Alternate Search Engines

    While most people know about the top four search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo!, and Ask), most don’t know about the alternatives.  Some search engines are powered by one of the big four, but make a donation to charity for each valid search.  Others are just less well-known.
    

Charity Search Engines

     Goodsearch (powered by Yahoo!): This search engine allows you to pick the charity to which your search donations will be made.  While not every charity is a partner with Goodsearch, there are many that are.  If your favorite is not listed, contact the charity and ask the contact person to apply.  This search engine also has a shopping section entitled Goodshop, which often offers online coupons for many online retailers.  Online shopping done through Goodshop donates a percentage of the purchase to your charity of choice.  Once you have chosen a charity on the homepage, there is a button under the name of the charity to take you to a page of the statistics for the charity. The amount of money raised for each month from searches and from purchases will each be listed, as well as the total for the year to date and the total for the charity since it partnered with Goodsearch.  If you are having trouble choosing a charity, there is a featured charity of the day in the upper left hand corner on the homepage.  In addition to the search site itself, Goodsearch is also available as a Firefox add-on.
    Ads4Africa (powered by Google):  This search engine generates money to be donated to impoverished families in Africa with each valid search. There are a few more ads than an average Google search.  The look of this search engine is also quite different, with bright yellow and green in the background.  It is available as a Firefox internet browser add-on.

    Less Well-Known Search Engines

DuckDuckGo:This is a general search engine site, much like Google.  Unlike the big four, however, DuckDuckGo does not track your searches.  It has minimal ads, and minimal decoration (it only has a duck with a bow tie at the top).  For many searches, DuckDuckGo will display a definition at the top of the search results list in a box.   In addition to the search site, DuckDuckGo is also a Firefox add-on.  There is a link to add it to Firefox on the homepage.

     Dogpile: This is a meta search engine, that collects responses from Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.  The background is sky and grass, with a cartoon of a dog in the lower right hand corner.  This cartoon changes on occasion, and often has an optional search that goes along with the cartoon beneath it.  There is a link to add Dogpile to your browser’s search box on the homepage.