A lot of people have been asking about Google alternatives for a long time. Google as a search engine has contributed a lot to the worldwide community in terms of Information Communication Technology. A search engine is a software program that helps people find information on the internet using keywords. And the fact remains that Google is currently the king among search engines. This is because it is the most used search engine in the world. And as people who know what a search engine is, many have been wondering, “Can’t I use something else apart from Google?” No worries there; I’ve got you covered.
Google might be the most popular search engine on the internet, but it is not the only one. There are a lot of alternatives to Google Search that you can use instead. Many of these alternatives to Google are ad-free, offer more privacy, and still give out high-quality performance.
If you’ve only been using Google as your search engine, now’s your opportunity to find and use something different, something that you prefer. Here on Naijaknowhow, you will find a list of some of the best Google alternatives or other search engines that you can use.
List of the Best Google Alternatives (Search Engines) to Use
1. Yahoo! — https://search.yahoo.com
Back in the early days when the internet came to prominence, Yahoo! was one of, if not the most popular search engines around. Honestly, Yahoo! was existing way long before Google came into existence. Even though Google overtook Yahoo! and other search engines and secured market dominance, Yahoo! still remains a solid search engine and Google alternative. And while some may see it as outdated, and the new generation of internet users as unpopular, Yahoo! still remains undoubtedly the third most popular search engine worldwide.
Yahoo! is much more than just a search engine as its web portal offers email, news, online shopping, games, and more, giving a complete user experience in one platform. It offers profound image results and a vast amount of information as it is also integrated with Flickr, Yahoo Answers, and Yahoo Finance.
Currently, Yahoo! is powered by Bing, another Google alternative, which means that you will see the same results as Bing, but the interface is a little more alluring.
2. Bing — https://www.bing.com
Bing, created by Microsoft, is the second most popular search engine after Google and is the default search engine in most Windows and Microsoft devices. It is a beautiful Google alternative that can ensure you quickly and easily find what you are looking for.
Like Google, Bing provides internal features like translation, currency conversion, and flight tracking, making it a really versatile search engine. And one unique thing about Bing is that it offers a rewards scheme. When you shop or search through Bing, you accumulate points that you can spend in Microsoft and Windows stores, that is, in purchasing apps or movies, which is really needful.
3. DuckDuckGo — https://duckduckgo.com
DuckDuckGo is a perfect Google alternative if privacy is your main concern, and you are disturbed by the prospect of your searches being tracked and logged.
With DuckDuckGo, none of your financial deals will be stored when involved in online transactions. And there’s no need to worry about advertising companies using your personal information and browsing habits to target you with personalized ads.
Same as Google, DuckDuckGo offers its own mobile and desktop browsers. And the browser by default does not collect or store any personal information whatsoever.
4. Ask — https://www.ask.com
Formerly known as Ask Jeeves, Ask is another Google alternative that existed even before the advent of Google, just like Yahoo. It was the number one place to find answers to long-string questions.
Ask operates in a similar way to Google. It gives you results for your search query as well as other frequently asked questions related to your search query to help you know more about your search query.
5. AOL — https://search.aol.com
Just like Yahoo, AOL is also one of the early search engines that existed when the internet came to prominence. And it is also not just a search engine as it also provides news, email, weather, and more from its platform, which makes it a very reliable Google alternative.
AOL is also powered by Bing.
6. Startpage — https://www.startpage.com
Just like DuckDuckGo, Startpage was created with strict user privacy as its policy. Unlike Google, it won’t track or store your search history. And it also does not target you with ads based on browsing habits. Its self-acclaimed status as the world’s most private search engine makes it also a very reliable Google alternative.
Startpage provides a proxy service for the purpose of browsing websites anonymously in order to provide online safety. It also offers a URL generator service.
As a search engine, Startpage is powered by Google, which means that you’ll get exactly the same high-quality search results.
7. Yandex — https://yandex.com
As the fifth most popular search engine in the world, Yandex is Russia’s answer to Google. It is used extensively in the country, where it holds the highest percentage of the search engine market share, and is also popular in countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, and Turkey.
