Ecocho was an “eco-friendly” search engine launched in Australia in 2008. It displayed results from other search engines and directed part of its advertising revenue to tree planting, so that every search contributed, at least in a small way, to an environmental project.
It was not a browser extension or a voice search tool: it was a search site, used like any other search engine.
How it worked
Ecocho did not have its own web index. The user typed a query and the site showed results provided by external search engines, along with ads. A portion of that revenue went to tree planting.
Why it is still discussed
Ecocho is an example of a model that has repeated itself several times: a search interface that uses results from others and stands out for its purpose, not its technology. For those working in SEO the point is simple: on these services, a site’s visibility depends on the engine providing the results, not on the service displaying them.
Frequently asked questions
Was Ecocho a Firefox extension?
No. It was a search engine accessible from any browser.
Did Ecocho have its own index?
No, it displayed results from other search engines.
Do you need to optimize a site for Ecocho?
No. Since the results came from other engines, ranking on those engines was what mattered.
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