If you keep up with your website’s analytics, you may have noticed that you are getting more and more traffic from a thing called “DuckDuckGo.” Perhaps you are wondering if you should look into this mysterious search engine, and perhaps take advantage of this increasingly popular tool. So, let’s get into it!
What is DuckDuckGo?
DuckDuckGo is an internet search engine similar to Google and Microsoft (aka Bing). They distinguish themselves from other search engines by focusing on protecting users’ privacy and do not store or share any personal information.
With the use of cookies and beacons, companies are able to track behavior and make advertising more personalized. You have the ability to opt-out of internet-based advertising, but most do not know how to. DuckDuckGo solves this problem, by allowing you to search privately and preventing your activity from being tracked.
This does not mean you can’t advertise on DuckDuckGo! You can advertise based on search terms, but cannot be based on a person’s online activity. This is great news for people who have begun to feel like the internet has gotten a tad bit too creepy.
How Many People Use DuckDuckGo?
If you are wondering how this applies to where you advertise online, get ready because here come some numbers. In 2010 DuckDuckGo had just over 16 million total search queries. Fast forward to 2019 and there were over 15 BILLION total search queries. That is an increase of over 918% in search queries with their search engine for over nine years. If that isn’t shocking enough, this year DuckDuckGo is already over 9 billion search queries with a June daily average of just over 62 million. You can view all search traffic including daily totals for DuckDuckGo on their website.
Source: duckduckgo.com/traffic
Basically, there has been a large number of people switching to DuckDuckGo as their search engine. That means there are fewer searches being performed on other search engines that advertisers typically use, such as Google. Are you wondering how you can advertise on this privacy-centric search engine to capture the shift in user behavior?
How to Advertise on DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is managed by Microsoft’s ad network, which means if you advertise through Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads) you can advertise with them. All it takes is a change to your ad distribution settings and you’ll be advertising on DuckDuckGo and other syndicated search partners to Microsoft.
You can easily import your campaigns from Google Ads into Microsoft Ads; however, there are several items that cannot import such as automated rules and IP exclusions. There are also several items that need to be checked. If you aren’t already familiar with pay-per-click advertising or not using a pay-per-click agency, you may want to talk with an expert before making the change.
Overall, if you aren’t advertising on multiple search engines, now may be a good time to consider how you can capture more of the market share, get more leads, and make more money.