DuckDuckGo (DDG) is a general search engine designed to protect user privacy. It provides the exact same search results to all users, rather than customizing your results based on your previous search history.
DuckDuckGo makes money in two simple ways: advertising and affiliate marketing. Advertising is shown based on the keywords typed into the search box. Affiliate revenues come from Amazon and eBay affiliate programs. When users buy after getting on those sites through DuckDuckGo the company collects a small commission.
When you surf the web through Google, the search engine is tracking you so that you can get targeted ads by the businesses part of the AdWords network. While this is interesting for businesses, which can quickly make money from advertising.
That is a flaw in this model: users’ privacy. In fact, as concerns from how data online gets used by private companies or governments that opens up new concerns from users. A concern is a threat to an established organization, but an opportunity for a rising one. Those fears can become a value proposition.
That is precisely what DuckDuckGo has done. Privacy has been the beginning one of the reasons why the search engine got built.
DuckDuckGo has managed to build a business model based on differentiating its value proposition compared to Google. Google’s value mainly comes from its ability to track its users to offer targeted ads.
While this is a strength that makes it attractive for businesses to pay for Google ads, and publishers to know what content users want, that might also be a weakness. As privacy concerns grow, more users are willing to give up Google to find an alternative to that.
Based on that. DuckDuckGo has built a value proposition based on privacy. Where Google tracks its users, DuckDuckGo doesn’t. So how does it make money? Mainly through untracked advertising and affiliate marketing. Is this business model sustainable? As of 2015, DuckDuckGo was already profitable. It revenues though are a tiny fraction of Google revenues.
Thus, the question that comes to mind is “will ever DuckDuckGo become a dominant player?” That is hard to answer, and it will depend on DuckDuckGo ability to experiment with other sources of revenue generations. For instance, if privacy is something so critical for DuckDuckGo users, why not experimenting with a subscription-based search? Who says that search has to be free at all?