How Does Your Business Rank On DuckDuckGo — And Should You Care?


DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo didn’t want to wait for laws or others to change their policies. From the get-go, this search engine was created to value your privacy, provide instant answers, and less spam.

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that doesn’t track your browsing and activity.

Its privacy policy is plain and simple: “We don’t collect or share personal information.”

When you search at DuckDuckGo, it doesn’t know who you are, so there is no way to tie your searches together. Additionally, it doesn’t store or log your searches and  cookies are not used by default.

When asked why someone should use DuckDuckGo over Google or Bing during an interview with Search Engine Land, the company’s CEO Gabriel Weinberg said:

“We focus on smarter answers, less clutter and real privacy. We believe a significant percentage of people would like private alternatives where they can get great service without being tracked — in other words, where they can get the benefits of privacy without any sacrifice in quality.”

As its popularity continues to increase, small business owners with a Web presence may wonder how does DuckDuckGo rank sites? And the answer pretty much depends on what you are trying to achieve, but good SEO practices apply.

According to the company:

“Ranking is a bit opaque and difficult to discern/communicate on an individual query basis because of all the various factors involved (and which change frequently). Nevertheless, the best way to get good rankings (in pretty much all search engines) is to get links from high quality sites like Wikipedia.”

Even though it doesn’t have the billions of searches Google has daily, DuckDuckGo has at least 10 million searches daily as of June 2015. And those are potential customers your small business can reach.

Having quality links, quality content, using hyperlocal keywords and being mobile ready with a responsive website are all important, if you want to rank well with DuckDuckGo or any search engine.

Speaking of mobile, the company just announced it is the default search engine in Adblock Browser on iOS and Android. Adblock is the leading free app that lets users set filters to block all unwanted elements. This includes ads, malware, pop ups, auto-play videos and more.

Apple has been making news on this front by providing ad blocking features on iOS9. The company also made it much easier to install an ad blocker for Safari, its default Web browser.

The interest in privacy by consumers is growing, which has led DuckDuckGo and AdBlock, both partners with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), to promote the new “Do Not Track” (DNT) standard for Web browsing.

The new implementation of the DNT will give users a clear opt-out form so they can avoid being tracked. Although many Web services have said they are committed to the new changes, it is a voluntary policy.

Image: DuckDuckGo.com

4 Comments ▼

Michael Guta Michael Guta is the Assistant Editor at Small Business Trends and currently manages its East African editorial team. Michael brings with him many years of content experience in the digital ecosystem covering a wide range of industries. He holds a B.S. in Information Communication Technology, with an emphasis in Technology Management.

4 Reactions
  1. I have to say that it is quite attractive. If only it can get more targeted searches than Google and still keep my privacy intact, then I am willing to shift.

  2. As people learn that they can search and maintain their privacy I see DuckDuckgo gaining more of a market share of searches. At this point I don’t see them as having enough exposure. It should not be a “well kept secret.”

  3. Hi Dennis,
    I agree. I am still trying to figure out why it has gained more traction.