Times are changing and it is time to be ahead of the curve if you are hoping to succeed with SEO in Raleigh NC! As I’m sure you already know, the majority of the country focuses on Google-first SEO. This means that most SEOs and businesses gauge their SEO success on Google performance as well as looking to Google to monitor the latest changes in website optimization. After years of Google being the big kahuna with SEO, some SEOs are now suggesting that you shouldn’t put all of your eggs into Google’s overpopulated basket.

As we all know, there is no shortage of search engines in this day and age, but what you may not realize is that some of these search engines may actually help you reach your target audience more effectively. Now it is time to accept the hard truth that Google is not the only search engine being used across the web. Don’t get me wrong though, Google might be the largest search engine in your region, and is probably the most popular within your demographic, but you have to understand that just because it is the most popular, doesn’t mean that some of your audience has declined to use the service.

Now with all of this being said, I’m sure you’re wondering, “If the majority of my audience is using Google, why should I care about the other search engines?” Well my friend, let me enlighten you. Keep reading for a little insight into why you should take other search engines into consideration for your 2020 SEO strategy.

Market Share

This may come as a surprise, but Google’s market share is slowly but steadily declining. In 2012, it was noted that Google had roughly a 92% share of the search engine market, however, in as recent as October 2019, it was found that Google has fallen to only having an 88% market share. The interesting thing here is that during this time, Bing saw their search engine market share increase from 3.5% to 5.26%!  This means that more and more users are straying from Google as their trusty steed to experience other search engines.

Rankings are Important

Again, just because Google is considered number one does not mean that it is the only one. If you continue to focus purely on Google’s algorithms, you could be missing more and more opportunities as search trends shift. It’s no news that Google is always changing how they rank websites, but did you ever think that making those site adjustments to rank higher within Google’s latest algorithm update could cause your rankings to fall dramatically on Bing or Yahoo?

Know Your Audience

As SEOs or business owners, you like to think you know your audience and how they search online best. The unfortunate truth is though, that so many users are changing the way they are searching. In just one month alone this year, we have seen a rise in privacy concerns in which searchers and users are straying from Google to use other websites that claim to protect their data more effectively.

Now not all internet users keep up with online trends, however, if you do have a tech conscience audience you are dealing with, they are likely aware of the implication of tracking and data harvesting happening online. These users are some of the first to make the switch into a new browser or search engine that will not use behavioral targeting. Lastly, Google is not necessarily the most popular engine for image or product searches. These searches tend to vary on the product the user is looking for.

Other Search Engines

Now we have been talking about how searches are shifting from Google, so you may be wondering where people are searching from these days. When it comes to search engines, we like to think of them in two categories, traditional and modern.

Your traditional search engines are those such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, DuckDuckGo, and Yandex. If you take a look at your analytic data, you may have noticed an uptick in the traffic to your website from these referral paths.

In comparison to the traditional search engine, there are more modern ways of searching for the product or content you are in the market for. These include, but are not limited to Amazon, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Spread Your Eggs

Now is the time to spread your eggs in the multiple facets of the online search industry before the shift in search leaves you and your Google-optimized content behind. While most of the traditional search engines use the same form of optimizations for your website, you have some play room in those more modern engines. Get to know your audience now and make sure that you have engaging content wherever they are searching. If you find yourself needing help with SEO in Raleigh NC, contact Red Shark Digital today!