What Are the Best Alternatives to Google? How Brands Can Succeed Off Google Search

Once I assume again to my college days once we have been requested to finish analysis papers utilizing good old style books from the library, and I genuinely don’t assume I may do this immediately.

I’ve turn into so accustomed to the extensive accessibility of data on the Web that I’m prepared to do something to take care of that entry, together with risking inaccurate info or an inefficient expertise.

And I’m not the one one who feels this fashion.

In HubSpot’s Consumer Trends examine surveying greater than 700 customers in January 2024, 78% of customers stated they seek for manufacturers on-line utilizing a search engine like Google, and 79% use search engines like google like Google to seek for solutions to questions, versus AI chatbots or social media.

Nevertheless, solely 51% discover search engines like google like Google very efficient at answering their questions.

This implies many people blindly use Google as a result of it’s what we all know greatest and never as a result of we expect it’s good at what we’d like it to do. However we don’t have to endure anymore — there are tons of great search engine options that aren’t Google.

Desk of Contents

What to Look For in an Different to Google

1. Advert-Free Expertise

Google has turn into fairly an oversaturated promoting platform, and it is smart why. The platform can improve model consciousness by as much as 80%, so it’s not surprising that 96% of brands use Google Pay-Per-Click Ads.

Whereas it’s nice as a enterprise proprietor or marketer to make use of this technique and can be useful to customers as a technique to uncover new manufacturers, I may sympathize with the frustration of struggling to seek out one of the best and quickest reply to a query as a result of I’m bombarded with solely barely related hyperlinks.

Due to this fact, on the lookout for search engine options that restrict the advert expertise or assist no advertisements might be perfect to extend the effectivity and efficacy of your search journey.

2. Excessive-High quality Solutions

It’s fairly attention-grabbing to me that, as a society, we’ve developed such a behavior of looking out queries on Google. In spite of everything, in my expertise, I hardly ever obtain a direct reply to my questions on this search engine.

Sure, Google can direct me to numerous assets that probably have the solutions I’m on the lookout for, nevertheless it solely sometimes populates one of the best reply when utilizing its AI mannequin Gemini.

I’ve discovered that Gemini doesn’t at all times routinely weigh in on my search outcomes, so I then have to skim by varied hyperlinks and choose random web sites to come back to conclusions.

Top search engines ought to do that work for me by analyzing all of the accessible assets on-line and providing high-quality solutions to my questions.

3. Privateness

Privateness is an actual concern for a lot of customers. 75% of consumers agree that knowledge privateness is a human proper and that they need to have full management over how an organization makes use of their knowledge.

Whereas 85% of adults globally need to do extra to guard their on-line privateness utilizing companies like Google, 62% imagine it’s inconceivable to undergo their each day lives with out firms like Google gathering their personal knowledge.

There’s a manner, although, to take extra management over your privateness: through the use of a search engine that emphasizes and focuses on knowledge safety. This is a vital consideration when on the lookout for Google options.

4. Particular Options

Whereas the principle goal of utilizing a search engine is to seek for solutions and data, many different traits can set a platform aside from rivals.

As an illustration, some search engines like google have an environmental focus and can put advert income in direction of eco-friendly causes, and the identical applies to all kinds of charitable causes.

There are additionally family-friendly search engines like google, AI search engines like google, news-focused search engines like google, and lots of extra choices that may align together with your pursuits and wishes.

When you’ve assessed which of those concerns are most vital in your assessment of recent search engines like google, check out my checklist of one of the best Google options.

What are one of the best options to Google?

Greatest Advert-Free or Low-Advert Search Engines

1. Kagi

Kagi stresses high-quality, correct search outcomes with none advertisements. To take care of its ad-free standing, the platform fees a subscription payment of $5 monthly which replaces the required income to run the platform that may in any other case come from promoting.

I arrange my account and opted for the free trial which permits for 100 search outcomes. Then, I used to be in a position to customise the looks of the search engine in some ways.

