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6 search engines that are challenging Google around the world

By Elin Box on May 1, 2020

Google is the most popular search engine in the world. It is so synonymous with search that we even use the phrase “Google it”, rather than “search for it”.

But Google is not the only important search engine in the world.

In some countries, there are other search engines which are challenging Google’s dominance, and some have even succeeded at toppling Google off the top spot.

This blog post will look at six of these alternative search engines, based on the latest data from Webcertain Search And Social Report 2020.

1. Baidu

Baidu is the most popular search engine in China, accounting for 64% of all searches in the country. It offers very similar services to Google, like search, maps, news, image and video search, and advertising. Google is banned in China, but that is not the sole reason Baidu is so popular. Baidu is a strong search engine in its own right, with good local knowledge and an excellent understanding of the Chinese language.

2. Yandex

Yandex was created by Russians, for Russians. It has a deep understanding of the local language, so it should be no surprise that it accounts for 45% of all searches made in Russia. Google is currently marginally more popular, but this two-horse race is tight, and they often switch between first and second place. Another country where Yandex is becoming more popular is Turkey. It now accounts for around 1 in 10 searches in that country.

3. Yahoo Japan

This sister company of Yahoo accounts for 19% of all searches made in Japan. That’s right, almost 1 in 5 searches in Japan take place on Yahoo Japan. And when you take into account Japan’s large population and high internet penetration rates, that’s actually a lot of searches.

4. Naver

Naver is a South Korean search engine, accounting for 18% of searches in the country. This exact figure changes a lot depending on the source, with some sources claiming that Naver’s popularity is actually a lot higher. Whatever the exact number, one thing is clear: Naver is important in South Korea, and should be included in any search marketing activities in the country.

5. Seznam

If you have not heard of Seznam, it is a search engine that was created in the Czech Republic. It accounts for 11% of searches made in the country, which is not bad when you remember it is going up against a goliath like Google.

6. Bing

Bing is most popular in its home country: the United States. There, it accounts for 7% of all searches made, with this number rising to more like 13% if you just look at searches made on a desktop or tablet computer. Considering the huge size of the American internet population, that is actually a lot of searches!

I hope this blog post has given you an interesting insight into how search engine usage differs around the world. For more in-depth information about international search trends in 38 countries, you can read the Webcertain Search And Social Report here.

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Elin Box

Content Marketing Manager at Webcertain
Elin is a Content Marketing Manager at Webcertain. She is responsible for Webcertain’s Self-learning platform, producing in-depth guides on a range of international digital marketing topics. She also helps run the Webcertain blog and is the writer of the Webcertain search and social report, an annual report summarising digital marketing best practices in over 50 countries. She is passionate about educating and empowering people to make the best decisions for their business and is proud to help share Webcertain’s wealth of digital marketing knowledge with the world. Elin is from the UK.

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