Meet the search engine taking on Google.
For over two decades Google has dominated the search landscape, shaping how people browse the internet, shop, research, and connect. Since its launch in 1998, Google has grown to hold over 90% of the global search engine market. This domination of the market, its sophisticated algorithm and multiple advertising opportunities has made it the focus for SEO and paid marketing strategies.
However, this monopoly and stranglehold Google has on the market has led many to raise concerns around privacy, to question its practices and its impact on the environment. In recent years users have begun looking for alternatives to Google, alternatives which align better with their personal morals and principles. One such search engine which has begun to stand out is Ecosia, not just a rival to Google but a purpose-driven platform aiming to turn everyday internet activity into positive climate action.
Ecosia was launched in 2009 by founder Christian Kroll, a German entrepreneur and environmentalist. Kroll says that while travelling through Nepal and South America, after graduating, he witnessed the devastating effects of deforestation and social inequality - inspiring him to want to do something about it. Kroll decided he was going to create his own search engine, one that would use all profits from ad revenue to fund reforestation projects.
Today Ecosia is now the world’s largest non-profit search engine, reporting to have funded the planting of over 200 million trees in more than 30 countries.
Goals and Mission
The core mission of Ecosia is to fight climate change and restore ecosystems by supporting reforestation projects with all profits made from ad revenue. In contrast to its large scale competitors, Ecosia doesn’t create personal profiles of its users, sell data to advertisers, or use invasive tracking methods; added to this, Ecosia’s servers run on 100% renewable energy. Owner, Christian Kroll, stated that Ecosia is never to be sold for profit.
Impact On Digital Marketing
Although Ecosia’s percentage of the market share still remains small in comparison to the likes of Google, it does have a dedicated user base - particularly environmentally conscious users, businesses, NGOs and students.
Ecosia uses Bing’s - Microsoft’s search option - infrastructure, meaning any efforts to optimise your site’s SEO for Bing will also benefit your presence on Ecosia. It could also be argued that when users see your business appear high in Ecosia results pages, your business will benefit from the connection users make between your brand and the eco-focused branding of Ecosia.
If you are already advertising on Bing then you may already be advertising on Ecosia by default; one way to improve performance on Ecosia, if you wish to do so, would be to include environmental messaging / practices carried out by your business that may appeal to Ecosia users.
If looking to focus / appeal to users searching on Ecosia, it will be helpful to tune into the mindset of their users - often much more focused on social issues, activism and environmental causes.
iPhone
If you or your business wants to make the switch to Ecosia, it is relatively simple. On iPhone all you need to do is go to settings > safari > search engine and choose Ecosia from the options available.
Android
Open Chrome app > tap more to the right of address bar > tap settings > under basics tap search engine > select Ecosia
Chrome
Select settings > search engine from the left-hand menu > change > select Ecosia from the options
