Most Users Loyal To Multiple Search Engines, Forrester Research Report Options

[torka]

Just came across this Forrester Research survey, as reported on InternetRetailer.com:

http://internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=17194

...the rise of a number of smaller engines has reduced the combined market share of online searches held by the top four engines – Google, MSN, Yahoo and AOL Search – to 83% in 2004 from 88% in 2003...

Despite its advantage of being on the first page MSN users see when they go online, MSN’s share dropped to 10% in 2004 from 17% last year...

While only 40% of online users say they are loyal to one of the four large search engines, 49% say they use multiple engines.

The article also discusses the perceptions of the survey respondents as to the effectiveness of each of the "big four" for various types of searches.

--Torka (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/mf_prop.gif)

[Jill]

I'd really like to know more about who they survey. They said:

orrester’s results were drawn from more than 5,000 North American consumers it queried about their online search and portal behavior.

Which isn't much of a sample.

My feeling is that Google still gets closer to 80% of all searches, if not more.

And I just can't imagine the average population using small engines very much, if at all.

[Alan Perkins]

While only 40% of online users say they are loyal to one of the four large search engines, 49% say they use multiple engines.

And the other 11% don't know?

My feeling is that Google still gets closer to 80% of all searches, if not more.

This is the more important number. However, it could still fit with the above stats. If 40% of searchers are "loyal" to Google, and other other 60% of searchers "sometimes" use Google, then Google can still drive the majority of search traffic - especially if Google searchers searched more often than searchers on other search engines. That's why these stats are a bit meaningless in isolation.

[Scottie]

I went through my own sites last week to get an idea of where the traffic is coming from.

From search engines, across 3 sites, about 75% is Google traffic. And the some actually have higher rankings on MSN and Yahoo than they do on Google, but still, the traffic comes from Google.

I do wonder about these surveys- I think they are mostly self-reported samples and not really accurate.

[Jill]

This is the more important number. However, it could still fit with the above stats. If 40% of searchers are "loyal" to Google, and other other 60% of searchers "sometimes" use Google, then Google can still drive the majority of search traffic - especially if Google searchers searched more often than searchers on other search engines. That's why these stats are a bit meaningless in isolation.

Yep, good point.

[Randy]

It's all so very subjective. And therein lies the problem.

Jeremy Zawodny's numbers from his blog would agree with Jill's 80%. Though Tim Converse offers some interesting thoughts on the validity of the data in his blog, which is where I first ran across it. (Tim C is basically in the same position with Y! as Matt C is with G for those who don't recognize the name.)

Then again, if you look at the numbers from last July provided by a more formal study by SEW and ComScore's relatively new qSearch, the numbers are a lot closer. Noting that they have a much larger sampling of data and that they merge channels together.

My own numbers are somewhere between, with a slight favoring towards the ComScore numbers. I get more Google traffic than the ComScore data would indicate, but it's not nearly as skewed as Jeremy's or Jill's numbers are.

FWIW, everything I've read about the qSearch module are promising. Sure they don't separate out Google searches from Google Image searches, or Yahoo! Search from any of the other Yahoo! properties, but it's still pretty useful. It's the only independent measure out there that looks at a large enough sample (1.5 million users) to be anything close to relevant.

The only major problem still being that each site is obviously different. And obviously targets a different audience sector. So will have totally different market share numbers.

[Chris B]

Jill, i agree with your 80%. i posted a question in a private forum last year on which se everyone used. G received 100%, now it was a small sampling but even with all my friends, i dont know anyone who doesnt use g.

also, how many times do you hear in a movie or tv show... "oh, just google it" google has become synonymous with search.

Chris