After I up to date a few of these settings, I looked for my first take a look at query.

What I Like

• Having the ability to customise my search expertise on Kagi is exclusive. I by no means realized how a lot of a distinction it makes once I can replace whether or not or not I see the web site’s icon or full URL within the search outcomes. This makes Kagi really feel very personalised and user-centric.
• The interface carefully resembles Google, so it needs to be straightforward for customers to adapt to this new search engine.
• Somewhat than click on by a number of pages of search outcomes, I simply stored scrolling all the way down to see increasingly URLs. I loved this, as I’ve realized I usually get dissuaded from trying past the primary web page of search outcomes on Google, which limits my outcomes.
• Kagi lists the date the web site was printed, which rapidly helps me determine if it’s applicable to click on on.

What I Don’t Like

• It’s not perfect to need to pay for a subscription, and I’m undecided many individuals will really feel inclined to take action when there are such a lot of free options. Nevertheless, it is smart why they’ve this mannequin, to allow them to keep away from promoting — which is what many different companies like streaming companies do.

Pricing

• Starter plan: $5/month (300 searches monthly)
• Skilled plan: $10/month (Limitless searches monthly)
• Final plan: $25/month (Limitless searches + Kagi Assistant)

2. Mojeek

Mojeek is just not fully ad-free because it does show some textual content advertisements in search outcomes. Nevertheless, the advertisements on this platform are primarily based solely on search key phrases and placement and never on any knowledge pulled from the consumer search engine.

Mojeek can also be a lot much less ad-intensive than different search engines like google, like Google. It has its personal net crawler and data index. Not like Google, Mojeek has an impartial advert platform the place manufacturers can place advertisements straight on and individually from main search engines like google.

What I Like

• Mojeek may be very simple and no-nonsense. As quickly as I entered this search engine, I may instantly start looking out, so it was fast to study.
• Its interface additionally carefully resembles Google, making it simply recognizable.
• The “Summarize these outcomes” characteristic, which exhibits up on the appropriate facet of the display screen beside the search outcomes, makes use of giant language fashions to generate a abstract of the search outcomes. This can be a nice technique to incorporate AI for these like me on the lookout for it, whereas additionally offering a straight search engine expertise for others.

What I Don’t Like

• Mojeek provides choices to go looking the identical question with different search engines like google, reminiscent of Courageous or Startpage. I discovered this fairly odd because it encourages customers to depart Mojeek for rivals.
• Since Mojeek isn’t totally ad-free, I don’t assume it’s as spectacular an choice as Kagi.

Pricing

Greatest Search Engines for Excessive-High quality Solutions

3. Perplexity

Perplexity is an AI search engine that collects, analyzes, and deconstructs info from varied sources to offer a high-quality, human-like response to any query or immediate. It’s greater than an everyday search engine as its AI energy means you don’t have to scroll by and skim varied hyperlinks to solutions.

Perplexity combines the communication and synthesis talents of a chatbot like ChatGPT with a search engine’s net crawling and information-gathering capabilities to offer exact and detailed responses to any immediate.

What makes it a powerful Google different is that it, too, doesn’t depend on an innate data base however can rapidly scour the web for related, associated sources to tug collectively its findings.

What I Like

• The interface is paying homage to ChatGPT, which is a plus for customers like me who’ve already mastered ChatGPT.
• Regardless of being an AI search engine, not like another Google options on this checklist, Perplexity does promise correct solutions. It cites sources on the prime of every reply and all through its copy, so I can assessment the supply materials myself.
• In comparison with common search engines like google, Perplexity saves me a lot time. It’s far more environment friendly to obtain a simple reply relatively than clicking by a number of doubtlessly helpful hyperlinks on Google.
• Since Perplexity is AI-powered, it comprehends my questions and prompts — even when misspelled or grammatically incorrect — rather more simply than Google, which recurrently must ask me “Did you imply…?”
• Perplexity is at the moment ad-free. Whereas it has plans to introduce advertisements sooner or later, it intends to integrate native ads into its “Associated Questions” part in a fashion that doesn’t disrupt the pure consumer expertise.

