Andy
Wolber/TechRepublic
If
you
search
the
web
in
English,
you
most
likely
use
Google.
Search
engine
market
share
lists
consistently
show
Google
(Figure
A,
left)
at
more
than
80%
market
share,
with
Microsoft’s
Bing
(Figure
A,
right)
a
distant
second
at
around
8%
market
share.
On
mobile
devices,
even
Apple
selects
Google
as
the
default
search
provider.
Figure
A
vast
majority
of
people
rely
on
search,
while
far
fewer
turn
to
Microsoft’s
Bing.
For
searches
with
a
single
specific
and
factual
answer,
your
choice
between
Google,
Bing
or
another
search
provider
may
not
matter.
For
example,
both
search
engines
provide
rapid
and
accurate
results
when
you
want
to
know
what
year
the
IBM
PC
was
first
manufactured
(1981)
or
which
team
won
the
Men’s
2022
FIFA
World
Cup
(Argentina).
However,
when
your
intent
is
to
glean
information
from
a
wide
range
of
sources,
it
makes
sense
to
query
different
search
engines.
For
example,
searching
both
Google
and
Bing
for
“edge
computing
best
practices”
or
“use
vi
and
tmux”
provides
slightly
different
sets
of
linked
pages
to
review.
The
search
alternatives
covered
below
include
not
only
truly
independent
search
sources
but
also
secondary
search
services.
These
secondary
search
services
often
depend
on
Bing
or
Google
results
that
the
service
then
filters
and
sorts
differently
than
the
source
search
indexes.
Jump
to:
Explore
independent
search
services
Beyond
Google
and
Bing,
the
most
significant
independent
English-language
search
engine
is
Mojeek,
shown
in
Figure
B,
left.
An
October
2022
blog
post
claimed
that
Mojeek
has
more
than
6
billion
pages
indexed.
As
a
privacy-respecting
service,
Mojeek
also
chooses
not
to
track
you.
Another
truly
independent
search
engine
is
Gigablast,
shown
in
Figure
B,
right,
which
also
serves
as
the
source
index
for
searches
conducted
at
Private.sh.
However,
the
two
sites
prioritize
and
present
results
differently,
with
Gigablast
grouping
results
from
notable
sources
and
Private.sh
providing
a
conventional
list
of
links.
Figure
B
most
search
services
rely
on
indexes
and
data
from
sources
such
as
or
Bing,
independent
search
indexes
do
exist.
Mojeek,
on
the
left,
has
indexed
more
than
6
billion
pages.
Gigablast,
on
the
right,
also
maintains
its
own
independent
index.
Seek
a
secondary
search
provider
Most
search
services
rely
on
Bing
or
Google
as
a
source
for
some
—
if
not
all
—
of
their
results.
DuckDuckGo
(Figure
C,
left),
for
example,
partners
with
Microsoft
for
results
from
Bing,
while
Startpage
(Figure
C,
right)
syndicates
results
from
Google.
Figure
C
search
providers
rely
on
results
from
Bing
and
Google.
DuckDuckGo,
for
example,
partners
with
Microsoft
Bing,
while
Startpage
relies
on
Google.
What
distinguishes
DuckDuckGo
and
Startpage
from
their
search
data
sources,
however,
are
their
respective
privacy
policies:
Both
promise
greater
privacy
and
less
tracking
than
Google
or
Bing.
Qwant
and
Yahoo
similarly
source
results
from
Bing,
while
Brave
Search
mixes
in
results
from
both
Bing
and
Google.
At
least
a
couple
start-up
search
engines,
such
as
Kagi
and
Neeva,
offer
both
free
and
paid
plans
that
let
you
prioritize,
filter
and
customize
results.
Unlike
the
secondary
search
services
listed
above,
which
are
all
for-profit
entities,
MetaGer.org,
shown
in
Figure
D,
is
operated
by
a
non-profit
organization
based
in
Germany.
Like
other
secondary
search
services,
it
draws
results
from
other
sources,
including
Bing,
Yahoo,
Scopia
and
Infotiger.
Not
only
may
you
switch
any
of
these
four
sources
on
or
off,
MetaGer
also
lets
you
choose
to
exclude
specific
domains
or
subdomains
from
results.
Figure
D
run
by
a
nonprofit
organization,
relies
on
Bing,
Yahoo,
Scopia
and
Infotiger
search
sources.
You
may
toggle
any
of
these
sources
on
or
off.
Directly
search
a
relevant
site
Some
answers
may
best
be
obtained
directly
from
a
relevant
source.
Answers
historically
found
in
an
encyclopedia
or
an
atlas,
for
example,
might
be
resolved
with
a
search
of
Wikipedia.org
or
OpenStreetMap.org.
Most
major
search
and
mapping
services
rely
on
these
sources.
While
once
commonly
questioned,
the
general
reliability
of
Wikipedia
as
a
source,
in
particular,
has
been
thoroughly
considered
and
addressed.
Similarly,
questions
you
might
ask
a
knowledgeable
colleague
may
be
answered
with
a
query
of
Stack
Exchange,
Stack
Overflow,
Quora
or
Wikihow.
Answers
from
these
sites
may
need
to
be
evaluated
with
appropriate
caution
and
consideration.
WolframAlpha
(Figure
E)
provides
an
interesting
example
of
a
specialized
research
engine.
The
system
relies
on
a
set
of
sources
selected
for
accuracy.
For
example,
if
you
ask
the
system
to
give
you
the
human
population
on
Mars,
it
returns
the
number
zero,
as
you
would
expect.
WolframAlpha
excels
at
mathematics
and
science
calculations
and
questions,
along
with
answers
that
may
be
derived
from
established
history
and
facts.
Both
free
and
paid
editions
of
WolframAlpha
are
available.
Figure
E
a
specialized
research
engine,
WolframAlpha
delivers
answers
drawn
from
a
highly
curated
set
of
sources
to
help
ensure
accuracy
of
results.
Tor
browser
search
options
People
who
use
the
Tor
browser
typically
place
a
high
priority
on
privacy
that
likely
also
extends
to
a
preference
for
privacy-respecting
search
results.
DuckDuckGo,
MetaGer
and
Brave
each
offer
search
services
that
may
be
accessed
via
a
Tor
browser
onion
service,
formerly
known
as
a
hidden
service.
You
must
access
the
onion
links
in
the
preceding
sentence
only
from
a
Tor
browser,
as
they
will
not
work
in
a
standard
browser.
The
results
from
these
three
providers
return
conventional
websites
and
resources.
However,
since
requests
are
routed
over
the
Tor
network
to
preserve
privacy,
the
response
times
tend
to
be
longer
than
a
conventional
search.
What’s
your
search
experience?
Which
search
engines
or
secondary
search
providers
do
you
use
regularly?
Do
you
rely
solely
on
Google
or
Bing
for
results?
How
often
do
you
use
additional
sources,
such
as
DuckDuckGo,
Mojeek
or
WolframAlpha?
Mention
or
message
me
on
Mastodon
(@awolber)
to
let
me
know
your
preferred
search
services.
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