For the first time in a decade, Google’s search market share has fallen below 90%, marking a notable shift in the search engine landscape. You might think the rise of AI-powered answer engines like ChatGPT Search and Perplexity caused this change, but surprisingly, that’s not the case. Instead, traditional search engines Bing, Yandex, and Yahoo have gained ground, with Microsoft Bing securing the number 2 spot at just under 4% of the market share.
However, don’t discount AI search engines. ChatGPT is predicted to reach a 1% share by the end of this year, signaling that AI’s influence in search is growing steadily.
While Google still has a commanding dominance in the search market, this change is proof of a shift in search behaviors. Will searches continue to shift away to Google, or will Google evolve to take back its market share? Only time will tell. However, 11% of searchers are not using Google, which isn’t something to ignore when considering SEO strategies.
Are SEO Strategies Universal? Not Quite.
As you can see in the image above, this site’s keyword rankings differ by platform. Why is this? Each search platform has unique algorithms, ranking factors, and audience behavior. So, focusing your SEO strategies solely on what Google likes means you could miss out on low-hanging fruit. Here’s how optimization strategies differ between some of the popular search platforms:
1. Keyword Usage
- Google: Prioritizes semantic search and user intent, focusing on natural language and context rather than exact keyword matches.
- Bing: Values exact match keywords more heavily. Including precise terms in titles, headers, and content can yield better results.
- DuckDuckGo: Emphasizes privacy and delivers results based on keywords rather than user tracking, so exact keyword usage can have more impact.
- Yahoo: Similar to Bing (powered by Bing search), it benefits from precise keyword matching but less sophistication in semantic analysis.
- ChatGPT: Keywords are less relevant since they generate conversational responses based on user input, focusing on understanding the question rather than ranking factors. However, incorporating keywords naturally can help the AI model better understand how relevant your content is to the query.
- Perplexity: Uses keywords and context to retrieve information quickly, often citing sources. Contextual phrasing helps refine the quality of responses.
2. Backlinks
- Google: Emphasizes the quality and relevance of backlinks over quantity. Links from authoritative, contextually relevant sites carry significant weight.
- Bing: Considers the quantity and quality of backlinks, giving older domains and established link profiles an advantage.
- DuckDuckGo: It does not rely as heavily on backlinks for ranking, focusing more on content relevance and user search intent; however, high-quality backlinks can help improve rankings.
- Yahoo: Mirrors Bing’s emphasis on quantity and quality, though its influence has decreased in recent years.
- ChatGPT: Backlinks are very important as they indicate a website’s authority and credibility, which are key factors ChatGPT considers when evaluating content and providing responses.
- Perplexity: Perplexity prioritizes content quality and direct answers to user queries over pure link popularity.
3. Social Media Signals
- Google: Social signals (likes, shares, and comments) influence visibility indirectly but are not direct ranking factors.
- Bing: Directly incorporates social media engagement into its ranking algorithm, so active and shared content can boost rankings.
- DuckDuckGo: Ignores social signals for ranking due to its privacy-focused approach.
- Yahoo: Social signals influence ranking indirectly.
- ChatGPT: If a website is widely discussed and recognized on social media, it is more likely to be included in ChatGPT’s responses.
- Perplexity: Perplexity does not directly use social media signals as a primary ranking factor; it does consider user-generated content from platforms like Reddit when assessing information relevance, meaning social media can indirectly influence how content ranks on Perplexity.
4. Technical SEO
- Google: Excels at crawling and indexing JavaScript-heavy sites and dynamic content.
- Bing: Prefers simpler, well-structured HTML pages and may struggle with JavaScript-heavy sites.
- DuckDuckGo: DuckDuckGo does utilize technical SEO signals to rank websites, although to a lesser extent than Google
- Yahoo: Dependent on Bing’s capabilities, leaning towards simpler, well-structured pages.
- ChatGPT: Technical SEO is not a direct ranking factor, as its ranking system focuses on quality and relevance.
- Perplexity: Focuses primarily on how well a page can answer a user’s question vs. technical SEO signals like page speed or site structure.
5. Local SEO
- Google: Relies heavily on Google Business Profiles, reviews, and proximity-based results for local rankings.
- Bing: Uses Bing Places for Business and integrates prominently with Yelp for reviews and business details.
- DuckDuckGo: Partners with services like Apple Maps for local search and does not collect user location data unless explicitly shared.
- Yahoo: Local results are influenced by Bing Places for Business.
- ChatGPT: Provides local information based on the user’s query context but does not utilize real-time location data.
- Perplexity: Can provide local results by integrating real-time searches but does not have an intrinsic local SEO algorithm.
Why This Matters for Your SEO Strategy
With Bing and other platforms gaining traction, understanding how the platform algorithms differ can help you prioritize SEO strategies that will most impact each platform. A diversified approach ensures you capture traffic from multiple sources, maximizing visibility and growth. While Google remains the cornerstone of SEO, strategies tailored to Bing, AI engines, and even smaller search platforms can give you a competitive edge.
Whether it’s emphasizing exact match keywords for Bing, leveraging social media engagement, or ensuring your site’s technical structure supports both platforms, adapting to these differences can make all the difference. As the search landscape continues to evolve, staying proactive in your optimization efforts is key to sustained success.
Ready to Optimize for Every Platform? If you want to expand your reach and make the most of these market shifts, our team at Mannix Marketing is here to help. Let’s craft an SEO strategy that ensures your business stands out—on Google, Bing, ChatGPT, and beyond. Contact us today to get started!
