Google extends lead over search rivals
Perennial search favourite Google has further extended its UK market share – according to data compiled by Experian Hitwise.
The online analytics firm found that Google posted a yearly increase of 0.68% in its market share to 91.07%, largely at the expense of Yahoo which saw its market share fall by 1.17%.
Google also pulled further away from its distant nearest rival, Bing, which added just 0.49% to its market share bringing it to a paltry 3.84%
James Murray, Market Research Analyst at Experian Hitwise, said: “Google is not only the biggest search engine in the UK but it is also the fastest growing search engine of November.
“Christmas is a key time of year for the online industry but particularly for online retail. We’ve already seen a record-breaking 84.6 million visits online on Cyber Monday (5 December) to retail websites, of which 42 per cent came from search engines. We know that post-Christmas traffic to retailers is going to be even higher, so this is a crucial time for search and for brands to optimise their search campaigns.”
Experian also published separate data indicating that MySpace has fallen out of the top 10 social networks for the first time, dropping to 11th place overall.
YouTube posted the biggest annual growth of 6.1% to reach a 23.61% market share, whilst Facebook registered the biggest fall, dropping 5.71% in the year to November 2011 to reach 52.63%.