
3. Take care of the linking profile of your website
Having quality links that redirect to your brand page is a positive sign for DuckDuckGo and for any other search engine (Google included). It is about forgetting the quantity and the old schemes to focus efforts on creating valuable content that generates connections more naturally.
4. Upload your website's sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools
DuckDuckGo's tracking system is combined with Bing's, so following the optimization tips for Bing will also help you better position your brand in this search engine. In this sense, a very important point is to include the web sitemap in Bing Webmaster Tools.
Conclusion
DuckDuckGo fulfills the same role as Google as a search engine, although it does not have such a broad ecosystem of services. This minority search engine does not intend to unseat the technology giant, but rather wants to position itself as an alternative for those users most concerned about the privacy of their data on the internet. If you are interested in taking your online brand to a new level with hybrid SEO, check out Blue Hat Marketing.
