How To Get More Out of Your Online Searches

Searching for information online with Google is so common that we instinctively tell others to "Google it" when we want someone to look up information. But why Google? With AI-generated answers pulling outdated information and ads burying relevant search results at a higher rate than ever, it's the perfect time to consider making the change to a new search engine.

There are many more options out there that offer an additional incentive to help you find answers to your questions. Did you know you could be making money off your regular search activities or passively supporting a cause you care about?

These three search engines have their own added benefits outside their ability to connect you with information, and you just might want to make the switch.

Bing

Bing has been the subject of jokes online from time to time, but if you use this search engine while logged into your Microsoft account, you can earn prizes for your searches through Microsoft Rewards.

Search daily, and you'll accumulate points that can go toward gift cards, charitable donations, or merchandise. Some of the gift card options include Amazon, Dunkin' Donuts, Hulu and Doordash. In total, there are more than a dozen different gift cards to choose from.

The charity organizations are even more diverse, with options ranging from the Special Olympics and American Red Cross to The Trevor Project and Teach for America.

There are daily offers that can help you increase your points balance faster, and the more regularly you search, the more quickly you'll earn enough to redeem your points for the reward you want.

Personally, I've paid for coffees, food delivery orders through DoorDash, and one of my textbooks with the Amazon gift cards I racked up by switching to Bing and searching daily in the past.

Ecosia

Are you looking for an easy way to build sustainable habits into your day-to-day activities? Founded in 2009, Ecosia is a not-for-profit business that utilizes the revenue generated from searches on their platform to plant trees and fund climate impact projects.

They value transparency and post monthly financial reports outlining their income, expenses, funded projects, total trees planted, and impacted geographic areas.

As of July 2024, Ecosia has reportedly planted over 211 million trees and dedicated over 86.6 million euros ($94.4 million USD) to climate action.

You can search directly on their site or add their Chrome extension to your browser to make it your default search engine choice.

Ecosia also offers a web browser option that includes built-in use of their search engine, shopping links that donate to the environment with every purchase at no additional cost to you, energy-saving settings, and an Open AI chat feature.

Cheerie

Animal lovers, this one is for you. Cheerie was founded in 2021 and works closely with charity organizations to create better shelter environments for abandoned cats and dogs. One of their highlighted charity partners is working to make every shelter in America a no-kill by 2025.

Over the last three years, Cheerie has funded over 5,000 meals for shelter animals, and their donation report information includes details about the animals supported by search revenue. By signing up with your email, their search counter will also track the number of animals your searches have supported. They estimate about 45 searches on average helps one animal.

As an ad-sponsored social business, Cheerie is free to use and turns each search from the browser into a small donation to their cause. The search engine can be added to Google Chrome or downloaded to your smartphone via the App Store or Google Play.

Will you be trying out a new search engine? Do you have other suggestions for search engines that can make you money or support a cause? Share them in the comments below.