What I Don’t Like

• A few of the smarter AI capabilities are solely accessible for Perplexity Professional customers.

Pricing

• Commonplace plan: Free
• Skilled plan: $20/month

4. Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is a search engine that focuses on computational data. It will probably present very detailed responses to questions associated to knowledge, math, sciences, and different factual subjects. As an illustration, I chosen the subject “Meals & Diet,” as seen under.

As you possibly can see, this highly effective engine can entry very particular, detailed details about all kinds of subjects. There’s info on this search engine that I by no means would have even thought to seek for.

Since this search engine is so clever, I did strive looking out some primary inquiries to see how it could deal with them. First up, I checked the common hire in New York Metropolis.

Subsequent, I attempted a extra area of interest query that I felt was nonetheless computational:

Lastly, I attempted one thing I would mostly lookup on a search engine like Google, however was left empty-handed:

What I Like

• Wolfram Alpha definitely has high-quality solutions and a variety of forms of solutions. As an illustration, for “Transportation” I used to be capable of finding out whole street lengths in any given nation, gasoline worth knowledge, varied computations on airways, knowledge on any area’s railroad programs, and rather more.
• I may select from a set checklist of subjects once I wasn’t positive what to seek for, which helped me hone in on a matter and use the pre-chosen examples to information my search.
• This search engine can be particularly useful for college students, professors, and researchers who have to study lots of details about a really particular topic.

What I Don’t Like

• As an everyday shopper, this search engine doesn’t present the solutions I might have every day. It was unable to grasp most of my primary queries, that are the forms of train-of-thought questions I’d usually seek for on another search engine.
• It has an outdated look together with some blurry visuals.

Pricing

• Primary plan: Free
• Professional plan: $5/month (Consists of step-by-step options, elevated computation time, and calculator Net Apps)
• Professional Premium plan: $8.25/month (All options, together with precedence buyer assist)

Greatest Search Engines for Privateness

5. Startpage

Startpage is exclusive as a result of it doesn’t have its personal index of internet sites or net crawler. As an alternative, it acts as a intermediary between customers and different search engines like google like Google.

The way it works is that it submits your query in your behalf to different search engines like google, with the intention to shield your anonymity. Due to this fact, you’ll obtain Google and Bing search outcomes whereas sustaining your privateness from the information monitoring practices from which these search engines like google revenue.

It’s mainly the equal of looking out in “incognito mode,” however with out the effort of getting to recollect to change that mode on.

What I Like

• Startpage has a really intelligent privateness mannequin that helps it assure no cookies, trackers, web site fingerprinting, worth monitoring or optimization, or social media monitoring.
• For customers who’re having a tough time letting Google go, however need elevated privateness, that is the right choice. You’re nonetheless getting the identical search outcomes as you’d on Google or Bing whereas having Startpage carry out the trying to find you as a useful assistant.
• The interface is fashionable, glossy, and extra engaging than different search engines like google I reviewed.

What I Don’t Like

• For those who’re seeking to swap away from Google for another cause apart from privateness issues, this is probably not the choice for you, because it’s mainly the identical platform and search outcomes as Google.

Pricing

6. Brave Search

Courageous Search boasts safety and privateness whereas shopping the web, which it manages to do by not monitoring customers or any of their searches. Courageous Search can’t share or promote private knowledge as a result of it by no means will get collected within the first place.

That is useful for individuals who work from public computer systems or networks. It can be engaging to these serious about each privateness and AI, because the platform launched Answer with AI earlier this 12 months. This characteristic has rapidly turn into one of many largest AI options.

