Key features of a professional search engine are its completeness, reliability, and high speed. The most serious and non-trivial factor that determines how quickly a search engine comes to a goal is competent planning of the procedure. Therefore, choosing a resource that is capable of finding the data relevant to the search task is especially actual today. Let’s figure out what metasearch is and what resources can replace Google.
What Is a Metasearch System?
It is not a secret that the Internet contains a constantly growing amount of information. To somehow manage this continuous stream of data and to enable Internet users to find the info they need, special search engines have been created. However, none of these systems will be able to cover all Internet resources, so it may happen that the user’s needs will not be satisfied. In this case, users use another search engine and try to find what they need there.
To solve this problem and expand the user’s capabilities, metasearch systems were created. They do not have their own databases, do not contain any indexes, and use the resources of many search engines. Due to this, the completeness of the lookup in such systems is maximum and the probability of finding the necessary info is very high. Now, we are getting closer to the most interesting part – finding the best metasearch engine example that can replace Google. Let’s take a look at some of them!
Top-10 Resources That Can Replace Google
The business model of Google is built on data collection and advertising. In 2018, the giant earned $116 billion of ad revenue. More data – better ads – more revenue, so the invasion in your personal space will become more visible. Concerns about online security are growing, and a lot of web users are looking for options to replace Google products. If you don’t want to sponsor Google or have some other reason to find a replacement, then this compilation of substitutes will come in handy:
* StartPage is a Dutch engine that reproduces Google results, but does not use tracking.
* MetaGer is another open-source metasearch engine (ME) with different features like searching for quotes and their authors. However, it is located in Germany, so it won’t be possible to take full advantage of this feature because quotes can only appear in German.
* Searx is a privacy-focused ME, with open-source code.
* SwissCows is a private search engine hosted on a secure Swiss infrastructure.
* Mojeek is the only real search engine on this list with its own search robot and indexing system (located in the UK).
* DuckDuckGo is an anonymous ME based in the United States that doesn’t track you or use filter bubbles to personalize results.
* YaCy is an open-source decentralized P2P search engine.
* Qwant is a French system that also provides other services like maps and music.
* Givero is a private search engine from Denmark that donates half of its ad revenue to charity.
* Ecosia is a German engine that uses ad revenue to plant trees where they are needed most.
Except for Mojeek, all solutions presented here are MEs that generate search results based on the results of other search engines like Bing and Google.
All internet search engines are provided free of charge. However, their operation, of course, costs money and must be financed. Therefore, all development companies rely on ads displayed in accordance with search queries. StartPage, DuckDuckGo, Qwant, and MetaGer prove that advertising gets along well with respect to the user’s privacy. They do not store any search history, IP addresses, or personal info about users.
StartPage and MetaGer have gone even further by offering optional proxy searches. To activate it, you need to click on the “Proxy” or “Open anonymously” link, after which third-party web pages will be loaded anonymously through an intermediate server.
In conclusion
There are many decent substitutes to Google that display equally accurate data and, at the same time, keep the user’s privacy. We recommend trying several of the above options before making a final decision.