Benoit Gourdon, President, EMEA at Botify, a global SEO software provider, looks at how brands can leverage these new engines to reach their customers.
Neeva is the latest ethical search engine on the block, looking to take on the Goliath of search, Google.
It follows hot on the heels of Ahref’s huge investment into its purpose-driven search engine, Yep. There is a shift happening in the search market right now.
Many consumers understand there is a personal, environmental, or social cost to using search engines and are seeking out options that positively offset these factors.
Whilst the rise of search engines is a challenge for brands, the opportunity should not be overlooked as 93% of online experiences still beginning with online search. Customers want to find what they’re looking for, whether that’s an answer, a product, a person, an idea, or an opportunity.
To get the most out of their SEO investment, brands should diversify across multiple search engines – not just Google, Bing and Yahoo – to reach a wider audience and draw on expertise that can support best practices including AI tech to achieve success at scale.
Right now, ethical search engines are estimated to control around 5% of the search market – small by google standards but a growing market that cannot be overlooked.
Conscious consumers are here to stay and are making choices based on their values and sense of trust in search engines. That’s the future of search.
By Benoit Gourdon
President, EMEA