A Comparison of Source Distribution and Result Overlap in Web Search Engines

TL;DR

This study compares the top search results from Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Metager across thousands of queries, revealing differences in source diversity and overlap that suggest using multiple engines broadens information access.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of source overlap and diversity among major search engines, highlighting the benefits of using multiple engines for broader perspectives.

Findings

Google has more unique domains in top results.

Overlap between Google and Bing is under 32%.

Using multiple search engines increases source variety.

Abstract

When it comes to search engines, users generally prefer Google. Our study aims to find the differences between the results found in Google compared to other search engines. We compared the top 10 results from Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Metager, using 3,537 queries generated from Google Trends from Germany and the US. Google displays more unique domains in the top results than its competitors. Wikipedia and news websites are the most popular sources overall. With some top sources dominating search results, the distribution of domains is also consistent across all search engines. The overlap between Google and Bing is always under 32%, while Metager has a higher overlap with Bing than DuckDuckGo, going up to 78%. This study shows that the use of another search engine, especially in addition to Google, provides a wider variety in sources and might lead the user to find new perspectives.