Many website owners do not realize that when they use Google, it displays a search result according to their previous search history. As a result, the listing you see is not the same as the listing everyone else sees. So, how do you know where your page actually ranks for a certain keyword?
There is a neath guerrilla trick; use DuckDuckGo.com.
DuckDuckGo.com is a fast and reliable search engine (officially launched on 29 February 2008), which does not set tracking cookies in your browser, therefore it does not create a history. Their motto is: “Google tracks you. We don’t.”
PS: You may also want to check Alternatives to All Google Products for Privacy
DuckDuckGo as a reality check on ranking
In DuckDuckGo, search results are displayed on one page. It shows all results while you scroll down until it no longer finds a relevant page. This method makes DuckDuckGo much more efficient then Google or any other search engine. In itself this is already a reason to use this wonderful search engine, but let’s not fool ourselves; Although DuckDuckGo is widely adopted now, Google is still the King of search engines. So, it matters to know how your ranking would look in Google. Therefore, the goal of this article is not to convince you to change your search habits, but to use DuckDuckGo as a tool to do a reality check, because Google history changes ranking results dramatically in some cases.
For example: if I type my name (boogerman) in Google, I appear on page 3 or the 26th position. But when I do the same on DuckDuckGo.com, I find myself at the bottom of the pile, namely the 151th position. Boogerman is also a very popular game, hence my low ranking 🙂
Another example: if I type the keyword private streaming, Miracletutorials.com shows up on page 1, in the 8th position.
In DuckDuckGo, It is listed in the second position(it’s not always bad news).
DuckDuckGo results vs Google
Of course, the comparison between ranking in both search engines is not 100% reliable because both use different methods and have their own databases, but DuckDuckGo gives you an alternative view which may be closer to reality when your target audience searches for your primary keywords. If you are at the bottom of the pile in DuckDuckGo while you score high and mighty in Google, the listing is obviously skewed and you might want to accept that the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Therefore, if the result is bad news in DuckDuckGo, you may want to make an effort to increase the ranking by looking into your SEO strategy. Not only for Google but also for DuckDuckGo itself, which keeps on growing and might turn into real competition for Google one day. Remember the golden days of Yahoo?
You could say: “Why not use any other search engine?“, like Bing? Well, Bing and Yahoo also use cookies to remember your previous searches. You could remove all cookies from Google and start afresh, but that would mean that you may lose important tracking information regarding your Google account. Therefore, it is easier to use DuckDuckGo.
If you are curious about this search engine, here is Google vs DuckDuckGo article that outlines a comparison of 12 interesting features:
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/features/12-things-duckduckgo-can-do-that-google-cant-596526
Alternatives for other Google services
If you are interested in alternatives for other Google services, have a look at these resources:
https://pixelprivacy.com/resources/alternatives-to-google-products/
https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/survive-online-without-google/
