What is the best search engine
17.12.2017 17:00:00
The modern Internet is difficult to imagine without search engines. Every day they process billions of requests coming through desktop browsers and mobile applications. The most complex algorithms literally predict the actions of users, suggest possible options for input data and produce the most accurate results.
But what is the best search engine on the Web today? Why do we prefer a particular search engine? In our article, we will analyze which search engines have gained the greatest popularity and what are their fundamental differences.
Search engine ranking in the world
First, let's find out which search engines are the most popular in the world. To do this, let's turn to the data provided by the reputable analytical agency NetMarketShare. This table displays the top 5 search engines and the percentage of requests from personal computer users for 2017:
It is easy to see that in both positions, the search engine from Google is in the lead with the maximum margin from its competitors. What's more, for mobile devices, Google is essentially a monopoly, processing 93% of all search queries. This is due to the widespread use of smartphones on the Android OS.
In addition, Google is one of the most minimalistic search engines. On the main page, the user sees only the logo and the search bar. Also, users are attracted by interesting doodles - Google logos, which are redrawn in honor of a certain date or event. Very often such doodles are made interactive. Thus, according to all the above indicators, Google is by far the best search engine.
In second place in popularity, both on PCs and on smartphones, the Chinese search engine Baidu has firmly established itself. The fact is that this service is the only one available in China - it is used by 92% of the entire population. From time to time, Baidu tries to expand the geographical boundaries, but it has not gained popularity in other countries. This is largely due to a rather aggressive promotion policy and the conflict between search engine extensions and antiviruses.
Bing is a search engine from Microsoft, which is most often used by owners of personal computers in the United States. A small percentage of requests from mobile devices is due to the fact that smartphones from Microsoft are gradually leaving the market.
Yahoo! - one of the oldest search engines, which was created in 1995. Basically, it is used by residents of the USA, Great Britain and some countries of Southeast Asia.
The search engine from Yandex was only in the top five for requests from a PC. A small percentage of the total number of requests is also due to the fact that users of Russia and the CIS countries use the domestic search engine. And the Dogpile service closes the top 5 in terms of popularity of search engines for mobile devices. Its main audience is residents of the USA, Canada and Europe.
Search engine rating in Russia
To find out which is the best search engine in the Russian Internet segment of the Runet, we will be helped by the data of the LiveInternet counter and the analytical service Seo-auditor.
The LiveInternet counter takes into account search queries from both PC and mobile platforms. As a result, the popularity rating of search engines in Russia looks like this:
The two main competitors, Google and Yandex, are leading by a wide margin. Both search engines are characterized by high speed and efficiency. In addition, each service has its own unique features. For example, the Google search engine gives clear and concise information about each site, and also takes into account the quality of the pages in the issue. Yandex, on the other hand, pays great attention to its additional services, which are connected with each request in a search engine.
In third place in terms of popularity was the search engine from Mail.ru. Many experts note that this service has well-developed search algorithms, fast news updates on the main page. On the other hand, Mail has enough shortcomings. First of all, this is a lack of additional services and an unfinished anti-spam filter.
The once popular Rambler now processes only 0.2% of the total number of search queries on the Russian Internet. Some time ago, the service made a major overhaul: the search engine changed its logo and the main page was redrawn from scratch. However, this, alas, did not help to rise in the ranking of search engines.
However, Rambler has its obvious merits. For example, an associative search system. If the user forgets to change the layout and types in the word vepsrf, the search engine returns results for the query "Music". Now you won’t surprise anyone with this system, only Rambler was the first search engine in Runet that was able to implement such an algorithm with high quality.
Less than 200 thousand requests per year were processed by the Bing search engine. As mentioned above, the service from Microsoft is popular mainly in the West, and, most likely, most of the requests in Runet via Bing are sent from smartphones and PCs of foreigners working in Russia.
Similar data on the popularity of search engines can be observed in the study of the analytical agency Seo-auditor. Compare the numbers as of January and November 2017:
Comparing the data of counters Yandex.Metrika, SpyLog/Openstat, LiveInternet, Hotlog, [email protected], as well as using original algorithms, Seo-auditor experts came to the conclusion that the title of "The Best Search Engine" in Runet is again divided among themselves Google and Yandex. In addition, it is noticeable how the share of requests through the search engines Mail, Rambler and Bing has decreased over the year.
