Google Accounts for Half of All U.S. Searches in April, According to Nielsen//NetRatings

May 26, 2006; 07:04 AM

Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in Internet media and market research, announced that Google accounted for 50 percent of all searches conducted in April, followed by Yahoo! and MSN, with 22 and 11 percent, respectively (see Table 1). Year over year, Google gained three percentage points in market share, while Yahoo! remained flat and MSN dipped slightly.

“Google has passed a significant milestone in April, garnering half of the searches in the U.S.,” said Michael Lanz, vice president, search industry solutions, Nielsen//NetRatings. “We can continue to expect new features, improved functionality and rewards programs from the top search providers as they compete to win consumers’ loyalty. There is also opportunity for smaller providers to fulfill targeted search needs,” he continued.

Table 1: Search Share among Top 3 Search Providers, April 2006 (U.S.)

Search Provider Apr-05 Search Share / Apr-06 Search Share / Percentage Point Change

Google Search         47%                             50%                         +3

Yahoo! Search         22%                             22%                            0

MSN Search             12%                             11%                         -1

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Search, May 2006

The top two search engines showed robust growth over the past year. Google Search grew 34 percent year over year, followed by Yahoo! Search with 27 percent growth. MSN Search rounded out the top three, growing 10 percent year over year (see Table 2).

Table 2: Search Growth among Top 3 Search Providers, April 2006 (U.S.)

Search Provider Apr-05 Searches (000) /  Apr-06 Searches (000) / YOY Search Growth

Google Search     1,986,795                            2,655,649                         34%

Yahoo! Search     919,894                             1,169,109                         27%

MSN Search        515,926                             570,080                             10%

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Search, May 2006

Traditional Brick and Mortar Stores Benefit from Shopping Search
Consumers are increasingly connecting with major retail stores via search engines, underscoring the influence search can have on online and offline buying. This is particularly evident in the top five shopping keywords, all of which are brick and mortar stores ("home depot", "wallmart", "target", "sears", "best buy") .

“As the top shopping search terms indicate, people are now using search to connect with trusted brick and mortar stores, often those that started as traditional offline marketplaces. These companies have each built a strong Web presence designed to encourage consumers to buy immediately online, or give them the tools they need to do preliminary research before making an in-store purchase.” said Lanz.