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And because it is a search engine, you can advertise on DuckDuckGo. Why you would do that, and how it works, we explain to you here.
DuckDuckGo vs. Google/Bing
In the endless battle of search engines, DuckDuckGo has now been able to establish itself as a (relatively) major player. But what is the difference between them and, say, Google? It can be summed up by one term: anonymous search. Where Google (or Bing, and actually all other search engines) gathers as much data as possible from the searcher, and you end up in a kind of Filter bubble where the results are not entirely objective, DuckDuckGo puts itself on the map by doing just that. The search results are thus many times more objective.
There is a lot of technical jargon behind it, but it is something that has recently become more relevant and therefore more important in the eyes of the potential searcher. They are looking for alternatives where their privacy is guaranteed and where they can search anonymously.
Why advertise on DuckDuckGo?
On Jan. 13, 2022, DuckDuckGo posted on X (then Twitter) that they had processed 100 billion searches. Only a small number of other search engines can say this: Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu (Chinese platform) and now DuckDuckGo. On good days, DDG counts more than 110 million visitors a day - compared to Bing, the world's second largest search engine, this is certainly respectable and so they also absolutely deserve to be mentioned in the list of great search engines.
I hear you ask, "Yes, but Nick ... Now why do you, as a SEA specialist, find this interesting?" Good question, reader! So advertising on DDG is a thing. And how it works, I've figured out for you.
How to start advertising on DuckDuckGo (in 6.5 steps)
The interesting thing about DuckDuckGo ads is that they do not have their own ad program. DuckDuckGo Ads, for example, does not exist. Here they use a different program, and that is Microsoft Advertising. I'll tell you in 6 (and a half) easy steps how to turn on DuckDuckGo ads through Microsoft Ads!
Step 0.5: Making sure you have a Microsoft Ads account, and that you've written ads for it. If not, do that again. It's just as convenient.
Step 1: Log in to Microsoft Ads. You can do that by going here: https://ads.microsoft.com/
Step 2: Click on the appropriate campaign. You will find the "Campaigns" button on the left.
The interface of Microsoft Ads is very similar to that of Google Ads.
Step 3: Click on the relevant Ad group what it's about. Nothing exciting yet.
Step 4: When you get to the right Ad group, click on "Settings" in the left menu.
Step 5: Scroll down to "Ad distribution." You'll find this under the heading "Other Settings."
Step 6: Make sure the top of the options is selected and click "Save" at the very bottom of the page.
Your ads are now showing up on DuckDuckGo, too!
Examples DuckDuckGo ads
To get an idea of what a DuckDuckGo ad looks like, here are a few examples:
If you have more questions about DuckDuckGo advertising, contact OMA!
This article was written on August 28, 2022 and updated on October 19, 2023.
Written by: Nick Havekes
Nick is a SEA specialist at OMA. He analyzes your campaigns like a football match and then provides winning tactics. Ronald Koeman, eat your heart out.