Bing dinged? Not so fast, Fool.
New data from comScore says that Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) upstart search engine gained rather than lost share, as Nielsen reported in its latest MegaView Search survey.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) also gained ground, but not as much as Bing, comScore reports. Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO), AOL (NYSE:AOL), and IAC's (NASDAQ:IACI) Ask.com all lost share. The numbers in detail:
|
Company |
12/09 |
11/09 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
65.7% |
65.6% |
|
Yahoo! |
17.3% |
17.5% |
|
AOL |
2.6% |
2.8% |
|
Microsoft |
10.7% |
10.3% |
|
Ask.com |
3.7% |
3.8% |
Source: comScore, by way of TechCrunch and Barclays Capital.
What's with the discrepancy? My guess is the methodology. No two researchers are ever alike. IDC's numbers often differ from those of its main rivals in the technology market research business: Gartner (NYSE:IT) and Forrester Research (NASDAQ:FORR).
My advice is to not get caught up in the specifics and look instead at the broader trend. I see two things here:
- Bing is better positioned than the rest of the second-tier search engines, even if Yahoo! is like an anchor.
- No one's touching Google.
Just look at the numbers. For as impressive as Bing's debut was, and for as rich as alternatives such as Wolfram|Alpha and Hunch.com appear to be, Google continues to take the majority of search queries. Two-thirds, roughly, month after month after month.
Mr. Softy's best hope, long term, is to be Pepsi to Google's Coca-Cola. But even that may be a long shot given these numbers. Do you agree? Disagree? Make your voice heard using the comments box below.