What I Like

• Courageous Search has an ordinary look much like different search engine choices on this checklist and main ones like Google.
• It prioritizes privateness with a fail-proof technique that enables for full consumer safety whereas nonetheless utilizing its personal impartial net crawler and index.
• The AI assistant, when in a position for use, may be very clever and good at summarizing the numerous search outcomes right into a cohesive response.
• Whereas Courageous Search does assist paid advertisements, it ensures that the advertisements are designed to be nameless and that the platform received’t report any consumer knowledge if customers view or click on on the advertisements.

What I Don’t Like

• Reply with AI is just not accessible for all queries, which was a bit disappointing for me. As an illustration, I searched “greatest giant, leak-free water bottles” and was informed that AI was “unavailable for this question.” This may additionally discourage others who count on an AI assistant to at all times be efficient.

Pricing

• Commonplace plan: Free
• Premium plan: $3/month (Advert-free search outcomes)

Greatest Search Engines With Particular Options

7. OceanHero

OceanHero is an unimaginable search engine with an environmental goal. It generates income by search advertisements and donates the proceeds to organizations like PlasticBank who’re devoted to gathering plastic to scrub up oceans.

OceanHero turns looking out right into a problem. You’ll be able to work in direction of incomes as many shells as attainable. When you’ve collected 100 shells, your bottle counter will increase by one to disclose what number of ocean-bound plastic bottles you’ve helped rescue.

On common, 5 searches or 17 new tabs within the browser extension contribute to recovering one plastic bottle.

First, I had so as to add OceanHero as a Google Chrome extension.

Then, I adopted the directions to start utilizing OceanHero as my main search engine.

What I Like

• Since OceanHero will get added as a Google Chrome extension, it’s essentially the most pure Google different. I can search queries straight in my Chrome search bar, and my shopping expertise doesn’t change in any respect. My searches simply get entered by OceanHero, relatively than Google, making it a seamless transition.
• OceanHero has such an vital goal that may be a pleasure to be part of. I’m going to be looking out varied questions and prompts each day anyway, so I’ll as effectively contribute to some constructive change whereas doing so!
• The concept of creating ocean plastic discount right into a sport by having customers gather shells and bottles provides a enjoyable, aggressive edge to this search engine.

What I Don’t Like

• Having so as to add OceanHero as a browser extension might deter some people from desirous to undertake it.
• Apart from its sturdy environmental mission, OceanHero nearly precisely resembles the Google looking out expertise, for higher or for worse.

Pricing

8. Swisscows

Swisscows is exclusive in that it boasts family-friendly content material, so customers can really feel assured in permitting their children to make use of the search engine freely. As well as, this search engine has a charitable edge.

The guts icon on the prime of the browser retains observe of a consumer’s variety of searches. The search engine states that, on common, 50 searches assist finance a meal for a kid. You’ll be able to learn extra about Swisscows’ social initiatives, influence, and donation alternatives here.

What I Like

• I initially anticipated Swisscows to have a kiddish look because of being family-friendly, nevertheless it seems to be like another search engine on this checklist. This makes it extra interesting for adults who need to use this platform in addition to their children.
• The social influence of Swisscows makes it a no brainer to make use of. I get to go looking my quite a few queries each day and know these random searches contribute to vital social causes benefiting kids.
• The search outcomes are organized cleanly, with an icon picture to the left of the headline, a few strains of description, and, under that, a shortened URL, put up date, and the power to open up an nameless preview with an AI-based description. This format is not like another I’ve seen and offers you with as a lot info upfront as attainable.

What I Don’t Like

• I discovered this to be one of many slower web page load instances of the various search engines I examined.
• For those who additionally need an ad-free expertise, this search engine does, sadly, embody advertisements.
• I additionally discovered that the “Advert” labels are small and on the backside of every hyperlink, relatively than on the prime like with Google, which might be deceptive.

Pricing

6 Suggestions for Succeeding Off Google Search as a Model

Whereas I’ve gone over the professionals and cons of utilizing these eight search engines like google as a shopper, it’s equally vital to understand how greatest to function them as a model.

