DuckDuckGo’s Branding Takes on Google

When it comes to search engines, Google is king.

But when digging into Google Analytics or other search metrics, you may have noticed another traffic source – DuckDuckGo.

More than 90% of web searches take place on Google – more than 3.5 billion a day. Its name has become shorthand for “search the internet.” Surely no upstart search engine stands a chance against that kind of industry behemoth.

But DuckDuckGo isn’t a search engine. It’s a privacy company.

The startup is securing a foothold into this market by focusing on privacy – a service Google does not provide willingly.

Google earns most of its revenue by collecting data about its users and selling this information to advertisers. Google knows a lot about its users – like, a lot.

But this practice of collecting and sharing personal information has started to raise eyebrows among consumers and lawmakers. Voters in California just passed a ballot measure to limit tech companies’ prying eyes.  

DuckDuckGo – the Anti-Google

DuckDuckGo says it provides unbiased search results and doesn’t collect, store or distribute the personal information of its users. The company has built its brand around the concept of preserving users’ privacy.

DuckDuckGo supports that brand with privacy-centric messaging and content on its blog, spreadprivacy.com. It’s a powerful content marketing offering with privacy tips, crash courses and actionable advice for internet users to preserve their anonymity. In PR efforts, it’s had the guts to challenge Google directly.

The effort is working, and daily site traffic is growing rapidly. Nearly 60 million searches are performed on DuckDuckGo every day.