U.S. Search Engine Rankings Released: Google Captures 45.4% of U.S. Market

U.S. Search Engine Rankings Released: Google Captures 45.4% of U.S. Market

Reston, Virginia - December 1, 2006 - The monthly qSearch analysis of activity across competitive search engines, released by digital age measuring service, comScore Networks, has revealed that in October 2006, Google Sites captured 45.4 percent of the U.S. search market, gaining 0.3 share points from the previous month.

Yahoo! Sites maintained its second place ranking with 28.2 percent of U.S. searches, followed by Microsoft Sites (11.7 percent), Ask Network (5.8 percent) and Time Warner Network (5.4 percent).

Share of Online Searches by Engine August 2006 - October 2006 Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users Source: comScore qSearch Aug-06 Sep-06 Oct-06 Pt Chg Oct vs. Sept Total Internet Population 100% 100% 100% N/A Google Sites 44.1 45.1 45.4 0.3 Yahoo! Sites 28.7 28.1 28.2 0.1 Microsoft Sites 12.5 11.9 11.7 -0.2 Ask Network 5.5 5.8 5.8 0.0 Time Warner Network 5.6 5.6 5.4 -0.2 -- Americans conducted 6.8 billion searches online in October, up 3 percent versus September. Annual growth rates in search query volume remained strong with a 33-percent increase versus year ago. -- Google Sites led the pack with 3.1 billion search queries performed in October, followed by Yahoo Sites (1.9 billion), MSN-Microsoft (796 million), Ask Network (392 million), and Time Warner Network (366 million).

comScore Networks measures the digital age with a global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers that allo comScore to confidentially capture browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, comScore measures across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. comScore consultants apply the knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that endeavor to deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by global firms such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestle, MBNA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Expedia.