Millions of users are actively selecting other platforms — Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Brave Search — whether for privacy, performance, or personal preference.

So if your SEO strategy revolves solely around Google, here’s the reality: You’re missing out on traffic (and leads).

Here’s how to start optimising for the search engines people are actually using — even if no one’s discussing them.

1. Why You Should Care About Non-Google Search Bing supports search for Microsoft Edge, Windows 11, and Cortana.

DuckDuckGo is a default browser on various privacy-first mobile apps.

Ecosia is attracting eco-friendly users.

Yahoo (yes, it still exists) uses Bing’s index.

Brave Search is creating its own unique index, not merely piggybacking off Google.

And if you’re advertising? Microsoft Ads (previously Bing Ads) typically offers lower CPCs and less competition.

TL;DR: The search pie is larger than you think — and the slices beyond Google are worth claiming.

2. Bing SEO: Similar, But Not a Copy-Paste Bing’s algorithm shares similarities with Google’s in certain areas, but it also has its own distinct characteristics.

What Bing prioritises:

Exact-match keywords hold more importance than semantic guessing.

Title tags and H1s have greater influence.

Backlinks are crucial, but domain age and content depth also matter.

Social signals are believed to play a more significant role than on Google.

Multimedia content (images, videos) can enhance rankings.

✅ Pro tip: Submit your site to Bing Webmaster Tools. It's the simplest way to control indexing, view crawl data, and receive alerts directly from Bing’s ecosystem.

3. DuckDuckGo SEO: Privacy-Friendly, Content-First DuckDuckGo doesn’t track users — and this influences how it delivers results.

How DuckDuckGo ranks content:

• Relies heavily on Bing’s index — so Bing optimisation equals a double win.
• Prioritises trusted sources, often using crowdsourced platforms (such as Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, etc.).
• Incorporates instant answers from open-source sources like DuckDuckHack.
• Does not personalise results based on user history — relevance is key.

Takeaway: Focus on clarity, trust, and relevance. Technical tricks don’t work here.

4. Ecosia, Brave, and the Rise of Ethical Search Ecosia is constructed on Bing’s infrastructure, and Brave Search is developing its own index — both are being adopted by users who value ethical technology and privacy.

• What these users care about:
• Transparency
• No clickbait
• Sustainable, accessible UX
• Lightweight sites that respect bandwidth

If your brand resonates with ethical or conscious values, these engines provide a real advantage — especially if your content and design reflect that mission.

5. Technical Tips That Work Across Engines Regardless of the platform, certain technical SEO fundamentals apply universally:

Fast, responsive websites (mobile-first is now standard).

Descriptive title tags and proper header hierarchy.

Alt text for images — particularly for Bing.

Schema markup — helps all engines grasp your content.

Clean, crawlable sitemaps.

Avoid JavaScript-heavy navigation (non-Google crawlers struggle with it).

The simpler and cleaner your code and structure, the better your odds of being understood by any crawler.

✅ TL;DR — Google Isn’t the Whole Game If you’re serious about visibility in 2025 and beyond, stop optimising for just one player.

To recap:

🔹 Bing = emphasises keywords and page structure.

🔹 DuckDuckGo = privacy-first, relevance-focused.

🔹 Ecosia + Brave = values-oriented with sustainability and simplicity.

🔹 All of them = desire fast, structured, trustworthy content.

Want to see how your site performs beyond Google? [Let’s conduct a multi-engine SEO audit and demonstrate where you’re missing out.]