Beyond Google: The most popular search engines around the world

From analysing recent data, a few trends are especially significant, and ones we watch closely, as they affect our international SEO services.

• Slight erosion of Google’s margin: Not dramatic, but visible. In some countries, and in certain device categories, Google is losing a little ground to regional engines. Globally, though, Google is also losing market share to conversational AI platforms like ChatGPT and Copilot.
• Regulatory & censorship impacts: in places like China, regulation affects which engines are accessible or popular; privacy/regulation in Europe also influences how users and businesses engage with search technology.
• User demand for privacy & transparency: increasing awareness of data collection, tracking, and personalisation is pushing some users toward engines like DuckDuckGo, Brave Search, or others that promise more privacy. While these aren’t winning market share the way Google or Yandex or Baidu do (yet), they’re growing in a way that suggests they’ll be more relevant in niche strategy conversations.
• Integration & ecosystem matter: local search engines that bundle more services (maps, local news, shopping, forums, payments) tend to stay more sticky with users. Being the default on device browser helps.
• Device & infrastructure differences: Mobile vs desktop, internet speed, language/font or input method, prevalence of voice search or AI assistants, all impact how people engage with search. What works in one country may lag in another.

Here’s where these facts move from “interesting” to “essential,” especially if you’re planning content or your SEO strategy.

• Don’t assume one-size-fits-all. If you are optimizing for search or planning ads in Russia, you can’t treat Google exactly the same way you would in the UK. For example, Yandex has different ranking signals; content expectations differ; user behavior differs.
• Tailor localization: language, tone, local cultural references, local services matter. Also, consider what integrations users expect (e.g. local review sites, payment systems, maps, etc.).
• Regulation and compliance: In some markets, you need to be aware of what content can or cannot appear, as well as privacy and data regulations, default search engine arrangements, and government controls. For example, you cannot use Google in China unless you access it via a VPN.
• Device & user infrastructure sensitivity: ensure your content loads fast, works well on mobile, consider how search habits are different on mobile vs desktop; consider voice search, etc.
• Privacy-friendly search engines can’t be ignored: while they currently have modest share, their audience is often more engaged, more privacy-aware, possibly more brand sensitive. That might mean different messaging or different platforms for some companies.