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> I suspect means it [DDG] would be a perfectly fine replacement for most people I suspect otherwise. DDG is as good as Google in certain topics, especially pr

> I suspect means it [DDG] would be a perfectly fine replacement for most people I suspect otherwise. DDG is as good as Google in certain topics, especially programming-related topics. But otherwise, not so good. Sometimes, it feels like it simply has indexed less pages than Google. But I still use DDG as much as possible, only !g when the results are unsatisfactory. I don't know how much it actually help DDG, though, since it doesn't seem to get much better over the past few years.

Retric 6y ago
IMO, their general results are close enough my preference for DDG’s UI is a major factor. Where Google wins is better parsing of math and conversions. ex: “37 * 5 gallons in liters”
AnthonyMouse 6y ago
My experience is that DDG still isn't as good as Google historically was, but Google itself has actually gotten worse, to the point that they're now about the same. The main problem seems to be that Google will no longer surface anything that isn't on a major site, so even when you know that the thing you're looking for exists, it can't find it. Obviously this also implies that it's missing a ton of stuff you didn't know existed but would have wanted to see.
- kenhwang 6y ago
  That's what I noticed as well. I didn't switch over to DDG because it was better, I did because Google just got much worse and so cluttered with ads and knowledge blocks that were wrong more often than not.
- idiocrat 6y ago
  > Google will no longer surface anything that isn't on a major site I like this search engine very much. It has all the "alternative" stuff. https://wiby.me/ https://wiby.me/
  - duffyjp 6y ago
    Wow, it's amazing how fast a website can be without 2MB of silly Javascript frameworks. I did a search for "Weather" and got a result for my local weather in ASCII form. This is right up my alley.
- kmclean 6y ago
  Yeah I agree.. DDG has limitations, but I find the first 2 pages of Google are almost entirely ads now (either literal paid ads or posts full of ads and affiliate links). The whole SEO racket has incentivized all the wrong kinds of optimization.
happymellon 6y ago
Localisation as well. DDG lets me pick the UK but almost all results are US centric.
matwood 6y ago
As has been mentioned many times, the problem (if you want to call it that) with DDG is that it does not personally tailor results. Google is great at deciphering what I mean because it has data on me. DDG doesn't have this data, so how I search needed to be tweaked. I rarely have need for the g! anymore.
- marlowe221 6y ago
  I'm genuinely curious about this and would like to use Google search less than I do now... Would you mind sharing a few tips (or pointing me in the direction of some tips) for better DDG searches? I love the concept and philosophy of DDG but the search results I get could definitely be better!
  - matwood 6y ago
    It’s hard to describe. For example, I keep in mind that DDG does not know I’m a programmer. So, I have to phrase queries with that in mind. DDG also has a lot of ! shortcuts, not just google.
    - barbacoa 6y ago
      Even has a hacker news hn! shortcut.
- scaryclam 6y ago
  For me, the non-tailoring is a massive benefit because it doesn't try and guess at what I mean. When I search for "Python" I get snakes and language documentation. Having to be more specific about what I want isn't a great burden when it means I can actually find what I actually want, not what the search engine is guessing I want.
sundarurfriend 6y ago
> DDG is as good as Google in certain topics, especially programming-related topics. But otherwise, not so good. Interesting, my experience is exactly the opposite (as I mentioned in another comment here). In general searches, DDG and Google return about equally good results, with 10% of the time DDG doing better and 10% of the time Google doing better. With programming-related searches, Google is pretty much guaranteed to return better results for me. Doing the Advent of Code 2020 was the first time in months that I had to consistently do `!g` re-searches, because DDG results were significantly worse.

Retric 6y ago

IMO, their general results are close enough my preference for DDG’s UI is a major factor. Where Google wins is better parsing of math and conversions. ex: “37 * 5 gallons in liters”

AnthonyMouse 6y ago

My experience is that DDG still isn't as good as Google historically was, but Google itself has actually gotten worse, to the point that they're now about the same. The main problem seems to be that Google will no longer surface anything that isn't on a major site, so even when you know that the thing you're looking for exists, it can't find it. Obviously this also implies that it's missing a ton of stuff you didn't know existed but would have wanted to see.

kenhwang 6y ago
That's what I noticed as well. I didn't switch over to DDG because it was better, I did because Google just got much worse and so cluttered with ads and knowledge blocks that were wrong more often than not.
idiocrat 6y ago
> Google will no longer surface anything that isn't on a major site I like this search engine very much. It has all the "alternative" stuff. https://wiby.me/ https://wiby.me/
- duffyjp 6y ago
  Wow, it's amazing how fast a website can be without 2MB of silly Javascript frameworks. I did a search for "Weather" and got a result for my local weather in ASCII form. This is right up my alley.
kmclean 6y ago
Yeah I agree.. DDG has limitations, but I find the first 2 pages of Google are almost entirely ads now (either literal paid ads or posts full of ads and affiliate links). The whole SEO racket has incentivized all the wrong kinds of optimization.

happymellon 6y ago

Localisation as well. DDG lets me pick the UK but almost all results are US centric.

matwood 6y ago

As has been mentioned many times, the problem (if you want to call it that) with DDG is that it does not personally tailor results. Google is great at deciphering what I mean because it has data on me. DDG doesn't have this data, so how I search needed to be tweaked. I rarely have need for the g! anymore.

marlowe221 6y ago
I'm genuinely curious about this and would like to use Google search less than I do now... Would you mind sharing a few tips (or pointing me in the direction of some tips) for better DDG searches? I love the concept and philosophy of DDG but the search results I get could definitely be better!
- matwood 6y ago
  It’s hard to describe. For example, I keep in mind that DDG does not know I’m a programmer. So, I have to phrase queries with that in mind. DDG also has a lot of ! shortcuts, not just google.
  - barbacoa 6y ago
    Even has a hacker news hn! shortcut.
scaryclam 6y ago
For me, the non-tailoring is a massive benefit because it doesn't try and guess at what I mean. When I search for "Python" I get snakes and language documentation. Having to be more specific about what I want isn't a great burden when it means I can actually find what I actually want, not what the search engine is guessing I want.

sundarurfriend 6y ago

> DDG is as good as Google in certain topics, especially programming-related topics. But otherwise, not so good. Interesting, my experience is exactly the opposite (as I mentioned in another comment here). In general searches, DDG and Google return about equally good results, with 10% of the time DDG doing better and 10% of the time Google doing better. With programming-related searches, Google is pretty much guaranteed to return better results for me. Doing the Advent of Code 2020 was the first time in months that I had to consistently do `!g` re-searches, because DDG results were significantly worse.