Text 18232, 83 rader
Skriven 2007-05-26 11:49:24 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: so much for Microsoft search
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From: "Rich Gauszka" <gauszka@dontspamhotmail.com>


Google's share of U.S. search market jumped in April

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070525/wr_nm/google_search_dc_2;_ylt=AvOoesDHKLWYl
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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Web search leader Google Inc. in April showed a sharp
gain in market share among U.S. Web search users, taking business from its
three closest rivals, research firm comScore Inc. said on Friday.

Shares of Google jumped 1.7 percent, or $8.03, to $482.36 in Nasdaq trading
after the independent online audience measurement firm released data showing
Google held 49.7 percent of the U.S. search market, up 1.4 percentage points
over March.

By contrast, the No. 2-ranked Web search provider, Yahoo Inc. saw its U.S.
search share in April fall 0.7 points to 26.8 percent. Microsoft Corp.'s sites
lost 0.6 percentage points to 10.3 percent, comScore data showed.

IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ask.com fell 0.1 percentage points in April to 5.1
percent of the U.S market, it said.

The research firm releases data monthly and is the most widely accepted measure
of the Web search market competition.

Google's 1.4 percentage point gain matched the combined losses of 1.4
percentage points by Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask. Google has gained month by month
over the past two years, taking share from rivals in 21 of the past 24 months.

The 1.4 point gain in Google's April market share was only exceeded by the 1.5
percentage point jump Google enjoyed last November, according to comScore data.

Time Warner Inc. sites, which include its AOL unit, held steady at 5.0 percent,
the monthly survey of search activity showed.

U.S. Web users performed 7.3 billion searches in April, 11 percent more than a
year earlier. Google sites attracted 3.6 billion searches by U.S. users during
April, comScore said.



http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_14/b4028045.htm



 Microsoft has already squandered much of the time it spent developing the
search business. Until February, 2005, it licensed search technology from two
companies, Overture and Inktomi. Then it launched a homegrown search engine,
saying at the time that it would win over Web searchers with results that were
more relevant than Google's. Last fall, Microsoft Chief Executive Steven A.
Ballmer told BusinessWeek editors and reporters: "I think in the next three
years, people will say, 'Hey, these guys are really a major player in online
consumer and advertising.'"

There are a number of reasons that hasn't happened yet. First, Google has
performed near flawlessly. Early on, Google used its simple Web site to cement
the impression that to search is to "Google." And because more people search
there, Google has more data with which to target relevant ads. The result: By
some estimates, Google nets at least 50% higher revenue per search than No.2
Yahoo and other search sites--allowing Google to keep investing more in
improvements. For instance, on Mar. 21 it revealed a new program to give
advertisers the opportunity to pay only when someone responds to an ad--by
purchasing a product, filling out a form, or some other action--rather than
merely when they click on it. That may be more attractive to advertisers who
want concrete results.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has managed to confuse searchers. It elbowed into the
search business on the back of its MSN franchise, a modestly successful online
services business known mostly for its dial-up Internet access operation. Then
Microsoft muddled its message in November, 2005, when it launched the "Live"
initiative designed to turbocharge Web services, including search, with
programs running on PCs. But Microsoft continued to use the MSN prefix on some
Web sites, such as its portal and shopping page, while using Windows Live for
its e-mail and search services. "You've got people who know Microsoft really
well who don't know what Live means," says Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of
searchengineland.com, which covers the business.

Outside of the United States, various surveys put Google's share of the Web
search market at 60 percent or better.

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