If you are like 63% of search users in the US, Google is your search engine of choice. You may be aware of other engines, like Yahoo and MSN, though not really using them every day. But what if Google stopped being number one? Despite the success that Google has had for the past decade, a new survey by Forrester Research suggests that Google may be just as vulnerable as any other engine. Conquering Google is not as hard a task as it may seem, if we look at the factors that are favorable for their competition.
During the survey, over 4,800 U.S. online adults were asked about their search habits. Their activity was not observed, but self-reported, yet the results offer some interesting conclusions. The study suggests that brand loyalty is quite low for search engines and many users combine multiple engines – only 20% use Google and nothing else! Other supporting data that questions Google’s continued leadership is the search volume. ComScore estimates 85 billion searches on Google.com in 2008, almost 90% more than the previous year, while Forrester claims that Google’s share of searches is significantly lower, at 59 %.
The survey gives hope to Microsoft Kumo and the likes and suggests that 2009 will be an interesting year for search engine marketers. I am not yet feeling the winds of change, but maybe you are. Please email me with your observations – and let’s talk about it.
Like this article? Read about Microsoft Kumo and see how Google Is Unable to Gain Market Share in Russia.