Learn on for a few of my recommendations on efficiently optimizing for these Google options.

1. Produce high-quality, partaking content material.

It might appear apparent, however a very powerful a part of your search engine technique needs to be creating content worthy of a search. In such a crowded market, with customers having to determine between dozens of sources with near-identical info, it’s tough to face out with out quality content.

Make use of SEO (SEO) to make sure you’re creating content material round subjects that customers are serious about. And, whereas it’s vital to include these key phrases, make certain the language in your web sites, weblog posts, or different platforms feels genuine and pure.

As an illustration, once I write my HubSpot weblog posts, I combine my opinions and expertise, whereas nonetheless hitting key phrases, which leads to personalised and helpful content material. I additionally at all times write in my pure tone of voice to sound like my genuine self and never a robotic.

2. Diversify your key phrase technique.

Talking of keywords, it’s vital to broaden the forms of key phrases referenced in your content material. Whereas it’s simpler to plug single-word key phrases into any piece of content material, it may be extra worthwhile to include longer phrases.

Long-tail keywords are sometimes three or extra phrases and have decrease search volumes. Nevertheless, they make up a bigger proportion of searches when mixed and usually tend to end in conversions, for the reason that key phrases are so particular.

3. Enhance your search rating with backlinks.

Backlinks are created when one other web site hyperlinks to your web site. For example, this is now a backlink for Backlinko.

Backlinks are vital as they’ll present customers that your content material is respected. The easiest way to get backlinks is by giving them again to different trusted sources. Construct vital partnerships with manufacturers for a mutually useful relationship.

4. Replace your net expertise.

As seen on this put up, every search engine has a unique look and format. This can influence how your content material exhibits up in customers’ search outcomes. Due to this fact, when focusing on a brand new search engine, you need to replace your content material’s net expertise.

As an illustration, some search engines like google like Kagi present the date of publication upfront in search outcomes, which inspires me to refresh my content material recurrently so it seems latest and dependable.

Different search engines like google like Swisscows embody a photograph icon in search outcomes, so I’d need to affirm I’ve a high-quality, clear, related picture chosen alongside the URL.

5. Think about related, area of interest search engines like google.

I discussed that there are search engines like google with particular options and functions, like OceanHero and Swisscows. It may be to your profit to incorporate search engines like google in your technique if their niches align together with your model’s area of interest.

I work at Nickelodeon, so I’d assume our group has optimized our content material for family-friendly search engines like google like Swisscows. If I have been to work at a nonprofit or AI firm, I’d equally need to embody search engines like google in these niches in my technique.

6. Keep up-to-date on search engine adjustments.

Whereas Google was not the primary search engine, it was an early contender and distinctive as a result of its founders, two PhD college students from Stanford College, developed PageRank, an algorithm that listed websites so as of the variety of hyperlinks to them.

Since then, dozens of recent search engines like google have emerged with completely different focuses, algorithms, and options to issues. It’s crucial, as a model proprietor, to remain on prime of this ever-changing panorama and accordingly replace your search engine marketing technique.

In spite of everything, Google introduced its first AI system, RankBrain, in 2015. Lower than ten years later, there are numerous AI search engines like google and customary search engines like google with AI capabilities. Having an eye fixed on developments and enhancing consumer expertise will at all times be a necessity.

The Seek for a New Search Engine

When diving into this put up, I used to be conscious of a few of these non-Google search engines like google, however my thoughts is actually blown at what number of choices there are.

Whereas Google nonetheless has greater than 90% market share, different search engines like google can present distinctive, individualized experiences for these prepared to provide them an opportunity.

Particularly, my favorites from this checklist are Perplexity, which I’ve already built-in into my routine, and OceanHero.

I feel each present how search engines like google can take the widespread human motion of looking out queries and take that to the following degree to enhance customers’ lives or the better world.

Google might appear to be the straightforward, apparent selection, however there may be lots of worth in incorporating a few of these different search engines like google to higher optimize your content material for search.