[jsaund22]

(A) Is Google bad?

It depends. You say Google returns the results you are looking for better than any other search engine. In that regard, Google is the best. Google is bad for other reasons.

(B) Why is it bad?

Google is a left-wing company. They probably do attempt to slant what you are presented with if you're searching for things related to politics. They collect massive amounts of personal data about what you search for, what sites you frequent, what you purchase, what your entertainment preferences are (Youtube), etc. Google probably knows more about you than your significant other, if you spend a good deal of time online.

(C) What alternatives are better?

Bing - it probably collects similar amounts of data about your search interests as Google, but it has always returned fairly accurate results for me.

DuckDuckGo - supposedly good for privacy, but I don't tend to trust any company that touts privacy

There are others, but the quality (IMO) falls off dramatically enough that they aren't worth mentioning.

(D) Why are they better?

For me, no search engine is better than Google, simply because of the accuracy of results. When I'm searching for something political in nature I will sometimes open IE, which I never use, and do the search from that browser without logging into Google. You'd be surprised at how different the results can be.

 

[jsaund22]

When you use IE, are the results different when using Google as the search engine in both?

Chrome is my standard browser. I am logged into my Google account when I am in Chrome, so my results are "catered" to my search, browsing, YouTubing, etc. history. Even if I log out, it's not a "clean" logout, so there is still some catering done just based on browser type. Right or wrong, in the computer world, people who use Internet Explorer are considered a little less intelligent than those who use alternate browsers. Even airlines modify their prices for the same flights based solely on the browser you use.

Again - I don't search for much political stuff. I mostly search for stuff related to technology, CNC machining, poker, science, 3D printing, that kind of stuff. And since Google knows my history it is able to present me with results that are "more accurately" what I am looking for.

[Edit] That was a long way to say that, yes, the results are different, even if I'm logged out of Chrome. If I'm logged in to Chrome, they can be dramatically different depending on the subject.

 

[jsaund22]

Just a note - all search engines these days are going to try to "learn" a little bit about you. They are going to collect aggregate and detailed data about what you search for and which results you click on. They will assume the clicked results more closely represent what you were searching for, and they will attempt to present you with more similar results at the top of your search in the future. The more they learn about you, the more different the results will be when compared against a "virgin" browser.