What is Yandex?
Yandex is the biggest Russian multinational technology company and operates the region’s most popular search engine. In addition, the company created a few internet-related services and products, such as maps and translations.
Yandex has become one of Google‘s main rivals due to its advancements in providing its users. Yandex has a market share of 58.17% and 2.21 billion average monthly visitors.
Discover more about what Yandex is and its:
- Key services
- Search Engine Optimization
- Privacy concerns
Dive into this article and see what Yandex has to offer.
| 🔑Key Takeaways: | |
| Explore this page to learn more about what Yandex has to offer.
Yandex is a company that provides a search engine, email, navigation, and other services. Yandex favors Russian and other Eastern European languages above Google and Bing. The creators are Russians who chose to create a search engine for the locals. Yandex’s SEO strategy is centered on geotargeting, high-quality content, and a mature domain. The IT titan claims that their data could be more varied and individualized. This collection makes identifying the user impossible for Yandex. |
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Yandex available services in 2023
- Yandex.Connect — a B2B service similar to Google Apps
- Yandex.Disk — Cloud storage
- Yandex.DNS — Free public DNS (domain name system)
- Yandex.Mail — E-mail with unlimited storage
- Yandex.Images — Image search by keyword or image file
- Yandex.Money — Make electronic payments to vendors or other users
- Yandex.Taxi — Connects users with Russian taxi services
- Yandex.Translate — Translate text online
- Yandex.Video — Search for movies and video clips
Exploring Yandex Search Engine
The search engine Yandex.ru premiered on September 23, 1997, at the Softool exposition in Moscow. CompTek founded Yandex, which ultimately became its own company in 2000.
Yandex’s mission since 1997 has been to assist businesses and individual consumers with improved online and offline navigation. Today, the company has 30 branches worldwide and has been listed on the NASDAQ since 2011.
| 📖Definition: NASDAQ, or National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, is an international electronic marketplace.
This platform facilitates stock exchanges in 50 countries. |
Yandex was created by Arkady Borkovsky, Ilya Segalovitch, and Arkady Volozh since no other search engine utilizes languages other than English.
| 🎉Fun fact: The founders named Yandex as a combination of two words. “Ya” (means I) and “Index.” Together, it is the index for me or my index.
Eventually, Yandex became Russia’s Google. |
Dig deeper into Yandex’s features, competition, and landscape in this section.
Services and Key Features of Yandex
Yandex, like Google, provides a variety of built-in features as well as distinct services. Some examples are as follows:
- Yandex Search
- Disk (cloud) Yandex
- Yandex Music
- Yandex Games
- Images Yandex
- Yandex Videos
- Yandex Maps
- Mail Yandex
- Yandex Translate
- Yandex Maps
- Money Yandex
- Yandex Go (taxi and delivery in collaboration with Uber)
- Yandex Slovari (dictionary)
- Direct (advertising) Yandex
- Smart home technology
- Alice (voice assistant)
- eCommerce
- App analytics
- Artificial intelligence (self-driving cars)
Compared to Google’s other rivals, Google does not have the chance to compete with Yandex’s Russian versions. In the next part, you will learn about Yandex’s competitive advantage in the market.
Yandex vs. Other Search Engines
Yandex has a global market share of 1.36%. Google and Bing are Yandex’s two main rivals as of 2023. Google has a 40.45% market share in Russia, while Bing has 82%.
Also Google has a global market share of 92.66%, while Bing has 2.76%. Refer to the table below to understand some of their similarities and differences:
| Yandex | Bing | ||
| Rank in Russia (2023) | #1 | #2 | Not specified |
| Global Rank (2023) | #103 | #1 | #29 |
| Priority Language | Russian | English | English |
| Image Search Options | Size, Color, Type, Layout, Format | Type, Size, Color, Time, Usage Rights | Size, Color, Type, Layout, Format, Wallpaper |
| Maps or Navigation | Better coverage of Russia and is fair with other places globally | Better coverage of other parts of the world, especially Europe | Has a fair coverage of places around the world |
| Language Translation | More effective with Eastern European languages | Effective in many languages | More effective with Central Canadian languages |
As you read on, understand Yandex’s service on the Russian market further.
Yandex and the Russian Digital Landscape
Yandex has a significant influence on the Russian IT sector. It has aided Russia’s technological innovation and employment growth.
Some factors that affect this asset are the following:
- Yandex prioritizes the Russian language and texts.
- The software filters out advertising in search results, providing users with high-quality results.
- Search Yandex is used by 52% of Android handsets in Russia, more than any other search engine.
- Because Yandex is a Russian company, it knows the habits of local consumers the best.
| 👍Helpful Articles: Yandex is big in Russia, but Google is big all over the world. Get a grasp of how huge the best search is with this Techjury article on Google Search Statistics. |
Optimization Pages for Yandex
Understanding how to optimize Yandex pages for your businesses or personal branding is critical.
In this chapter, you’ll learn about some of the reasons for doing so and some tips on how to go about it.
Reasons to Optimize in Yandex
When it comes to optimization, Yandex has a few distinct dynamics. These considerations assist those whose target market is Russia and the surrounding areas.
