Using data from more than 35 million search queries performed in 2012, SEO company WebpageFX  set out to determine search engine market share by state for Google, Bing and Yahoo. According to their study, Google dominates across the country, taking 70 percent or more of search engine market share in nearly all 50 states. Delaware represented the only state where Google won less than 70 percent of searches, with 69.49 percent market share. While Google won more than 80 percent of the market in many states, Hawaii, Oregon, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Colorado led in Googl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Featured | Google | Google: Web Search | Microsoft: Bing | Search & Society | Stats: General | Stats: Popularity | Yahoo | Yahoo: Search

Bing's U.S. search market share has hit another all-time high, passing 17 percent for the first time. It gained at Google's expense, as the search giant slipped six-tenths of a percentage point last month. That's from comScore's April 2013 qSearch report, just out today. For the month, comScore says there were slightly more than 20 billion "core" searches (mobile not included), a small decline from 20.4 billion in March. Google accounted for 66.5 percent of core searches in April, down 0.6 from March's 67.1 percent. Google's loss was matched by gains at Bing and Yahoo. Bing's share rose [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: comScore | Stats: Popularity

In a recent study by SurveyMonkey examining SEO assumptions, respondents were given two search result pages, one with a page header labeled "Google" and the other with a page header labeled "Bing," and asked which page of results they preferred. Even when the page header labels were swapped, more users preferred the Google search results. Of 641 survey respondents, 379 participants received a survey asking which of two search result pages they preferred. One page of results for the term "file taxes" included true Google results and the other page included true Bing results. The Google page [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Search Quality Raters | Google: Web Search | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Bing SEO | Search Engines | SEO: Domain Names & URLs | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Search Behavior | Top News

Google dropped a few percentage points while Bing and Yahoo each gained a couple ... but the bigger statistic from comScore's monthly U.S. search rankings for March is that desktop search activity reached an all-time high. The company's latest report estimates that there were just under 20.4 billion searches during March -- that's desktop-only, and it's an 11 percent increase from February. It's also the first time comScore has ever estimated search activity be above 20 billion searches in a month. The previous record of 19.5 billion was set in January. According to comScore's measuremen [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: comScore | Stats: Popularity | Top News

The data analytics firm Chitika has created an infographic showing search volume for the final four teams in this weekend's NCAA basketball championship tournament. If search interest has any influence on game results, we'll all be watching the University of Louisville men's basketball team beating Michigan next Monday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Louisville also ranks No. 1 for most searched teams according to Bing's Search Blog. Leading the list of most searched players is Kevin Ware, the Louisville player who suffered a severe lower leg injury during the Louisville-Duke game on [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Search Engines | Stats: General | Stats: Popularity

Core search activity was down in February overall, but both Google's and Bing's share of search activity in the U.S. were up during the month. According to comScore's February U.S. search engine rankings, Google's market share rose from 67 percent in January to 67.5 percent in February. Bing's also rose month-over-month, from 16.5 percent to 16.7 percent. Bing's share represents an all-time high, but it was more than offset by a larger decline in Yahoo's overall market share. It fell from 12.1 percent to 11.6 percent in February. ComScore says there were fewer searches in February [...]

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Microsoft continues to run online its Pepsi-Challenge style ads "Bing It On," in which a majority of users prefer Bing in a "blind comparison test" with Google. Despite the commercials and despite Microsoft reporting that after extensive testing users preferred Bing 2:1, people generally express skepticism. People simply don't buy the campaign. Another recent study conducted by Butler University found that Q&A engine ChaCha bested Google in terms of the quality of answers provided (across nearly 4,000 queries). And last week, YP released the results of an extensive study of local sea [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Features: Analysis | Google: Critics | Google: Web Search | Microsoft: Bing | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Search Behavior | Top News

Core search activity was up pretty substantially in January, and Google's US market share returned to the 67 percent level that it was at in November -- all according to the latest comScore search engine rankings for January 2013. Google's market share rose from 66.7 percent in December to 67 percent in January. Bing's market share was also up, from 16.3 percent in December to 16.5 percent in January -- that's an all-time high for Bing. The Bing gains, as usually happens, were tempered by a similar decline in Yahoo's search market share, leaving the "Bing-powered search" combo still in [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: comScore | Stats: Popularity | Top News

No question. Google remains the most used search engine in the world, far outdistancing competitors. But, over the past three months, its share of unique searchers had dipped below 80%, suggesting it has lost some regular searchers. Still, the huge percentage remaining at Google are searching more than ever. Meanwhile, has Yandex really taken the number four spot from Bing? comScore's Worldwide Search Figures The figures come from comScore. They weren't released publicly, but after they emerged on GigaOm, comScore has been providing them to other publications upon request. Most attention has [...]

