Want to rank in DuckDuckGo search results, but not sure how that’s different from optimizing for Google?
DuckDuckGo doesn’t build its search index the way Google does. Instead, it gets most of its web results from Bing and other trusted sources. That means if your site isn’t visible in Bing, it probably won’t appear in DuckDuckGo either.
The good news? You don’t need to learn a whole new SEO playbook. In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how DuckDuckGo finds and ranks websites, plus the simple steps you can take to improve your visibility.
What is DuckDuckGo & Why Optimize Your Site for It?
DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search engine that doesn’t track your searches or build a personal profile based on your browsing history. Unlike Google, it shows the same search results to everyone instead of personalizing them based on user data.
According to the recent StatCounter report, DuckDuckGo held a global search market share of 0.65%. Although it has a much smaller market share than Google, optimizing your WordPress site for it can still help you reach privacy-conscious DuckDuckGo users.
The good news is that the same WordPress SEO best practices that help you rank in Google can also help you appear in DuckDuckGo. However, because DuckDuckGo does not have its own massive web index like Google, it relies heavily on over 400 external sources. That means you need to keep a few specific platform dependencies in mind while optimizing your site.
- Bing and Yahoo: DuckDuckGo’s traditional web results and images are primarily powered by the Bing network.
- Apple Maps: Unlike Google, which pulls local business listings from Google Business Profiles, DuckDuckGo uses Apple Maps to display local map results.
- Wikipedia and DuckDuckHack: For instant answers and informational boxes at the top of the screen, DuckDuckGo frequently crawls Wikipedia and specialized crowd-sourced databases.
With that in mind, let’s look at the few DuckDuckGo-specific steps you can take to improve your visibility.
Submit Your XML Sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools
Since DuckDuckGo relies primarily on Bing to discover and rank web pages, submitting your sitemap to Bing gives your content the best chance of appearing in DuckDuckGo search results.
WordPress automatically creates a basic XML sitemap. However, to create a custom sitemap and have more control over it, you can use a free SEO plugin like All in One SEO (AIOSEO) or Yoast SEO.
To submit your sitemap, you’ll have to register your site with Bing Webmaster Tools. After adding your site as a property, click ‘Sitemaps’ on the left menu, and click ‘Submit sitemap’ in the top right corner.
Enter the full URL for your sitemap in the field, click the ‘Submit’ button, and you are done.
For a more detailed step-by-step guide, you can follow our tutorial on how to submit your website to Bing Webmaster Tools.
Add Your Business to Apple Maps
DuckDuckGo powers its map and address-related search results with Apple Maps. This includes local listings, maps, and directions.
If you run a brick-and-mortar business, then adding it to Apple Maps can help you appear in search results when people search for products or services in your area.
To get started, sign in to Apple Business and create your business listing.
You’ll need to provide basic details like your business name, address, phone number, website, and business hours. Apple will verify your listing before publishing it.
Get Picked Up by DuckDuckGo Instant Answers
DuckDuckGo’s Instant Answers display quick answers above the regular search results, so users don’t always need to click through to another website.
They pull information from more than 100 sources, including specialized data providers and crowd-sourced sites like Wikipedia.
DuckDuckGo also offers Search Assist, an optional AI feature that generates answers by scanning web content and always links back to the original sources it used.
Optimizing your website for SiteAssist essentially means optimizing it for any generative AI tool. You can add schema markup for better context, cite sources, format content with logical headings and subheadings, and more.
The Rest Is Just Good SEO
Once you’ve completed the DuckDuckGo-specific steps above, everything else comes down to following SEO best practices. The same strategies that help you rank in Google and Bing also help you rank in DuckDuckGo.
- Focus on improving your site’s speed and user experience to make your website more useful for visitors and search engines.
- Do keyword research to find the search terms your audience is already using.
- Earn high-quality backlinks from reputable websites to improve your site’s credibility and search rankings.
For a complete SEO strategy, be sure to check out our ultimate WordPress SEO guide.
Frequently Asked Questions About DuckDuckGo SEO
Why do people use DuckDuckGo instead of Google?
People use DuckDuckGo because it doesn’t track their searches to personalize search results. This makes it a popular choice for users who value online privacy.
Does DuckDuckGo rank websites differently from Google?
Yes. While many ranking signals overlap, DuckDuckGo depends much more on Bing’s index and other external data sources. As a result, rankings can differ from Google even for the same search query.
Why isn’t my website showing up in DuckDuckGo?