Mobile application search engines
Among the top five most popular search engines, Google, Yandex and Bing have branded mobile applications. To find out how each utility is different, we tested search engines on a powerful and productive smartphone. As a test query, we used one of the most popular, at the moment, not only in Russia, but throughout the world - Star Wars 8. The result can be seen in the video below:
Google in its mobile search engine is guided by the same principle as in the desktop version - a minimum of interface elements. The search query can be entered both from the on-screen keyboard and by voice. In the issuance of the search engine, you can trace a clear hierarchy:
- Film reviews and ratings
- Schedule of screenings in cinemas of the city
- Trailers on YouTube
- List of film cast
- Similar queries
- Links to sites.
A similar picture can be observed in the search engine from Yandex. The Russian service in its application also copies the main version. The main page contains useful services and news, and the search bar is fixed at the bottom of the screen. The results are distributed as follows:
- Trailers and videos on Yandex.Video
- Schedule of screenings in cinemas
- Link to Wikipedia
- List of actors
- Similar queries
- Links to the site (and the first link is the page of the film on Kinopoisk, which belongs to Yandex).
A separate "trick" of Yandex can be called the voice assistant Alice, with which you can not only find the information you need, but also pass the time in a pleasant, and sometimes funny conversation with a digital algorithm.
Bing, like Google, is on the path to being concise. The main screen has a search button on a beautiful background. By clicking on the magnifying glass, the user is taken to the page of the search engine. Despite the fact that the interface is not Russified, the application quickly produces the desired results. True, unlike Google and Yandex, Bing is limited to links to sites without additional services included.
Alternative search engines
In addition to the most popular search engines like Yandex and Google, there are many interesting search services on the Web that, in terms of their functions, can become a good alternative to the recognized giants. We have selected 5 of the most interesting systems that can be used both on PC and on smartphones.
A search engine based on three main principles:
- Lack of a personal data store
- No intrusive ads based on user requests
- No tracking of user actions.
Thus, DuckDuckGo will be appreciated by those who prefer privacy on the Web and want to receive objective information, without regard to past browsing behavior on the Internet. In addition, DuckDuckGo is not geographically tied to the user. This means that information can be searched and received in any language, while Yandex and Google prefer Russian-language resources, even if you type in a request in English.
YaCy
A decentralized search engine that does not have a single server and owner. YaCy is a network of user computers on which a special program is installed. Each PC independently scans the Network and collects the information received into a common database. Each node on the YaCy network is autonomous and therefore not subject to government or corporate censorship.
The only drawback for a domestic user is that YaCy is not Russified.
Pipl
Pipl is a system that is designed to search for specific users on the Web. Sophisticated algorithms collect all the data about a person from social media profiles, comments, open databases, and so on. At the moment, the Pipl search database contains data on more than 3 billion people.
RuNet search for Pipl is still quite a challenge. So this search engine will be more useful for those who are looking for specific users in Europe, the USA or Canada.
Question-answer system, a search engine based on a knowledge base and a set of computational algorithms. Unlike other search engines, Wolfram|Alpha does not display a list of links for queries, but generates a complete response based on a knowledge base about history, culture, science, cinematography, theater and much more. In addition, the algorithm connects data about famous people and pages on the Web.
For example, for a Star Wars films query, the search engine returns a list of all films in the movie universe, for each of which you can view an individual information card. This is followed by a selection of movie posters and details of the box office.
Wolfram|Alpha is constantly updating its database to more accurately display the most relevant information for queries. For students, journalists, analysts and researchers, Wolfram|Alpha is perhaps the best search engine, as it provides not only textual information, but also compiles various graphs, tables and diagrams for greater clarity.
We have introduced you to the most popular search engines. Of course, it is quite difficult to call a certain search engine the best in the world. Each system has its own set of tools that attract certain users. What search engine do you use the most? Tell us about your impressions in the comments to this article!