Yahoo Likely To Slip Below 10 Percent Search Share Next Month

When comScore releases its “May 2014 U.S. Search Engine Rankings,” we’re likely to see Yahoo’s market share slip below 10 percent. Today (in April) it recorded a 10 percent share, down 0.1 percent from March.

Microsoft’s share was up 0.1 percent and so was Google’s.

In July 2009 when the Microsoft-Yahoo search deal was first announced Yahoo had 19.3 percent of the US search market according to comScore data. Microsoft had 8.9 percent.

Now the numbers are almost exactly reversed and Google’s share is 3 points higher than in 2009. So much for strengthening competition.

At no point during the almost five years the Search Alliance deal has been in place has the combined Bing-Yahoo market share risen above 29 percent. It has been a boon for Bing and a disaster for Yahoo. Indeed, almost none of the promised benefits for Yahoo have materialized.

When Yahoo’s market share dips below 10 percent next month it will represent the lowest recorded search number for the company since comScore started reporting these data.