If your website isn’t appearing, it’s likely because your website has little authority compared to competing pages, your content doesn’t match the search intent for the query or your pages haven’t been indexed by Bing yet.
How do I index my site on DuckDuckGo?
DuckDuckGo doesn’t have its own webmaster tools. You will need to submit your XML sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools so your content can be discovered and indexed.
We hope this article has helped you learn how to optimize your site’s SEO for DuckDuckGo. You may also want to check out our WordPress SEO checklist and our list of best WordPress SEO plugins.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Dennis Muthomi
Does DuckDuckGo provides any official documentation on their search algorithm and recommendations for optimizing websites, similar to how Google shares their quality rater guidelines?
WPBeginner Support
Not at the moment, for the time being using Bing’s recommendations can help your site rank.
Admin
Dennis Muthomi
I see, that makes sense now since duckduckgo uses Bing. I had not thought of that.
But thanks for your reply tho
Hajjalah
I found my website content already present in DuckDuckGo search results. And I am looking forward to implementing this guide for more SEO optimization. But if I may ask.
Is there a way one can control his/her content on DuckDuckGo search? Something like “Google Search Console” where one can track website performance in search results , remove some no-longer used pages and other settings, Is that possible?
WPBeginner Support
For the time being you would use Bing’s webmaster tools to customize your results for DuckDuckGo.
Admin
Dayo Olobayo
This is a great resource! While user experience is crucial for any SEO strategy, I’m curious if there are any specific UX elements that DuckDuckGo prioritizes? Does a focus on fast loading times and mobile-friendliness resonate more with DuckDuckGo’s algorithm compared to Google?
WPBeginner Support
For the moment there is not a specific element we can point to that search engines would look for but a fast loading site will normally rank better thank a slow loading site on every search engine.
Admin
Dayo Olobayo
Your expert opinion is duly noted and appreciated. I will prioritize my website speed then to help for faster loading time.
Jiří Vaněk
The search engine strategies are generally similar. Since each search engine aims to provide the best results for its users to keep them coming back, I’ve noticed for a while that many search engines are looking for the same elements on websites:
High-quality content with as much information as possible
Website speed (ideally, the entire site should load within two seconds)
Other SEO elements that help, such as markup schemas
If you adhere to these principles, you will benefit across all search engines. And since DuckDuckGo mainly draws from information provided by Microsoft Bing, which has very similar methodologies to Google, I would stick to the above rules.
Jiří Vaněk
The search engine strategies are generally similar. Since each search engine aims to provide the best results for its users to keep them coming back, I’ve noticed for a while that many search engines are looking for the same elements on websites:
High-quality content with as much information as possible
Website speed (ideally, the entire site should load within two seconds)
Other SEO elements that help, such as markup schemas
If you adhere to these principles, you will benefit across all search engines. And since DuckDuckGo mainly draws from information provided by Microsoft Bing, which has very similar methodologies to Google, I would stick to the above rules.
Prajwal Shewatkar
I’ve implemented all the above SEO techniques on my blog and I can see some results being indexed on Duckduckgo. Is there no search console or webmaster tools for Duckduckgo??
WPBeginner Support
As we say in the article, there is no webmaster tool for DuckDuckGo but it pulls from tools like Bing which is why we recommend submitting your sitemap to Bing.
Admin
Moinuddin Waheed
This name is completely new to me but given the stats of the market share in the US, it has already made its way.
The fact that it gives privacy a major concern, it will expand its user base very rapidly and tapping it’s seo potential for our businesses and blogs early on is a wise decision.
I will definitely try to make seo optimization for duckduckkgo as well to tap it’s potential.
Really appreciate the efforts for this article.
Mrteesurez
This is a great article. I need to implement this and rank high on Duckduckgo, this post is helpful to me as the big guys are focusing on Google and Bing, this will be an opportunity for we small business to rank high and gain free organic traffic.
Thanks.
WPBeginner Support
Glad we could share this
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
I have seen this search engine many times in the website traffic measurement plugin, as well as in Google Analytics. However, I finally see an article somewhere on how to actually optimize a website for this search engine. E.g. cooperation with Bing webmaster console is new to me in this regard. Thanks
Kzain
DuckDuckGo is definitely gaining traction, and it’s smart to optimize for it. While many SEO principles apply across search engines, there are subtle differences. Leveraging Bing Webmaster Tools which powers DuckDuckGo’s search results is a great starting point.