Introduction to DuckDuckGo SEO
Welcome to Internet Marketing Media Services. We pride ourselves on informing our clients of the hottest trends. Why? So their businesses can make more money. One of the hottest trends when it comes to search engines is DuckDuckGo. Not familiar with it? You will be after reading this article. Plus, you’ll understand how to get your website optimized for it.
Many millennials/young people are turning to DuckDuckGo as their go-to search engine. The growth of DDG in recent years is incredible. Sure, Google searches may rank number one. But plenty of people are seeking alternatives. Here is how to use DuckDuckGo to improve your website’s SEO.
What’s DuckDuckGo?
It’s a similar search engine to Google and Bing. It’s been around for a decade. But the average person had not heard of it until recent years. Here are some DuckDuckGo facts that are the most important:
1) It focuses on protecting people’s privacy.
This is the key concept that DuckDuckGo’s known for. Think of all the data leaks and hacking scandals you’ve seen in the news in recent years. People are getting fed up. They want to use a search engine that’s secure. DDG refuses to track searches or even keep records. Also- they never share or collect any personal information. No exceptions. This is huge for many people and contrasts with the policies of Google, Bing, Yahoo!, and others.
2) DuckDuckGo receives revenue from two sources.
- Affiliate commissions with Amazon and eBay.
- Advertisements that originate in the Bing-Yahoo! search alliance network.
3) The company’s market share is still small.
DuckDuckGo has a market share that’s estimated to be around 1%. This applies to the entire world’s search engine traffic. But don’t let this fool you from wanting to optimize for DuckDuckGo. The company’s growth rate gets stronger by the year. Also, a 1% market share is not easy to come by.
4) DuckDuckGo is growing at a fast pace.
7.2 billion. That’s how many searches got inputted into DuckDuckGo in 2018. How many DDG searches were there in 2010? Only 16 million. These numbers are the DuckDuckGo stats your team has to keep in mind starting today. This is huge growth and it shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, it appears DDG may soon become the world’s second most-used search engine. This is why having SEO for DDG is getting more important by the day.
How to Rank High on DuckDuckGo Through SEO
Most IMMS clients spend too much time focusing on optimizing for Google search. Sure, Google matters. But to rank high and make more money, you’ve got to look at other search platforms. Thanks to DuckDuckGo’s growth, it’s time for your company to get noticed in their results pages. Here’s how to do so.
Come Up With a Keyword Strategy Specific to DuckDuckGo
As you now know, DuckDuckGo focuses on user privacy. This means there’s no geo-location data in the search results. You’ll have to re-think your SEO strategies that work so well on Google search. The main factor here is that there is going to be little accuracy in DuckDuckGo’s local searches.
Do not despair if you own a local business. But it’s time to get creative. Keep in mind that your keyword strategy won’t have to change that much if your business is online only. This section applies to companies that have a physical location. Step one is to create a list of your current keywords that rank the highest. These can get adjusted to align with DuckDuckGo’s SEO. Next, you need to adjust the keywords so that they include geographical locations. This is because DDG never determines where someone is searching from. Location-referenced keywords are your secret weapon to getting around this.
Here’s an example. Say you own a taco shop in Oxnard, California. One of your most effective keywords is “best tacos.” You can adjust this keyword too many location-based forms:
- “best tacos Oxnard”
- “taco restaurant Oxnard”
- “best tacos 805” (This is the area code for Oxnard.)
- “best Ventura County tacos” (This is the county for Oxnard.)
Make Your Backlinks As Strong as Possible
You may already know how much backlinks matter when it comes to Google SEO. Well, they matter on DuckDuckGo as well. IMMS reached out to DuckDuckGo recently. We wanted to find out more information about their ranking process. Their representatives were hesitant to give us many details. But they did state what the best thing for companies to do is. They said, “companies have to get links from big-volume sites.”
It can feel like a challenge to tell if your company has quality backlinks. That’s why your team must dig deep to get as much data as possible. The more data you have, the better your SEO should be. Most good backlink tracking websites cost a lot of money. This is why IMMS offers backlink tracking to our clients. We track business’ backlink profiles using state-of-the-art software. We’re then able to give clients metrics and a recent list of those backlinks. (Contact us today and we will do this for your company.) Consider the following factors when determining the quality of your backlinks for DuckDuckGo:
-The Domain Authority: This is one of the best metrics for quality. And it’s 0-100 scale is so simple. A DA greater than 50 means that your backlinks deserve placement in the link profile.
-The Trust Flow: This is another simple, 0-100 metric. It focuses on website quality. 40 or higher means that you’re in the clear.
-The Status: This involves no-follow and do-follow links. IMMS considers do-follow links to be better. But there are sometimes exceptions. These are the links you need for brand-building and site traffic.
-The Relevance: Many companies make a big mistake. Their backlink website and company website have nothing to do with one another. DuckDuckGo is not going to rank your site high if this is the case.
-The Framing. Positive language matters. If it gets framed on the backlink, then the user will come to your website. It’s that simple.
Use the “Instant Answers” on DuckDuckGo to Your Advantage
Here’s an SEO secret weapon that we at IMMS provide our clients. “Answer people’s questions.” The more questions you answer, the higher you’ll rank. The better your answers are, the higher you’ll rank. These actions lead to getting on the first page of DuckDuckGo’s SERPs. DuckDuckGo refers to their SERPs as “Instant Answers.” But where do those answers come from? Most stem from websites such as:
- The Free Dictionary
- GitHub
- Wikipedia
- WikiHow
- Crunchbase
So, what does your company need to do? It’s obvious. Your team has to create content on these sites and apps. That’s the best way to get more placements.
Be Wise With Your Team’s Resources
SEO success involves spending a lot of time on a lot of tasks. That’s why your team needs to be on a strict schedule. This article wasn’t meant to inspire you to have your team work 30 hours per week on DuckDuckGo SEO. Search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing are all projected to dominate for a long time. That’s why about 5-15% of your team’s time should apply to DuckDuckGo SEO. DuckDuckGo could dominate someday. But for now, it is still emerging as the “alternative to Google.” No matter which engine you target, the key is to create quality content and provide superb links.
Is It Worth the Effort to Focus on DuckDuckGo SEO?
Yes, focusing on the SEO of DuckDuckGo can pay off for many brands. In fact, the SEO of many alternative search engines matters. Sure, Google dominates the search engine market share. But you can’t afford to trust only a single platform. It’s best to grow your business through as many channels as you can. You will isolate some potential customers if you depend on one platform. Having tunnel-vision could put your company at risk.
Of course, having an SEO strategy for Google is ideal. But why not have an SEO strategy for many different platforms? After all, there are millions of people who refuse to use Google for various reasons. Plus, Google could change its algorithm at any moment.
One single change could make your website go down in search rankings. But say that you optimize your site for many different search engines. Doing so means that you’re prepared for any big changes that take place. So, don’t assume that DuckDuckGo SEO doesn’t matter. When it comes to business success, all SEO platforms are important.
In Conclusion
DuckDuckGo SEO is becoming more important by the day. For more information, such as help with DuckDuckGo PPC, please contact IMMS today. Our experts are standing by to help your company rank first across all search platforms. The higher you rank, the more profit and ROI you’ll receive. Every year, the DuckDuckGo search engine becomes more relevant. It’s time for your company to become more relevant too.