Google and Yahoo Grow, MSN struggles
Jennifer Laycock at Search Engine Guide reports that per the latest Nielsen/NetRatings data Google and Yahoo continue to grow their search audiences at a nice rate, while MSN, AOL and Ask continue to struggle.
Of the more than 7 billion searches conducted online in February, Google managed to snag more than half while Yahoo gulped up more than a quarter. MSN, AOL and Ask.com all carried just single digit shares of the market though each did experience growth over the number of searches they ran in February of ’06.
The specifics from Nielsen/NetRatings:
- Google – 3.9 billion searches, 54% percent of searches and a 40% year over year increase.
- Yahoo – 1.6 billion searches, 23% of searches and a 28.8% year over year increase.
- MSN/Windows Live – 542 million searches, 9% of searches and a 2.5% year over year increase.
- AOL – 388 million searches, 5.4% of searches and a 5.6% year over year increase.
- Ask.com – 132 million searches, 1.8% of searches and a 1.2% year over year increase.
For law firms concerned with organic results (non paid for results), my focus is Google. If your blog or website is doing well on Google, you’ll have plenty of folks finding you and your content.
My gut also tells me you’re dealing with a more sophisticated search audience on Google than at Yahoo, MSN, and AOL. These folks are experienced in looking for good information and may be more informed buyers.