Bing gains again – but from Yahoo, not Google
Microsoft is most definitely back. The combination of Windows 7 and the Bing search engine means that the company is in a fine position heading into 2010. Windows 7 continues to grab market share away from both Vista and XP and is managing to steal market share from its competitors. However it’s Yahoo rather than Google that is feeling the pain.
There was a clear desire to test out Bing when it first launched, and that, as well as the obvious publicity helped the new Microsoft search engine gain market share. But September saw the first sign of a falter, with Bing actually dropping back a little.
However, normal service has been resumed again for October, with CNET reporting comScore’s figures for the search market for the month. Google continues to dominate with 65.4 percent of the market, up 0.5 percent on September. Bing managed third place with a total market share of 9.9 percent, again 0.5 percent up from the previous month.
Yahoo sits comfortably between the two on 18 percent. But that’s 0.8 percent down month-on-month, with both Google and Bing taking bites out of its share. This shows a definite downward trend for Yahoo and suggests it won’t be long before Microsoft overtakes Yahoo and begins to battle Google head-on.
Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research Inc., told ComputerWorld:
Bing has established a position that is, for now, stable. If Bing innovates effectively, it can move forward. It’s in a not bad position, considering Google’s momentum, but there’s nothing happening now to show that it can take share from Google. With Google, it’s not so much about growth any more, but the large number of people for whom Google is the search engine. Google is an ocean liner. It’s going to take a lot of effort and a lot time to slow it down.
Yahoo’s search engine now is a lame duck. Yahoo has been on a long-term decline. The battle between Bing and Google raises awareness about search engine capabilities, and may drive some users to try other products, but basically, Yahoo has not given its search engine users a good reason to stay.
I would have to agree that it’ll be a long time before Bing can even hope to compete with Google. However, Microsoft continues to innovate, launching new features on the search engine. The latest, unveiled last week, sees Wolfram Alpha results incorporated into Bing, and it’s these sorts of partnerships that will surely lead those who try Bing once to use it again and again.
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