Furthermore, these are some of the most typical reasons why you should optimize Yandex:
The technological company provides Russian residents information, food, transportation, and other services. If you want your business to be available on the Russian market, you must optimize your web pages on Yandex.
2. The Search Engine Uses Geotargeting System
Yandex prefers local SEO over Google because it has a geotargeting technique that gives location-based inquiries greater visibility. This approach allows search results for certain terms to differ depending on location.
3. Combining Your Web Page With Other Yandex Company Services
Because Yandex provides additional services like maps and advertising, your content’s online exposure and revenues will increase. Users may see your products and directions to actual shops if you list your business on Yandex.
4. Mobile Friendly Interface of Yandex
Yandex developed its mobile version under Vladivostok’s moniker to cater to its users better. This version displays videos, pictures, and layouts properly sized and oriented.
These capabilities assist businesses and consumers, delivering an edge to mobile-friendly sites and a hassle-free user experience.
| 🎉Fun Fact: Yandex named their mobile version after Russian Far East’s largest city, Vladivostok. This city has the largest number of mobile internet users in Russia. |
5. Yandex Is Also Popular in Other Countries
Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, and Turkey are other countries that heavily rely on Yandex. If you target a Russian audience and optimize your website in Yandex, users from other countries will also see it.
6. There Is an English Version of Yandex
Yandex has launched an English edition to satisfy its English-speaking users as it has expanded its market outside of Russia. This version is useful for business websites who want to expand their market outside Russia.
Tips for Yandex Optimization
Here are some tips to help you optimize your website for Yandex:
1. Create High-Quality Content
Yandex’s algorithm prefers websites with useful and interesting content. People will remain on your website longer if it contains important textual, audio, and video information.
Written information, including keywords, would help improve your website’s rating in search results.
2. Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly
As previously said, Yandex created its mobile version with such mobile-friendly sites in mind. In fact, by 2023, 80% of internet users will have a smartphone. Yandex users are likely to utilize their mobile devices to access it.
3. Use Quality Backlinks
According to statistics, 68% of internet encounters begin with a search engine. Quality backlinks are one factor that enhances users’ online experience.
Yandex SEO prioritizes the quality of backlinks above the number. The search engine prioritizes the traffic generated by such hyperlinks to your website.
| 📝Note: Avoid putting too many backlinks, as the Yandex algorithm does not favor excessive backlinking. |
4. Consider Your Site’s Commercial Edge
Yandex looks for sites that may match commercial purpose queries. This factor affects the user experience and pressures e-commerce businesses to produce high-quality content.
When assessing sites for commercial relevance, the platform takes the following factors into account:
- Website’s interface
- Company’s credibility
- Products’ price range and shipping
- Business’s return policy
- Payment and delivery methods
- Products listing or description
- Company’s contact details
- Business’s Customer service
5. Examine Your Site’s Potential in Local SEO
As previously stated, Yandex’s geotargeting influences search results. As a result of this factor, thinking about your site’s local SEO will help you guide and align your content.
For example, if your business’s target market is in Moscow, you should emphasize aspects that appeal to consumers there.
6. Observe Mature Domain Age
Yandex favors older domains with strong resources. Your website or domain will rank higher as it becomes older. If they want to dominate Yandex SEO, several businesses purchase older domains.
Although Yandex has advantages in ranking site material, there are privacy issues regarding its usage—more about this in the next section.
Privacy Concerns with Yandex
Zach Edwards, a researcher for the charity Me2B Alliance’s app auditing initiative, uncovered that Yandex collects information. This is accomplished using AppMetrica, a software development kit (SDK).
📖Definition: AppMetrica is Yandex’s equevalent of Google’s Firebase. It covers the following:
Yandex had incorporated AppMetrica into different apps, including messaging and games. |
AppMetrica is Yandex’s equivalent of Google’s Firebase. It covers the following topics:
- IP address
- Device details
- Network data
Yandex maintains this data in Russia and Finland but emphasizes that the information gathered needs to be more varied and individualized. According to the company, identifying users based on the information they gather takes time and effort.
The company claims to have stringent internal standards in place when dealing with governments and that it rejects bad requests. Despite this declaration, cyber experts are worried that the Russian government may be able to access and utilize users’ data.
Conclusion
Yandex is Russia’s Google, providing a search engine, translation, and other services. If your target market is in Russia, optimizing a site for Yandex is the best option.
Geotargeting, quality content, and a mobile-friendly design are all important factors to consider when optimizing a site for Yandex.
FAQs.
Is Search Yandex Engine available in multiple languages?
Yes, Yandex supports languages other than Russian. Ukrainian, English, Indonesian, and Turkish are just a few of the languages that the model supports.
How does Yandex delivery work?
Delivery services provided by Yandex Get your little packages to their destination. If you enter the recipient’s information, Yandex will alert them so they can follow the car. Bank cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are all accepted.
Do Russians use Google?
Russians, indeed, use Google. Because of Yandex, Russia is one of the rare countries where Google is not the most popular search engine.
