When it comes to search engines, Google is usually the first one that comes to mind. Users do not usually use phrases like “Ask a search engine” in daily life. “Ask Google” is a more common phrase. However, there are many search engines, some of which you already know and some of which you have never heard of. Each of these search engines has its own interface and unique features. Although most of the search engines used in the world are based in the US, there are also search engines from different countries.
Here is a list for you in terms of both popular search engines and lesser-known search engines. Here are 18 search engines with their unique features.
Google is the answer to the question “What is a search engine?” all over the world. Developed in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, this search engine today has a market share of approximately 92 percent. With this feature, it is by far the first among the most used search engines worldwide. Developed in 1996, Google’s domain name was registered on September 15, 1997. The official establishment of the company took place on September 4, 1998. Since August 10, 2015, it has been a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
Google’s PageRank algorithm sets it apart from its competitors. In addition, services such as Google Maps and Google Local are integrated into the search engine, making the results much more relevant. To use Google, simply type “google.com” into a web browser. You can find the web page you want by typing the word or phrase you want on the page that opens. Also, the address bar of many browsers today works like a Google search engine. You can therefore type the search term directly into the address bar.
Google is not only a search engine. One of the things that makes Google stand out among search engines is the products and features it offers to its users. Here are the highlights of these products and features:
- The Android operating system widely used in smartphones,
- Gmail, a free e-mail service that stands out with features such as advanced spam protection and large storage space,
- Google Chrome, one of the popular web browsers,
- Google Maps map and navigation service,
- Google Drive, a cloud-based file storage and sharing service,
- Google Ads platform that allows advertisers to place ads in Google search engine results or on other websites,
- Google AdSense, which allows website owners to generate revenue by displaying ads on their sites,
- Google Analytics, which analyzes and reports website traffic,
- Google Assistant, a digital assistant that works with voice commands,
- Google Classroom, a digital classroom platform for students and teachers.
In addition to the above, Google has products such as Blogger, Google Cloud, Google Translate, Google Calendar and is the undisputed leader among search engines. It is also the best among visual search engines.
Microsoft Bing
The Bing search engine, developed by Microsoft, is available via the Microsoft Edge browser or mobile apps on Android or iOS. While Google has a simple design, Bing’s homepage features impressive photos and links to current news. This enriches the visual experience. Being an old search engine, it is one of the top search engines.
Bing works integrated with Copilot; a GPT-4 based artificial intelligence. It is also possible to see Copilot’s results as answers to the questions you ask the Bing search engine. One of the prominent features of Bing is the Microsoft Rewards system. In this system, you can earn points just by using the search engine, and you can use the points you earn to buy gift cards or participate in various sweepstakes.
Comparing Bing to Google, Bing offers similar features for those who want to get results from the search engine. However, Google’s access to up-to-date information is much faster than both Bing and other search engines. However, it can be shown among the good search engines in terms of results when you enter keywords.
Yahoo
Yahoo is among the search engines that have managed to hold on to the market for years despite strong competitors such as Google or Bing. Officially in service since 1995, the Yahoo search engine also offers various services. Yahoo, which provides free e-mail accounts similar to Gmail and AOL and offers unlimited storage space in these accounts, is also among the popular search engines that offer services such as news, weather forecasts and horoscopes.
Yahoo-affiliated websites such as Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports are popular among users. Over time, Yahoo acquired many sites such as GeoCities, Tumblr, Flickr and became the most visited website in America in 2008. However, although it lost this popularity later, it is still ranked 4th.
Baidu
Founded in 2000 and based in Beijing, Baidu is not only a search engine but also a technology company offering services such as online advertising and software development. One of the most popular search engines in China, Baidu is one of the leading companies in China’s technology industry.
Companies that want to operate in the Chinese market can benefit from Baidu, especially when they target consumers or companies in China. When it comes to users in China, Baidu is critical for online visibility or brand awareness. Also, if you are targeting users in China, you may need to do some search engine optimization work for the Baidu search engine.
Yandex
Founded in 1997 and based in Russia, Yandex search engine accounts for approximately 50 percent of the search engine market in Russia. In this search engine, which brings text, image, video and news results, about 20 percent of searches are performed by voice. There is also an option to search with Google or Bing search engines at the bottom of the search results page.
Yandex does not only serve as a search engine. Just like Google, it also offers additional services. For example, Yandex.Mail, a free e-mail service, Yandex.Taxi, which works in cooperation with Uber, and Yandex.Maps, a map and navigation service. Users can also benefit from services such as Yandex.Browser, Yandex.Music, Yandex.Market, Yandex.Metrica, Yandex.Translate, Yandex.Disk.
Yandex, which recently launched the Alice voice assistant service, has also accelerated its work on artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicle technologies. After Russia, the countries where Yandex is used the most are Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Duckduckgo
In particular, the fact that Google has been involved in various lawsuits due to violations of user privacy has pushed a significant portion of users to use search engines that prioritize privacy. The DuckDuckGo search engine is among the search engines that prioritize security, user privacy and censorship prevention. By not tracking users’ browser history or collecting personal information, this search engine makes users’ search experience far safer.
Security is not the only feature that makes DuckDuckGo one of the best search engines. Its interface is extremely user-friendly and returns results fast. DuckDuckGo is gaining strength over other search engines every day for many users who are concerned about security.