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Since roughly 2006 Naver has been the leading search site in South Korea. Consistently Google has been unable to break through and -- according to various traffic estimates -- has less than 5 percent of the market there. That's as recently as Q4 of last year according to data I've seen. Mysteriously, however, StatCounter is now showing Google soundly defeating Naver, and having done so since February of last year. I'm not in the habit of checking the status of the Korean search market often so this is the first time I've seen the StatCounter chart. Everything I've seen and read shows [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Google: Outside US | Google: Web Search | Search Engines: Korea Search Engines | Search Engines: Outside USA | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Size

If search has any influence or say in who will win the Super Bowl this Sunday, Super Bowl XLVII, then the San Francisco 49ers are clear winners. A Bing representative told us that the San Francisco 49ers have twice as many searches than their competitor the Baltimore Ravens. Plus, the 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, has 50 percent more searches than Raven’s quarterback, Joe Flacco. The Ravens do win when it comes to searchers on the top player. The Raven's linebacker, Ray Lewis, is the most searched on player for Super Bowl XLVII amongst Bing searchers. While Alex Smith is the top [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Microsoft: Bing | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Search Behavior

The Search Agency has released its "State of Paid Search Report" for Q4 2012. It follows similar reports from Marin Software, IgnitionOne, RKG and Kenshoo and contains a range of data based on US client campaigns. Overall The Search Agency observed that paid search is experiencing a "healthy growth rate." Impressions, CPCs and paid clicks all grew in Q4. But, consistent with findings in other reports, the share of searches generated by smartphones and tablets grew significantly in Q4. Unlike some other reports The Search Agency says these did not come at the expense of the PC: Desktops [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: Mobile | Google: Web Search | Search Marketing: Mobile | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Size | Top News

What was the most viewed article on Wikipedia this year? The one about Facebook. Is Facebook really that popular of a Wikipedia topic? Perhaps, but more likely, confused searchers are getting to the Wikipedia page rather than Facebook itself. Yesterday on Toolserver.org, a service of Wikipedia Germany, lists of  the Top 100 most viewed articles for 2012 were released. The data mining was done by Johan Gunnarsson, a computer science student in Sweden. Rankings for 35 different Wikipedias (by language) are available. You can find all of the lists here. Here's a look at the Top 10 most v [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Search Engines: Wikipedia | Stats: Popularity | Top News

Google and Bing both hit all-time highs in U.S. search market share in October, while overall desktop search activity was up eight percent from the month before. All of that's according to comScore's October 2012 search activity/rankings report. Google's market share rose two-tenths of a point, from 66.7 percent in September to 66.9 percent in October. Bing gained a tenth of a point and reached 16 percent in October. Both of those numbers represent all-time highs using comScore's estimates. Yahoo was static for the month and Ask's share was down. Desktop search activity was up sig [...]

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Google continues to lose marketshare in China after pulling out of China years ago. New market share reports from Marbridge Consulting puts Google in forth place in terms of search market share. Google trails Baidu, Qihoo 360, and Sogou with only 4.72% share in China. Baidu has 72.97%, Qihoo 360 has 9.64% and Sogou has 7.83%. TheNextWeb adds that Google Maps also dropped, now in the 6th position based on China market share. The reason for the drop on the maps side is because of Apple dropping Google Maps in iOS 6 for their own mapping application. Here is the search market share rep [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Google: Outside US | Stats: General | Stats: Popularity | Top News

By the time this election is over more than $2.6 billion will have been spent by the two US presidential candidates on political advertising. I've also seen some estimates that say total political advertising this election cycle will top $6 billion. Yet, remarkably, The Atlantic points to a Google Trends report showing a huge November spike for the query "Who's running for president?" "Who's Running for President?" If you compare "Obama" to "Romney," Google Trends reflects that Obama comes out just ahead of Romney, the same way many believe this election will turn out later this evening. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | Features: Analysis | Google: Trends | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Search Behavior | Stats: Spend Projections

The early August search market share data is out from financial analysts ahead of the official comScore release. That official release will likely be later this afternoon (now updated, see postscript). Yahoo is down once again while partner Bing has hit "an all time high" according to one analyst. Google lost some share (0.4 percent) in August, while Bing gained and Yahoo declined by an equivalent amount (0.2 percent). Strangely, AOL also gained (0.2 percent). Here are the August comScore numbers: Google: 66.4 percent (66.8 percent in July) Bing: 15.9 percent (15.7 percent in July) [...]

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Yahoo's slide continues with the news today that Pinterest is now sending more traffic to publishers than organic Yahoo search results. That's according to Shareaholic, a provider of social sharing buttons and widgets with more than 200,000 publishers using its tools. In a blog post today, Shareaholic says Pinterest was the fourth biggest traffic source in August among its publishers -- beating out Yahoo organic search, which fell to fifth. Overall, Google search was the top traffic source, followed by direct traffic and then Facebook in third. (See far right column below.) Pinterest als [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: Popularity | Top News | Yahoo: Search

Internet Explorer (IE) is the browser where the most "non-Google" searches happen, according to data from ad network Chitika. The company analyzed "hundreds of millions of ad impressions [in the US and Canada] from within the Chitika Ad network" earlier this month. Chitika was seeking to determine search engine usage on each browser. Overall Chitika found that Google generated 74.7 percent of search traffic across all five browsers examined. Yahoo was second with 12.3 percent and Bing third with a 9.74 percent share across browsers. By comparison the most recent comScore data show Google [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Google: Web Search | Microsoft: Bing | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Search Behavior | Top News | Yahoo: Search

June and July haven't been very kind months for Bing and Yahoo. What Hitwise calls "Bing-powered search" had about 28.1 percent of all U.S. searches in May, but that dropped to less than 27 percent for July. And what was a five percent year-over-year gain back in May, has now become a four percent Y-o-Y decline. Google, meanwhile, remained at about 66 percent of all U.S. search activity. That Bing-hoo would go from a five percent yearly gain to a four percent yearly decline in the span of a couple months only underscores the fact that Google's grip on search market share isn't in [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: Hitwise | Stats: Popularity | Top News