For billions of people, search engines are a daily use service. They are often our first stop to retrieve information in response to any written or spoken queries. To give you a rough estimate, nearly 32% of online traffic is produced using search engines. But the one thing that most of us forget to think about is how we get these relevant results. What if the information we are getting is biased, picked at the sole discretion of one Big Tech company, and that same company is tracking our every move online?
Our search results influence just about everything you buy or learn online. These traditional search engines analyze your data and filter millions of web pages to provide you with relevant results.
Some of the most common traditional search engines are Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. All these search engines are ad-based. That is, they are more concerned about making money off advertisements than they are with results’ quality. They gather all your data for advertising and sell your data to advertisers and, in return, provide you with search results that are just good enough to keep you coming back for more hopefully.
These traditional search engines decide what they are going to show you and fail to give users control over the sources and news in their search. If you are concerned about bias and tracking in your search engine, then it would be best if you considered an alternative private, ad-free search engine like Neeva to empower you with greater control over results without tracking or commercial bias.
Reasons why you should switch to Neeva:
A search engine is like a compass that helps you sail through the numerous websites helping you to explore the internet. Getting to the right website will become much simpler if it points you in the correct direction. But all the traditional search engines are biased toward advertisements. We have listed some reasons you should switch from traditional search engines to their alternatives, like private search engines.
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Offer Organic Traffic and Ranks
Online advertising is how most major search engines earn a profit, which creates misaligned incentives. With ads, advertisers can pay their way to the top of the search results for targeted keywords, particularly those involving shopping or products. Additionally, advertisements and actual search rankings are becoming more similar. Inevitably, these search engines cater to advertisers at the expense of the best user experience.
On the other hand, Neeva eliminates this conflict of interest by removing ads entirely and offering a freemium model (free basic service and a paid premium). On Neeva, there is an enormous opportunity for organic traffic and ranks. Businesses following good Search Engine Optimization techniques are already in an excellent position to succeed.
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Don’t Prioritize User Engagement
Default search engines prioritize user interaction. The goal of these search engines is to display results that users will tap on. Users who click on a relevant search result and stay on the page for a while telling the search engine that the content is pertinent and interesting.
The likelihood of these search engines returning that result increases due to this indication. Engagement, however, is not always a sign of excellence. For instance, ad-supported, high-engagement websites like WebMD frequently outsmart reputable websites like the World Health Organization. But you want solid outcomes, not a detour.
Neeva, however, is not concerned about prioritizing user interactions. It does not support any advertisements. Therefore, it will show you relevant and organic results instead of ad-supported results. Moreover, Neeva empowers its users to take control over the sources they want to see with the ability to select preferred providers.
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Don’t Sell Your Personal Information
Advertisers buy your information through ad-based search engines that monitor your online activities. They automatically record every query you conduct on their machines. Additionally, they gather confidential information, such as your IP address, and utilize it to deliver relevant advertising to you. You have no authority over how they use the information. Or how long they will keep the information they collect on you.
A private, ad-free search engine, like Neeva, does not profit off your data because its business model has no incentive to sell it. They also let users control whether they want their search history to help personalize their search results.
Fundamentally, your information is safe with Neeva. Switching to a private search engine replacing your browser’s default search engine can offer you extra pertinent search results while protecting your details from being tracked and advertised.
The Bottom Line
So that’s it. You can now see that these traditional search engines track your activities and are more advertisement centric, meaning they sell your data to advertisers. These search engines influence everything from what you are thinking to what you are purchasing.
If you are concerned about tracking and bias in your search engine and want more control and less bias, then you should try a private search engine like Neeva. Neeva doesn’t contain any advertisements and does not profit off your private information.
Interesting Related Article: “Search Engine Marketing for Movers – What It Is, How to Do It, and Why Your Moving Company Needs It“