ASK.COM
Founded in 1996 under the name Ask Jeeves, Ask.com is one of the search engines that aims to answer questions that users naturally ask in the form of a question. Although Ask.com continues to exist, it is not powerful enough to compete with competitors such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. In addition, the fact that it was installed on many users’ computers without permission through other applications and became the main screen caused users to have negative thoughts about the application.
Nevertheless, Ask.com has one of the largest networks indexing different websites. It redirects to related or similar content. It is possible to search for images or news. The Ask search engine also allows users to personalize their search preferences. It is among the search engines that have gained confidence in user privacy.
Ecosia
Ecosia, one of the world’s first environmentally friendly search engines, donates 80 percent of its revenue from search ads to tree planting projects around the world. Thus, it aims to reduce its carbon footprint. Ecosia, which gets search results from Bing, improves the results using its own algorithms. There is a counter in the search engine that shows the number of trees planted according to the searches made by users. Every 45 searches contribute to planting 1 tree.
In this search engine, websites with environmentally friendly practices are shown with a leaf icon. SEO criteria are similar to Bing. Ecosia has a much more important mission among the search engines used. To date, Ecosia has financed the planting of more than 140 million trees in more than 30 countries.
Startpage
Founded in 2006, the Netherlands-based Startpage does not collect users’ personal data during searches. Using Google’s search results, this search engine brings results by blocking both users’ IP addresses and cookies. Users can hide their identities by viewing their search results through a proxy. Startpage is used on desktop devices through the browser, but there is also an application developed for mobile devices.
Startpage, which is preferred by users around the world, has received a privacy certificate from the European Data Protection Bureau. It is among the rare search engines with this feature. One of its most remarkable features is that it brings unfiltered content that is not based on users’ search history.
Qwant
Describing itself as “as fast as Google”, Qwant is among the search engines that offer ad-free search results. Users can therefore directly access relevant information.
Brave Search
One of the most privacy-oriented search engines, Brave Search does not record users’ search history, create user profiles or share them with third parties. The results of this brave application, which does not depend on major search engines such as Google and Bing in the search results it brings, are generally unbiased. Therefore, it brings results that are free from manipulation.
Brave Search’s Summarizer feature brings users short summaries of search results. Discussions feature highlights discussion posts from various search results. The Goggles feature allows users to customize their search results. Brave Search is compatible with almost all browsers.
Woframalpha
Compared to standard search engines, WolframAlpha has features that may be considered a bit more unusual and may be considered as a strange search engine for many people. For example, WolframAlpha can be used to perform mathematical calculations ranging from algebra to trigonometry, from chemical formulas to financial transactions. Nutritional values of foodstuffs, orbital calculations of celestial bodies, and the change between units of measurement can also be done through WolframAlpha.
WolframAlpha is considered to be one of the best search engines as it allows comparisons between different subjects, image analysis, file analysis, etc. However, since it works differently from a traditional search engine, it cannot be said to bring very successful results for e-commerce or SEO.
Aol Search
With a user-friendly interface, the AOL search engine allows users to search without saving their search history. Shopping results or news searches can be seen. Multimedia searches can display information such as playback quality or program length. It is also possible to localize searches by entering specific addresses. The map feature allows routes to be mapped. The lawsuits that AOL has experienced in its time have positioned it among the search engines that users are concerned about.
Gibiru
Gibiru, one of the search engines that prioritizes the privacy of users, offers an uncensored search experience. The search results of all searches you make here are encrypted, preventing access by third parties. Although Gibiru uses Google’s infrastructure, it does not use tracking methods. In other words, it deletes all data immediately after the search ends. It offers an uncensored search experience especially for users in censored regions. It makes it possible to access censored content.
Gibiru, which has an ad blocking feature, reduces ad content in search results. It also offers a special mobile web browser called Gibiru Wormhole and a VPN service to prevent malware.
Mojeek
Among the search engines that focus on user privacy, Mojeek has its own web page index. This means that it does not use data from other search engines and presents search results independently. The search engine, which provides fast and relevant search results, ensures sustainability by selling advertising space. Users can contribute to Mojeek’s development if they wish. The search engine does not use sophisticated search operators, but still provides rich results. One of the most annoying aspects of the app is that access restrictions may occur due to automated queries.
Metager
MetaGer is a search engine developed in Germany, which does not have its own search index, and has features such as anonymous search and displaying semantic terms. MetaGer aggregates results by forwarding users’ searches to multiple search engines at the same time. In doing so, it hides the IP address of users and hides targeted ads to ensure data protection. As an open source search engine, it makes its algorithms publicly available.
Dogpile
Developed in 1996 on the idea that existing search engines were inadequate, Dogpile gathers results from a large number of search engines, including Google and Yahoo. But its most important feature is that it eliminates duplicate results. This makes Dogpile one of the more efficient search engines. One of the disadvantages of Dogpile is that it is not available in some countries. There may also be copyright issues with the source search engines. Considering that Google has a 92 percent market share, Dogpile’s 0.03 percent market share makes it difficult for it to compete with other search engines. Another negative feedback concerning Dogpile is storing search results may create security issues.
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