Is there life beyond Google? This search engine has become so much a part of our everyday life that it is difficult to imagine there could be other websites like Google. What is the first thing you do if you have a query? You just Google it! Matter is solved! The word SEO (Search Engine Optimization) would have just been invented for Google. But for those, who might not be aware, there are other search engines available on the net. They may not be as popular as Google but they have their market share and people do use them if they want to look up something on the net.
A search engine is a website that gathers and organizes information from over the internet. When a person searches with a query, the search engines present links to information which closely matches the search query. A website which has the most relevant content plus has done the proper SEO will figure in the top of the results. Without search engines it would be difficult to locate information on the vast web. It would be like searching for a particular book in a huge room filled with books. The books are arranged in row but there are no markings or labels to sort them out in categories. You can understand how difficult it would be to locate the book you want. So search engines help you to locate information efficiently. Let us see what are the different search engines available:
1) Google: There is no need to introduce Google. Right from the young school going kid next door to your 90 year grandma—everybody has heard about or used Google. Google is almost 2 decades old and was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. All bloggers and SEO analysts are aware that Google is the most popular website and the largest search engine in the world. It handles around 1 billion searches per day which is quite an enormous task. Its email service, Google drive and chat softwares are equally popular. Google drive is a free software to backup your files on your PC, phone, or tablet. It would be interesting to note that the homepage of many internet browsers in the world is Google.
2) Bing: Bing is another popular search engine just like Google but operated by Microsoft. Initially everyone thought Bing would be the alternative to the monopoly by Google. But the truth is far from that. Bing has a long way to go to equal or surpass Google. Both have different search algorithms and give weightage to different criteria. Though Google has the highest percentage of users, Bing is not totally ignored. It does have a fair share of the market. What does that mean for the SEO professional? It means in this tough competitive world, having your website optimized for Bing is a good idea. When all your rivals are on Google, why don’t you use the power of Bing as well.
3) Baidu: This search engine is China’s answer to Google. When Google was banned in China, Baidu came up in its place. It has a considerable market share estimated to be around 76% in China. Though Baidu offers similar products and services like Google, its presence is only dominant in China. Certain SEO techniques which are applicable on Google may not be applicable on Baidu. Someone who wishes to tap the vast middle class consumers of China has to realize that the SEO set of rules is different with Baidu. Find out about them and use them to your advantage.
4) Yahoo: When you hear of Yahoo you are instantly reminded of Yahoo Mail or Yahoo Messenger. Yahoo is also a search engine if you have not heard about it. But it is still way behind Google. Somebody who does SEO should realize that Yahoo is still used in places where other search engines are not available. When Google, for instance, is down for an indefinite period people rush to Yahoo as a second resort.
This is not a complete list of search engines. There are others also. When you are planning your SEO strategy, do not just keep Google in mind. ‘But,’ you complain, ‘the whole world is on Google’. And that’s exactly my point—when the whole world is on Google, why don’t you seize this opportunity to harness the power of other search engines also. Learn more on how these search engines can provide you better advantage than Google. Therein lies your competitive edge.
