BACK-END: A Map Showing Connections Between Online Search Engines

Media Outlets and Others Looking to Distribute Content on the Web Need to Understand the Connections Between the Various Search Engines.

To visit the “Online Search Engine Map,” please click on the image above.

Sometimes, the secrets of the universe are hidden in plain site.

For example, the Search Engine Map provides a comprehensive visual representation of English-language search engines worldwide, detailing where and how each engine sources its results.

The map aims to illustrate the interconnectedness of current search engines by showing which engines use each other's results.

This helps users understand the distinction between search engines and clarifies the relationship between primary search engines (which collect their own data using web crawlers) and metasearch engines (which aggregate data collected by other search engines).

The size of each search engine on the map reflects the number of metasearch engines that use its organic results, indicating its influence or usage in the search ecosystem.

Curiously enough, although the Google search engine currently dominates the search market, it’s market share is slowly declining and the Bing search engine now provides more data to other metasearch engines.

The December 21st, 2024 Neil Patel on Instagram post, “Search everywhere optimization” notes that the old concept of search engine optimization (SEO) for individual search engines has morphed into the concept of “search everywhere optimization,” covering social media platforms, multiple search engines and AI programs.

The March 27th, 2024 Mojeek Search Engine official blog post, “The Search Engine Map,” provides an overview of the Search Engine Map, which Mojeek says it created, although some sources disagree.

Mojeek is a UK-based a crawler-based search engine founded by Marc Smith in 2004 and known for its commitment to privacy and independence.

It’s major competitors are DuckDuckGo, Startpage, Qwant, Ecosia and Swisscows.

Curiously enough, a complete list of the worlds largest search engines wouldn’t just include general interest, non-English language sites like Baidu (China’s most popular search engine) or Yanex (Russia’s most popular search engine and mostly blocked in Western nations).

For more on the worlds largest search engines, check out the December 18th, 2024 Infidiget post, “Search Engine List.”

Just remember that Infidiget is a marketing company, “an Artificial Intelligence enabled growth agency that helps you accelerate your business to achieve maximum ROI,” according to their landing page.

Here’s the punchline.

Marketing and circulation management, once essential core concepts of media business management, is still a vital skill for getting news and information to audiences.

Both legacy and new media outlets need to remember this. The news won’t distribute itself.