How to rank on search engines that are not Google

0
Apr 21, 2023 / by
How to rank on search engines that are not Google

While you might be forgiven for thinking as such given the widespread use of Google, it’s not the only game in town. Indeed, it might account for around 85% of all online searches but that’s actually slightly down from last year when it made up around 94% of the market.

There are search engines for people obsessed with privacy (DuckDuckGo), search engines controlled by artificial intelligence (Bing) and search engines engineered to run on ancient and low-end hardware (Falkon). All these search engines have their own quirks to navigate and that’s worth considering if you want your SEO efforts to transcend the “Big G.”

Of course, when it comes to search engine ranking efforts, many people focus solely on Google. However, these other search engines can drive significant traffic to your website if you know what you’re doing.

Understand the algorithm!

Just like Google, each search engine has its own unique and increasingly clever algorithm that determines how content is ranked. It’s important to understand how the algorithm works, what ranking factors it considers, and what type of content it favours. For instance, Bing’s algorithm places a lot of emphasis on social signals, such as the number of likes, shares, and comments a piece of content receives. Note, however, that algorithms, by their very nature, are always learning and improving.

Optimise

Once you understand the search engine’s algorithm, you can optimise your website accordingly. This includes optimising your website’s structure, title tags, meta descriptions, and other on-page factors. For instance, if you’re targeting the Russian search engine Yandex, you’ll want to make sure your website is in Cyrillic script and that your meta tags are translated into Russian.

Localise

If you’re targeting a non-English speaking search engine, it’s important to localise your content as much as possible to help the search engine find your content without having to translate it. This means translating your website’s content into the local language and using keywords that are relevant to the local market. Additionally, you’ll want to consider cultural differences and adjust your messaging accordingly. This is a big job, but it might be worthwhile if you are looking to attract a largely foreign audience.

Build backlinks

Backlinks are a critical factor in any search engine ranking, and this is also true for non-Google search engines. Build high-quality backlinks by creating valuable content that other websites will want to link to, reaching out to influencers in your industry, and leveraging social media to promote your content. In that regard, it’s very similar to ranking on Google but you’ll want to focus on linking to sites that are also found on your search engine of choice.

Use local directories

Many non-Google search engines, such as Baidu and Yandex, have their own local directories. These directories are often used by users to find local businesses, products, and services. By listing your business in these directories, you can increase your visibility and improve your website’s ranking on these search engines.

While Google is still the dominant search engine by some stretch and will remain as such for the foreseeable future, it’s important to consider other search engines when developing your SEO strategy if you want to be as thorough as possible and really made a search engine impression.

Image: rarrarorro / Shutterstock.com

Tags: