According to comScore Google is the leading pie-hound, gaining market share for the 9th consecutive month with newcomer MySpace squeezing onto the table for the first time ever with 43 million searches. Guess those crazy teens want their own space at the pie eatin’ contest. The chart shows the current search standings as of April 2006:
In raw numbers Americans conducted 6.6 billion searches in April – that’s enough searches, if stacked one on top of the other, to reach from Earth to Pluto, twice – with Google gaining almost 7% of the market at 2.9 billion searches conducted. Other than MySpace, the other major properties all lost share with MSN leading the way at a -3.2%. Take that Bill!
What does this mean for you? Well, if you’re tempted to sign up with one of those services that registers your site with 3,000 search engines you might want to reconsider as the 6 sites listed here account for 97.3% of U.S. searches in April 2006. It’s obvious that the lion’s share of your search optimization budget should be targeted at Google & Yahoo unless you know that your customers are MSN or AOL-centric. If you don’t have a search engine marketing budget, either for organic or paid search, you should consider adding it. The search engine advertising market is currently at $7 billion and growing while print yellow pages usage is declining. At least make the investment in local search such as local.google.com or local.yahoo.com. I, for one, turn first to the internet and then to my local Yellow Pages. It’s one thing to find a list of restaurants in the yellow pages, it’s another to actually get a look inside the door, at the menu and chart a course from your door to theirs all via your friendly search property.
My advice, if you don’t have a web site. Get one. If your site doesn’t sell. Overhaul it. If search isn’t part of your marketing/advertising budget. Make it a part. Have fun.
