How Do I Advertise On DuckDuckGo?

Discover more about this advertising platform and how you can use it to increase your reach

We are all familiar with the popular search engines such as Bing and Google, however, there is an underdog search engine that has been quickly working its way up the ranks in recent years. This search engine is DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine.

While DuckDuckGo was founded back in 2008, it never gained the mass global popularity that the likes of Google did. However, we’ve seen that more and more interest has been developing around this search engine due to the unique advantages it can provide its users with.

As experts in PPC and online advertising, we’ve put together a useful guide all about this up and coming search engine, explaining exactly why marketers should be using this in their advertising campaigns in 2021 and beyond.

What is DuckDuckGo?

DuckDuckGo is an internet search engine, like Google and Bing. However, this particular search engine has an emphasis on protecting a user’s privacy and avoids the filter bubble of personalised search results. DuckDuckGo distinguishes itself from other search engines by not profiling its users.

Its search results consist of data pulled from over 400 sources including Yahoo!, Search BOSS, Wolfram Alpha, Bing, Yandex, its own web crawler (the DuckDuckBot) as well as many others. In addition to this, it also utilises data from Wikipedia to populate knowledge panel boxes that appear on the right-hand side of the search results.

To provide its users with quick results for their search queries, DuckDuckGo also displays relevant results known as Instant Answers on the top of the search page, alongside the other indexed search results. Instant Answers are designed to give the user exactly what they need on the search results page without the user having to navigate to a different website to get their information.

Why do people use it and why is it growing in popularity?

As mentioned above, DuckDuckGo is primarily used by people who wish to have more privacy as they search online. DuckDuckGo works to reassure users that it does not store their personal data, meaning your data is protected on every device, search after search.

Many people are unaware of this, but there are many privacy issues when you search on Google. For example, it tracks and records your activity, storing it and recording back to you everything that you do and search for.

Google can then go on to use this information in various ways. For example, Google states that it uses information such as your location, device information and IP address and cookie data to make ads relevant while you’re browsing the web.

Many users are deciding to make the switch from Google to DuckDuckGo for this exact reason. As well as this, people are discovering that DuckDuckGo is ideal for catering to simple searches with obvious answers.

Below is a list of more reasons why people are considering switching to DuckDuckGo from Google, as well as some of the key advantages you can expect from the platform:

Google tracks you, DuckDuckGo does not.
You can get unbiased results on DuckDuckGo that are outside the filter bubble.
DuckDuckGo has better customer service than Google.
DuckDuckGo provides you with control over your personal information.
DuckDuckGo search results are not cluttered with ads.

With all these features, it’s no surprise that DuckDuckGo is becoming a more popular search engine provider.

Why should you use it for your businesses advertising?

In modern times, where competing for online space is an ongoing battle, advertisers need to look to different search engines in order to reach a wider audience. While DuckDuckGo does not currently own even half a percent of the global search engine market, it is growing rapidly which means more opportunities for marketers.

If you’re interested in targeting a more niche audience alongside your current target audience, you can do exactly that by advertising on DuckDuckGo.

Due to the secure nature of DuckDuckGo, we recommend that businesses who deal with sensitive matters should be utilising this emerging platform. For example, as a law firm, you are likely dealing with sensitive, personal matters. If you choose to advertise on DuckDuckGo, you may be more able to appeal to your target audience.

How do you reach the customers that are using DuckDuckGo?

As a marketer, you may be wondering how you can reach the customers that are searching on DuckDuckGo. The answer to that is by utilising Microsoft advertising. Since DuckDuckGo is an affiliate with Microsoft, it uses the same Microsoft advertising portal that you use to advertise on places like Bing.

Within this advertising portal, you can set up your Bing ads to be distributed to DuckDuckGo. To do this is simple:

Go to settings in the Bing advertising portal.
Next, go to “Ad Distribution” and click “Network”.
From here, you can select “All Search Networks” which will include DuckDuckGo.

By completing this simple setup, you could potentially reach thousands of new users. It was recorded that in January 2021, DuckDuckGo surpassed 100 million searches, a testament to its increasing popularity and nods towards the future success of the search engine.

Are you looking to increase your reach?

If you’re looking to take advantage of this advertising platform, as well as some of the larger platforms including Google and Bing, we are here to help. Simply contact us today to find out more about our digital marketing and PPC management services, and how our team of PPC experts can work with your business to get you the results you need.