How to optimize for DuckDuckGo

With Google searches making a hard shift to the AI-powered chatbot format, and online privacy concerns at the fore, an unlikely hero has emerged: DuckDuckGo, which was founded in 2008, has recently been attracting users who are shifting away from Google. 

DuckDuckGo, which was using privacy to differentiate itself as early as 2010, bills itself as “the browser that actively protects your personal information.” They seem to make good on that promise, too: their search engine does not track users or collect personal data. And, rather refreshingly, their search results remain consistent across all users.

Because DuckDuckGo doesn’t collect personal data, we may need to make some adjustments to SEO practices–what works well on Google doesn’t necessarily pan out on other search engines.

On-page optimization, relevance, and quality still matter

This probably comes as no surprise, but the quality and relevance of your website content is still king, no matter where you use search. Content that is informative, and that answers a user’s questions directly, will score you points for relevance and authority with DuckDuckGo.

DuckDuckGo, in particular, has its own crawler, but it also partners with other sources, including Bing and Apple Maps. Optimizing for Bing can also boost your visibility on DuckDuckGo–and quality content, keyword matches, and user experience will get you far on Bing, as well.

As for on-page optimization, you’ll want to pay attention to page title, meta descriptions, and headings structure, just as you would for Google. That means descriptive and keyword-rich page titles, meta descriptions at no more than 140 characters, and making sure your headings follow a logical hierarchy. 

Optimizing for local searches is more necessary

Google routinely uses location data to pull local results into your search results. DuckDuckGo, however, doesn’t collect location data, which means you’ll need to target your local audience more intentionally, if a local client base matters to you.

Using location-based keywords–i.e. search terms that include geographic markers like city names or neighborhoods–can help keep you, ahem, on the map when your audience uses a privacy-focused search engine like DuckDuckGo.

Additionally, since DuckDuckGo is partnered with Apple Maps instead of Google, it’s worth claiming and optimizing your business listing on Apple Maps, as well. While you’re at it, you’ll want to check that your business name, address, and phone number are consistent across all of your directory listings.

Try optimizing for DuckDuckGo “Instant Answers”

The “Instant Answers” feature is DuckDuckGo’s way of providing a direct answer to a user’s search query. You don’t have to optimize for it, but the Instant Answers result gets displayed at the top of the page, above all other search results, so it’s a high-visibility place for your website to show up.

To optimize your website content for Instant Answers, my top recommendation is an FAQ page. FAQ pages often do well at pulling in hits from search, but they’re also a great way to anticipate questions your potential clients might have.

In a similar vein, how-to guides and Top-5 (or 8 or 10) lists that are relevant to your niche also tend to get picked up by Instant Answers. Keeping your content up-to-date is also helpful, because Instant Answers tends to favor more recent information.

Remember: SEO is for People

Above all else, remind yourself that your content should be people-first! Talking about things your audience wants or needs to know about, using plain language in your content, and avoiding jargon help you be easily understood by new audiences.

Search Engine Optimization isn't about techie secrets or tricking the algorithm–that's the kind of thing that gets you downranked! SEO is, at its core, about understanding what your audience needs, and anticipating what they’ll seek out to fill that need.