Yandex offers a similar service to Google and can be said to be one of the best Google alternatives. On it, you can search websites, videos, images, and news in a user-friendly interface. It also provides additional features such as maps, mobile apps, translation, cloud storage, and more.
8. Neeva — https://neeva.com
Neeva is an ad-free search engine developed by top Google executives who desired to offer something different from what Google provides. So if you hate seeing Google ads at the top of the search results page, then Neeva is the one for you. Here you will never see any ads and its privacy feature is top-notch. With these, we can rightly ascertain that it is a fairly good Google alternative.
The only problem with Neeva is that it is not free. Since it runs no ads through which many other search engines bring revenue to themselves, it instead charges users a certain amount of money per month. But if you are not ready yet to pay to use the service, you can run a free trial.
9. Baidu – www.baidu.com
Baidu is a search engine that is very popular in China and is the fourth most used search engine globally. However, the Chinese government doesn’t allow Google to operate in the country. As a result, people who live in China have to use Baidu instead of Google. So it is one of the best Google alternatives for Chinese citizens.
Baidu’s website is in the Chinese language, and it mainly displays Chinese search results. So, if you don’t understand Chinese, you might not find it useful. However, if you’re interested in searching for content related to China, Baidu can be a good option for you to explore.
10. YouTube – www.youtube.com
Many people believe that YouTube is a social media website, but it is actually the second biggest search engine in the world. YouTube is different from Google because it only searches for videos. If you need to find blog posts or articles, it won’t help you. However, if you’re looking for video content, YouTube is the best option.
You can find videos about almost anything you want to learn. It’s important to note that Google owns YouTube, so if you have a problem with the company, YouTube might not be the right choice for you. But if you’re looking for video content, YouTube is a great option.
11. Wiki – www.wiki.com
Wiki.com is also one of the best Google alternatives around. It is a special type of browser that makes it easier and faster for you to find information on the world’s largest internet encyclopedia – Wikipedia. You might know that Wikipedia has over 6 million articles.
That can be a lot to go through if you are searching for something specific. But with Wiki.com, you don’t need to worry about spending hours looking for what you need. You can easily search for Wikipedia pages and get the exact results you want in just a few clicks.
You can even choose to filter your search results to include different types of wikis such as people wikis or encyclopedia results. This means that you can find the information you need quickly and efficiently, without any hassle.
12. Search Encrypt – www.searchencrypt.com
Search Encrypt is a special kind of internet browser that focuses on keeping your online activity private. It does this by using a technique called local encryption. This means that any information you enter while using the browser is immediately encrypted and kept safe from anyone who might try to spy on you or track your activity.
By doing so, Search Encrypt prevents it from being stored on any servers that could potentially be hacked or accessed by unauthorized people. This helps ensure that your private information, like your search history, stays private. In addition to that, Search Encrypt is also a powerful search engine that provides results from many different networks.
That means that you can trust it to give you the most relevant results, no matter what you’re searching for. Whether you’re looking for information, shopping for products, or just browsing the web, Search Encrypt is a great option if you want a private browser with powerful search capabilities.
13. Gibiru – www.gibiru.com
Gibiru is a search engine that helps people who are worried about censorship and their online privacy. They claim to be different from other big tech companies because they work outside of the censorship problems associated with big tech companies. They aim to give people access to the information they need without any privacy issues.
Gibiru does not give information about its users to advertisers or show them targeted ads. They make money only when people click on the links they provide. This way, they can provide search results that are not influenced by any companies and do not compromise the privacy of their users.
14. Naver – www.naver.com
Naver is a search engine like Google in South Korea that helps people find information on the internet. And because of that, it has been dubbed the Google of South Korea. Naver allows users to search for many different types of information all in one place.
For example, if someone wanted to find a restaurant, they could search for it on Naver and get results not only for the restaurant’s website, but also for reviews, maps, and more. Naver also makes it easy for users to organize their search results on one page, so they can see all the information they need without having to switch between different pages.
Conclusion
As stated earlier, Google has remained the best and most popular search engine used worldwide. But if for any reason you desire a change of environment in relation to browsing, you are more than welcome to use the Google alternatives listed above. No matter the one you pick among them, you’ll never be disappointed.